The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket - Softcover

Poe, Edgar Allan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141023511 ISBN 13: 9780141023519

Publisher: Penguin Classics, 2006

Synopsis

Sixteen-year-old Arthur is looking for adventure. So he stows away on a whaling ship bound for the South Pacific. But he gets more excitement than he could ever have imagined when, soon after setting sail, the crew rebel against their captain and murder everyone who will not join them. As the leaderless ship sails deep into high southern latitudes, the ravenous sailors begin to regret their treachery. Storms overwhelm the decks, and the nightmare vision of a corpse-ridden ghost ship taunts them as they starve. It seems they are being punished for their sins ...

About this title

Product Description:

Arthur Gordon Pym and Augustus Barnard from the island of Nantucket are best friends, determined to become sailors, and ready for an adventure of their lifetime. Augustus smuggles Pym and Tiger, Pym's faithful dog, on a whaling vessel commanded by Augustus's father that is bound for the southern seas, and their great adventure starts. They will soon have to deal with mutiny, shipwreck, and many other various adventures and misadventures on the way to their final goal - the South Pole.

Review:

Edgar Allen Poe's only novel, is read with engaging energy by Adrian Sims and unfolds with the vividness and horrid logic of a dream. It begins with a prank, when young Pym stows away to be with a friend on a Nantucket brig. Mutiny leads to his claustrophobic incarceration (a familiar Poe theme), then shipwreck, with hunger and thirst agonisingly detailed. After narrowly escaping massacre on an island where even the teeth of natives are black, the two survivors sail into a snowy white curtain of white to be welcomed by huge angelic figures. Bizarre but well worth the voyage. --Christina Hardyment, The Times

Over-the-top and hugely enjoyable --Kati Nicholl, Daily Express

This is a teasing, gripping adventure that travels through the mysterious deep and the blackness of death to a strange world of ethereal whiteness. --Rachel Redford, Observer

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe In his late teens, Arthur Gordon Pym, hero of Edgar Allan Poe's only full-length novel, runs away to sea with his friend, Augustus Bernard, on his father's vessel, the American whaling brig, Grampus. Their plan is that Arthur will start the voyage as a stowaway, until they are far enough out to sea to prevent his return to Nantucket. Nothing goes according to plan, however. A couple of days out, a mutiny forces Augustus to conceal Arthur's presence for his safety. Not only Arthur's fate, but his very life is in question as conditions deteriorate, and the forces of man and nature rise against him. The tale is actually in two parts, the first records this voyage of the Grampus, the second deals with an ill-conceived and somewhat fantastical voyage to Antarctica. Poe's sense of the macabre and unexpected pervades the novel, creating an ever-rising suspense. Adam Sims, a veteran of radio, television, and theater performances, renders a very successful recounting of Arthur's tale, most of which is delivered in the first person. Sims conveys Arthur's naivete, adventurous spirit, ingenuity, and optimism concerning all the perils that befall him during the two journeys. This audiobook will appeal to adult and teen readers alike who love sea stories with a captivating story line and laden with heightened suspense. Several graphic passages dealing with cannibalism and violence may not be appropriate for junior high audiences. --Susan Allison, soundcommentary.com

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0141023511
• ISBN 13: 9780141023519
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 256