The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym

By: Edgar Allan Poe

Narrated by: Jamie Hanes

Edgar Allan Poe's The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym is a realistic yet romantic nautical adventure about a young stowaway on the high seas. One day in 1827, Arthur Gordon Pym escapes his dreary life in New Bedford and hides on the Grampus, where he befriends the captain's son, Augustus. The two boys witness and participate in a dazzling series of adventures, including shipwreck, famine, rescue, and voyages all over the world.

Poe's incredible sense of detail and impeccable accuracy greatly influenced Herman Melville's Moby Dick and countless other novels, but The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym itself is a spirited, exciting, action-packed story that continues to thrill readers to this day.

Public Domain (P)1999 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"One of the finest adventure stories ever written." (W.H. Auden)

Probably the craziest story ever written.

Neautifully written. the language is so visual. The segways are profound. Extremely engaging. Will leave you confused and amazed.

Poe's greatest failure, in all its racist glory.

Thus book is terrible unless you like pre-postmodernism, but this recording is well done, treating the book with seriousness.

Good but...

The melding of fiction and non fiction makes it a bit hard to swallow. The ending seems to clash with the reality Poe strives for. Huge sections go on explaining the inner workings of boats. The story slows to a crawl during the didactic sections. It could be half as long.

Having said that, the last two chapters are some of the best fiction I've ever read. No wonder so many writers based their fiction off this.

A Product of Its Time

Racist and anachronistic, I can't recommend this one. Aside from the obvious shortcomings of the story, it should be noted that this work ends essentially mid narrative. The performance is professional but unremarkable. Fans of Poe-era pulp fiction, will likely enjoy the work as a period piece, but broader audiences could do better elsewhere.

Worst thing I’ve ever read

It was tedious in the extreme. It was (understandably) ridiculous as adventure tales of the era tended to be. But it was also incredibly racist (even considering when it was written). Even for readers who can stomach the outrageous degree of absurdity, the out-of-nowhere ending is simply idiotic. (I have read extensively. I have read a regrettable number of bad books. But this was hands down the very worst.)