Review: The Fall of the House of Usher

The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**Re-read 11/20**

Just a quick re-read as intermission for Usher's Passing, in the hopes it will help me put some more pieces together!

I really do love this story. It's so atmospheric and gloomy, the tension is stifling and it's so strange and unusual. It really does spurn the imagination, and I think Robert R. McCammon's story is proof of just how far that imagination can take you.

The only reason it doesn't get 5 stars is because, like so many of Poe's tales, I wanted MORE.

**Original review 03/17**

Aside from a forced reading of The Tell-Tale Heart in high school, this is my first experience of Poe's work, and I must say I think I've been missing out! The writing creates such a chilling atmosphere that the story is almost secondary. It's a little twisted and confusing, but envisioning the scenes painted by Poe's words makes the whole sordid tale come to life, with the smaller details filled in by the reader's own imagination. The language is pretty ancient so it's best appreciated by reading slowly, allowing each word to sink in.

A great, creepy short story from one of literature's finest masters.

View all my reviews