Tony's review
The Poe Shadow: A Novel
by Matthew Pearl
Tony's review
The Poe Shadow: A Novel by Matthew Pearl
Tony's review
rating:
I'm not much of a critic, but..(ha!)
"Poe Shadow" is the follow-up from the Dante Club's Matthew Pearl, who returned to his de rigeur modus operandi (How you like that, French and Latin! Somebody is showing off...)
The story, without spoiling too much, is a young Baltimorean lawyer's self-obsessed inquiry into the mysterious death of Edgar Allan Poe, who was found mortally ill - ostensibly from intoxication - in a pre-Civil War Baltimore tavern.
Pearl nails the scenery and the...cinematography?...of the antebellum city. You walk the cobblestone streets, peer through the foggy dusk illuminated by gaslamps, and hear the clops of the hired wagons and hoofs of the pigs eating garbage.
His narrative in Paris is equally strong. The writing is first rate...which was a known commodity, given the power of the Dante Club.
I have quibbles - character development was slightly weak, and the ending underwhelming. But this was still a charming whodunit, complete with some n...more
"Poe Shadow" is the follow-up from the Dante Club's Matthew Pearl, who returned to his de rigeur modus operandi (How you like that, French and Latin! Somebody is showing off...)
The story, without spoiling too much, is a young Baltimorean lawyer's self-obsessed inquiry into the mysterious death of Edgar Allan Poe, who was found mortally ill - ostensibly from intoxication - in a pre-Civil War Baltimore tavern.
Pearl nails the scenery and the...cinematography?...of the antebellum city. You walk the cobblestone streets, peer through the foggy dusk illuminated by gaslamps, and hear the clops of the hired wagons and hoofs of the pigs eating garbage.
His narrative in Paris is equally strong. The writing is first rate...which was a known commodity, given the power of the Dante Club.
I have quibbles - character development was slightly weak, and the ending underwhelming. But this was still a charming whodunit, complete with some n...more
