As a teenager, my son had a fascination with Edgar Allan Poe. He was also a fan of Stephen King. Some parents might be concerned about that, but I was just glad the kid found something he wanted to read. I'm still not sure how I ended up with two reluctant readers.
I picked up this book as a freebie on Kindle. I can't say I'm fascinated with Poe's work the way my son was, but I'm one of those persons who isn't fond of unsolved mysteries. Poe's death is steeped in mystery, so I picked up this book to see what the author does with it.
BLURB: Follow the final moments before Edgar Allan Poe's mysterious death, journeying through twisted bits and pieces of his musings, both brilliant and mad, in search of the truth behind his final, unfinished work "The Lighthouse," while unraveling the mystery behind the elusive woman desperately seeking the author for answers behind her husband's haunted death.
COVER: Spot on. Exactly what I would expect for a book where Poe plays a part: dark, ominous, chilling. You might not be able to tell from the size of this photo, but if you go to Amazon and enlarge it, Poe's face is seen in the beam of light from the lighthouse. Is that a raven overhead?
FIRST CHAPTER: Lady Karina awakes to find herself on a train car bound for Baltimore. She carries with her an envelope for a strange man, which she plans to hand-deliver for her now deceased husband, Brantley.
The story slowly moves backward in time to where Karina unhappily follows Brantley to a New England lighthouse and experiences terrifying nightmares.
KEEP READING: I'm too fascinated with the idea behind this story to say no, but I am admittedly perplexed by the first chapter. This happens because we have three separate events or slices of time to look at: the train ride, the back story of how Brantley and Karina came to live at the lighthouse, and a disturbing nightmare. Perhaps if the book didn't open with an odd dream of Karina's while on the train, it might have been less confusing to me.
Lane has written Finding Poe in an elegant, literary style where the words nearly fly off the page. Since Lady Karina is the narrator, this is a wise choice. Though as a Gothic story it is dark in nature, Lane's writing is simply beautiful. It definitely draws the reader in, which is why I must keep reading.
I downloaded a free version of this book for my Kindle. I received no monetary compensation for this review.
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6 comments:
Sounds very cool! I'm a big fan of Poe.
Thanks for stopping by Vanessa.
Sounds like an interesting book. Thank you for sharing your review of the first chapter.
Yes, I saw Poe's face on the cover and I also wondered if the bird was a raven.
Cheryl, thanks so much for reading FINDING POE. I am honored and humbled by your comments. I appreciate your thoughts on the literary style, as I took great pains to emulate Poe's voice.
I'm glad you mentioned the confusion with which the first chapter left you; I use a literary convention in this book that meshes form and content, which basically works to create a parallel between the character and reader.
Thank you also for your thoughts on the cover. Yes, that's a raven. ;-)
Thanks for the comments, Susanne. Great to see you here. Hope all is well.
Leigh,
How great of you to stop by. So glad you liked my comments.
Wishing you the best,
Cheryl
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