Unimpressed.

When I saw we would be reading a novel by Poe I was somewhat excited, as I previously enjoyed reading his other works. This novel, as much as I wish otherwise, was nothing short of a disappointment. It is filled with unnecessary descriptions of the Pym's surroundings, nautical positions, and history of sea voyages to the Antarctic. Throughout my reading of the story, I found myself skimming ahead, trying to find the plot through all of the confusing and long descriptions and background stories. The plot of the story is also weak on its own accord, it seemed to be largely unbelievable and cumbersome. Poe’s style of writing reminds me of one that is influenced by an author who is being paid by the word or by the page. One manner by which I personally judge a work of fiction is if I can picture it easily in my head. Poe did not succeed in doing so because of all the extra information included, which reminded me of a student who adds large amounts of background information that is not necessary to gain a certain number of words or pages while writing a paper. I would go as far as to speculate that the only reason this novel is noteworthy in any way is because of the fame of its author.