The Cask of Amontillado

The Cask of Amontillado

4.06 of 5 stars 4.06  ·  rating details  ·  20,598 ratings  ·  300 reviews
Do your students enjoy a good laugh? Do they like to be scared? Or do they just like a book with a happy ending? No matter what their taste, our Creative Short Stories series has the answer.

We've taken some of the world's best stories from dark, musty anthologies and brought them into the light, giving them the individual attention they deserve. Each book in the series has

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Paperback, 20 pages
Published February 2nd 2004 by BookSurge Classics (first published November 1846)
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Community Reviews

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Gellie
Part of our CA-E curriculum (Communication Arts- English) is to read and discuss the Cask of Amontillado. While I was reading it alone, I didn't think much of it. (Although, that shouldn't be surprising since I have to read a good book twice to really appreciate it. It's superduper awesome if I only read it once and loved it) But upon discussing it in class, analyzing every freaking detail, I became immersed in it.

I'm a scaredy cat by nature. Don't get me wrong. I love rapelling, bungee jumping...more
Kelly
This was the only thing I enjoyed reading at Catholic school. A fellow student's scribbled creative curses on the margins of our religion class handouts nonwithstanding. Poe's atmospheric talents are undeniable- the man even inspired Baudelaire with a new level of excitement (the dark, brooding kind of course) about how dark life can be. It shall thrill my inner 14 year old heart forever.
Sarah Marie
4.5 stars
I had to read this for school and I absolutely loved it. Maybe the reason I enjoyed it so much was because I read it for school and we talked about irony. Talking about the story made me think more into it and now I think it's brilliant. I had already been intrigued, but the story just proved to be amazing.
علی
داستان "چیلیک آمونتیلادو" توسط احمد میرعلایی به فارسی ترجمه شده است. احمد گلشیری هم با نام "بشکه ی آمونتیلادو" آن را ترجمه کرده است که در مجموعه ی داستان و نقد داستان چاپ شده.
Ken Moten

My 2nd review of Poe is (not surprisingly) my 2nd favorite Poe book. This book was read for 11th grade English and I have to say that this better than expected book came out of a better than expected class-but that is for another story.

(view spoiler)[So, how to plan the perfect murder? (hide spoiler)] Well, as I have just finished reading Crime and Punishment, this book loomed heavy on my mind. I don't know if Fyodor Dostoyevsky had ever picked up this book but the similarities and differences...more
Andrea Ika
Nemo me impune lacessit.
No man provokes me with impunity

Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Publication Date: November 1846
Format ebook

Synopsis
Montressor is telling us about a time when he committed a very grave crime. When Fortunado does something to dishonor Montressor, Montressor promises revenge. So one night during Carnival he lours Fortunado down to his "wine cellar' and through the catacombs. What kind of revenge will Montressor get on Fortunado?

Review
Edgar Allan Poe never fails to make twisted, dark...more
Huma
Jan 03, 2013 Huma rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who have time to analyze
Recommended to Huma by: teacher
This story takes place in the late 1700's or early 1800's. The protagonist is a Montresor, a rich man a wine-taster who is from an old Italian family. Fortunato is a foolhardy, golly man, with a love for wine and wine-tasting, he's the one murdered by Montresor.

You see, Montresor doesn't want any competition in wine-tasting, and is also offended by an unknown insult(maybe imagined by him, to make it easier to kill Fortunato)and vows to get revenge by murder.

Montresor is a very clever guy so he a...more
Zulu
Brr! This one leaves a chill up your spine, doesn't it? All the more so since we don't know why Montressor does it. Was he really wronged by Fortunado, or was it simply a matter of luck shining more brightly on another man? Fortunado is in the Masons, his family is large and prosperous, where Montressor's is in decline. But what could Fortunado alone have done in order to cause that? It seems to be the work of ages, and it's just that Montressor blames Fortunado because he's a symbol.

I like all...more
Merve  Özcan

Ana kahraman Luchesi
Kurban ise Fortunato
Bu kısa hikayeyi derste işliyoruz,ingilizce olarak okudum, özetten çok (zaten kısa) bir iki şey söylemek istiyorum.

Adamın bir psikopat olduğunu itiraf etmek bence yanlış bir itham olmaz sanırım. Aklıma gelen ilk kelime bu oldu.

