The Pit and the Pendulum and Other Stories

I hadn't realised quite how long ago this was written - 1842.
This Penguin 60 collection contains 4 short stories from Edgar Allan Poe, and I struggle to say I was overly taken by any of them.

I found the writing overly complex and wordy, and took total concentration on each sentence just to filter to the point being made. All these complaints are explained at least partly by the age of the writing I expect.

Irrespective, the 4 stories are not all the same - the titular story about a prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition (although really it reads more like he has already departed to hell).

The Black Cat a tale about a man pushed to violence by his alcoholism, who attempts ot kill his cat, but is stopped by his wife - who he then kills ‘accidentally'. In the end the cat becomes the reason he is caught by the police.

The Tell-Tale Heart another murder tale, similar to the cat story, where the narrator carries out a perfect crime, but his guilty conscience prevents him from getting way with it. It seems odd to put these two stories together in this selection, given their similarities.

The Premature burial in which the narrator talks of his condition where he falls into a catatonic sleep, and his fears of being buried alive! Furthermore he catalogues examples of when this has happened. And then of course, then there is the narrators experience at the end.

I wasn't particularly taken with these stories, but a Penguin 60 is a small investment in time to rattle through them.

2.5 stars, rounded down as I am feeling harsh towards the wordiness and complexity.