Hikayede Luchesi Fortunatonun ona ne olduğu belli olmayan bir hakaret ettiğini söylüyor ve onu öldürme planları yapıyor, üzerine duvar örüyor ama onu öldürdüğünün asla bilinmeyeceğinden emin olmasını istiyor.Hikayede bir bölümde Luch...more
Erika
Loved the irony used in the story, dark humor is effective to the story. Confusing at first, but after further discussion, understood at a different level.
Needleroozer
I believe I had to read this short story in 10th grade...oh, no, it must have been in 11th grade when we covered American literature. I think we had a whole section on Edgar Allan and we read several of his poems and short stories.

This story is twisted like all his others. Chilling.
Adriana
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Ethan Clark
May 12, 2011 Ethan Clark rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Mrs. Sweeney
Shelves: horror
I've seen the film version of Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart", but this is the first memorable piece of literature that I've read by the early American poet. You can definately tell that this is a tale crafted by old Edgar himself, but there's not much redeeming apart from the memorable voice. You sort of have an idea as to what is happening in the "Cask of Amontillado", but it just doesn't have that element of guilt and insanity found in "Tell-Tale Heart". I'm sure that he has better stories out th...more
Hensley
"The Cask of Amontillado" - the story that introduced me to Mr. Poe and his dark-ingenuity. Actually, his first work that I have read. I was 18 then some time ten years ago.

The story is placid and dark as velvet. Deception at its finest interpretation. The image of death in progress, a seem-to-be-pause until the end. Something you will not see in any regular story.

If you are young to understand the word revenge, do not read it. Also, if you are narrowminded to morbidness. I suggest you grab a d...more
Jill
This one was certainly not my favorite, but it was masterfully written. There are wonderful tools of symbolism and foreshadowing. It's a pity I don't know Latin or French, because Poe tends to shower these throughout his pieces, and without translations, they mean little to me. Again, the iconic elements - seemingly motiveless revenge, the narrator also being the murderer, etc. Terrifying that the human imagination can conjure up this sort of image, and perhaps the most disturbing bit is how the...more
Jamie
Read this for class. At first, it was difficult to understand what exactly was happening, but after reading it through the 2nd time, and discussing it as a class, it was actually a decent story. There was a ton of irony, which was quite refreshing for a super creepy story... I hate to think about what became of Fortunato after years being trapped in that.... CRYPT. *shivers*

Mr Poe's dark, twisted humor and exquisite prose was also nice to read. I haven't read much classics mainly because I am no...more
Leonard
“A wrong is unredressed when the retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong.” With this cruel vengeance Montresor, with malicious patience and deceptive friendliness, lured Fortunato into the vault and buried him alive in a niche. The reader knows the target to be doomed and watched the drunken man step deeper into the snare.
As usual, Poe was able to portray the criminal mind, with its unrepent...more
Lucy
This story is about Fortunado and Montresser. Fortunado insulted Montresser too many times, and Montresser won't let Fortunado get away with it. So Montresser comes up with an evil plan. And his evil plan starts at the beginning of the carnival. He lures Fortunado in, Fortunado never saw it coming.
I didn't pick this book up, Mr.Gould gave it to me and read it to the class.
I finished this book because I had to for english class.
I would recommend it to people who like this sort of sad and unfortun...more
H.orses
This isn't exactly a book, its just one of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories. I don't know why I liked this so much, maybe it was all the ironic parts, it just makes me laugh even though its all about a murder. Is it just me? Maybe, but its an awesome story that I was really happy to get to do a project on in English. Out of all our short stories this was my most favorite. Just sends a not so friendly reminder not to betray your friends. Or you just might end up walled up in come icky catacombs wi...more
Nellysa
Towards the end of the 18th century, a moral treatment movement developed, that put into practice a more “humane” approach. However, there wasn’t a lot of information or names to know what kind of mental disability people had. The Cask of Amontillado is set between the 18th and 19th century. Many critics believed that Montressor was trying to kill another side of him. Nevertheless, Montresor’s actions made him appear as a psychopath who later became a murderer because of his “veracity” when tell...more
Mari Anne
As vague as it can be, the "insult" that Montresor suffered from the hands of Fortunato triggered the former to plot a revenge against his fellow nobleman. Fortunato, who was not very fortunate as the name suggests, died the honorable way - inebriated, chained to the wall, and walled up alive.

Disclaimer: Of course, this is a Poe story, someone would end up dying from asphyxiation.

One of Poe's works I enjoyed reviewing and re-reading. An eerie tale of revenge, murder, and death.(less)
Madara
First, I bought his Completed works' collection last year, I think. Then a few weeks back I read a series book which had a lots of Poe related stuff in it. Actually more than just related.. He was a kind of foundation of the plot. This week he [this particular horror tale] was my home assignement. So I finally got myself to read him. And I kind of like it. This definitely is not my till-now-favourite, but the feeling I get while reading it and the world Poe creates.. It's worth the time.
M.
It's not my favorite story from Poe, still too good and too dark. A revenge over an insult!! even we didn't know what was the insult he was ready to get rid of his friend over it with a sort of the perfect crime.


It must be understood that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will. I continued, as was my in to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my to smile now was at the thought of his immolation.

Ratonhnhaké:ton
Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask of Amontillado is a book by Edgar Allan Poe. This book talks about the thousand times Fortunato had insulted Montressor and Montressor wants revenge, and gets it.

I picked up this book because I had to do it for a plot summary and graph for school.

I finished this book because I had to for my homework.

I think I would recommend this to nobody because I didn't really like it and I won't recommend books I don't like.
Amy
This is one of my favorite Edgar Allan Poe short stories. The tinkling of the bells on drunken Fortunato's jester cap as revenge is taken upon him is a wonderful touch. Much of Poe's work is dark. But his dark works are even darker when the deeds in them are being done against a backdrop of festivity and merriment. Reading The Cask of Amontillado is like walking into a fun house from which you can't escape, and where depravity rules the day.
Aspen
My favorite Edgar Allen Poe story by far. This enticing yet gruesome tale tell the story of a man's betrayal of his once close friend. His twisted plan to murder this man who did him wrong. In the backdrop of Italy in the eighteenth century the festival that is introduced in the beginning of the story is soon left behind for the dark catacombs under the city. This story is that of final revenge and the lengths one goes through to carry it out.
Shealea Iral - the untitled document
Jun 17, 2012 Shealea Iral - the untitled document rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Someone, anyone and everyone.
Recommended to Shealea Iral by: My junior year English teacher who's just brilliant, really.
Basically, I had to read this for an English project and I really adored it - despite the fact that I'm not much of a horror person. There really isn't much to critique here; however, if I do try to do so, I'll most likely just end up typing up paragraphs of how much I enjoyed reading The Cask of Amontillado. What I can say, though, is: Poe instantly became one of my favorite classic writers, next to Robert Frost, of course.
Leigh (Little Book Star)
Oh wow, this book is so good :) We read it during English class. I understood it very well, and left me with no questions, which is good. It's about getting revenge because the guy was insulted. The narrator's plans were very intelligent, how he kept Amontillado drunk, and how he acted as if he wasn't going to kill Amontillado (I'm sorry I kept saying 'he', i forgot the main character's name lol). Definitely 5 stars.
Toni
I'm sure there was more to the story in Poe's mind but taken at face value, this is a short story in which jealousy over wine tasting skills leads to a horrible deed. I was not a big EAP fan in high school and only put him on my Goodreads Challenge list because of the new show on Fox called The Following. I was dreading reading him, but now that I'm an adult I can appreciate the story and theme and look forward to reading more from Poe.
Jacob
great story of revenge. the narrator is kind of a mean girl though.

"It must be understood that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will. I continued, as was my wont, to smile in his face ..." translates roughly to: "Nice bracelet, where'd you get it?" - "That's the ugliest fucking bracelet I've ever seen."

Narrator had to be a fake bitch to get what he wanted.
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Classic Horror Lo...: The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe *Spoilers* 18 23 Oct 22, 2011 05:55pm  
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The name Poe brings to mind images of murderers and madmen, premature burials, and mysterious women who return from the dead. His works have been in print since 1827 and include such literary classics as “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Raven,” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.” This versatile writer’s oeuvre includes short stories, poetry, a novel, a textbook, a book of scientific theory, and hundr...more
More about Edgar Allan Poe...
The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Writings Complete Stories and Poems The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales Essential Tales and Poems The Raven and Other Poems

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“Yes," I said, "for the love of God!” 22 people liked it
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