Cuentos escogidos

by Edgar Allan Poe

Los cuentos de Poe siempre parecen inacabados. Y ello no porque no presenten siempre una sorprendente solución para el enigma que esconden. No hay puntos sueltos en estos cuentos. Llevan tanta literatura dentro, que sentimos una enorme voluntad de, en cada uno de los cuentos de Poe, leer una novela. Una sed que solo existe porque el placer de leer estos cuentos es cualquier cosa menos breve: es arrebatador y perdura como apenas ocurre en las más hermosas de las novelas.

Genres: Classics, Short Stories, Fiction, Horror

146 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2012

About the author

The name Poe brings to mind images of murderers and madmen, premature burials, and mysterious women who return from the dead. His works have been in print since 1827 and include such literary classics as The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, and The Fall of the House of Usher. This versatile writer’s oeuvre includes short stories, poetry, a novel, a textbook, a book of scientific theory, and hundreds of essays and book reviews. He is widely acknowledged as the inventor of the modern detective story and an innovator in the science fiction genre, but he made his living as America’s first great literary critic and theoretician. Poe’s reputation today rests primarily on his tales of terror as well as on his haunting lyric poetry.

Just as the bizarre characters in Poe’s stories have captured the public imagination so too has Poe himself. He is seen as a morbid, mysterious figure lurking in the shadows of moonlit cemeteries or crumbling castles. This is the Poe of legend. But much of what we know about Poe is wrong, the product of a biography written by one of his enemies in an attempt to defame the author’s name.

The real Poe was born to traveling actors in Boston on January 19, 1809. Edgar was the second of three children. His other brother William Henry Leonard Poe would also become a poet before his early death, and Poe’s sister Rosalie Poe would grow up to teach penmanship at a Richmond girls’ school. Within three years of Poe’s birth both of his parents had died, and he was taken in by the wealthy tobacco merchant John Allan and his wife Frances Valentine Allan in Richmond, Virginia while Poe’s siblings went to live with other families. Mr. Allan would rear Poe to be a businessman and a Virginia gentleman, but Poe had dreams of being a writer in emulation of his childhood hero the British poet Lord Byron. Early poetic verses found written in a young Poe’s handwriting on the backs of Allan’s ledger sheets reveal how little interest Poe had in the tobacco business.

For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_al...

Reviews

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prefiro sem dúvida os Contos Fantásticos, mas o estilo de escrita de EAP não desilude nunca.

[Alejandro · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last 3 stories were the best.

[aidan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Going to write this in English because I would have never read these in French if my mother hadn’t thought Poe was French and bought me a copy in French. (The amount of times I was reading this being like I don’t know what the hell half of these words mean…so then I would reread it in English afterward and literally go wow I don’t know half of these words in English either… why say you want to write for a living and then make your writing unintelligible to the general public…) This is one of those cases where it’s unfortunate that he invented the “genre” because pretty much every one of these feels like something that was perfected later. Generally all of these stories feel strangely bloated no matter their length with long, often expositional tangents that don’t have anything really to offer the story. As you get to his later stories they do get better but I wasn’t ever really wowed until the end. Was impressed with the detective stories though which I thought he had copied from Sherlock Holmes but turned out to be the first detective stories ever written, like published before the word “detective” even existed. So that was pretty cool.

Best-of: The Tell-tale Heart

[Andrea :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me compré “Cuentos escogidos” en la libreria Lello de Oporto. Es un libro precioso por fuera y tiene una selección de buenos cuentos. Algunos son más complejos que otros pero en general se siguen bien y son cortos. Mis favoritos son “El pozo y el péndulo” y “Corazón delator”.

[Léa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ça confirme que je n’aime pas les nouvelles mais ça restait intéressant à lire, et en plus il y avait la nouvelle The Tell-Tale Heart que j’avais découvert grâce à un épisode des Simpson voilà tout 🧍‍♀️

[Pedro M Mota · Rating 2 out of 5]

E como são contos é justo fazer esta distinção: 4 ⭐️ para “O Poço e o Pêndulo”, que se destaca perante os outros cinco presentes neste livro.

[Alexia Padrón · Rating 4 out of 5]

chulísimo, descubrimiento del año edgar allan poe!!!

[La biblio de clo · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'avoue, je n'ai jamais lu Allan Poe ! Heureusement, j'ai des supers copains qui m'ont ramené cette magnifique éditions du recueil Contes choisis, de la Livraria Lello ! J'ai adoré découvrir ces nouvelles ainsi que la plume d'Allan Poe, que je trouve assez similaire à celle de Stephen King !

𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐯é 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞
Cette première nouvelle est une histoire fantastique, celle d'un voyageur qui se retrouve sur un navire fantôme et qui, pour raconter ses aventures, va jeter une bouteille à la mer. Je ne vous en dis pas plus, mais si vous avez adoré l'ambiance qui règne sur le Black Pearl dans Pirates des Caraïbes, vous devriez aimer cette nouvelle !

𝐋'𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬
On rencontre dans cette histoire un homme, assis dans un café, qui observe la foule, la décrit. Et au milieu des différentes classes sociales, un homme : notre narrateur se décide alors à le suivre. J'ai plutôt accroché avec cette histoire assez simple mais efficace !

𝐃𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐥𝐚 𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐮𝐞
C'est l'une des nouvelles les plus longues ! Un peu comme Sherlock/Watson, on embarque dans une histoire de meurtre en huit clos aux côtés d'un duo, notre narrateur/Dupin. Le dénouement est surprenant, inattendu et un peu étrange !

𝐋𝐚 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐥é𝐞
On retrouve notre duo précédent dans cette histoire mais, malheureusement, je pense être passée à côté de celle-ci. L'intrigue mise en place est sympa mais l'histoire traîne en longueur. C'est vraiment dommage, parce que la fin est plutôt cocasse !

𝐋𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐞𝐭 𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞
J'avoue être passée complètement à côté... Je n'ai pas du tout accroché à l'histoire de cet homme, jugé coupable d'un crime inconnu par l'Inquisition espagnole de Tolède. L'histoire n'est pas mauvaise, mais je n'ai pas adoré le thème !

𝐋𝐞 𝐜œ𝐮𝐫 𝐫é𝐯é𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐮𝐫
Celle-là, c'est ma favorite. Très courte, mais très intense, avec un dénouement plutôt génial ! Pour faire simple, il s'agit d'un homme qui en assassine un autre et qui reçoit la visite des policiers. Une nouvelle oppressante et vraiment addictive !

[Alla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Manuscript Found In a Bottle 2⭐️
The Man in The Crowd 2⭐️
The Murders in the Rue Morgue 4⭐️
The Purloined Letter 4⭐️
The Pit and the pendulum (2nd reading) 5⭐️
The Tell-Tale Heart (read many times) 5⭐️

[Noemi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una recopilación de cuentos muy bonitos en una edición preciosa ❤️

- Manuscrito hallado en una botella: 5/5
- El hombre de la multitud: 4,75/5
- Los crímenes de la rue Morgue: 4,5/5
- La carta robada: 3/5
- El pozo y el péndulo: 4/5
- El corazón delator: 5/5

[Joseph Sardella]

Fun collection of short macabre and morbid stories, one kind of went over my head but I enjoyed reading them all. I had read a few of Poe’s short stories before so this was a great way to explore more. Plus, this edition is so cool!

[Yiya Paz · Rating 3 out of 5]

No es mi cup of tea creo pero si hubo un par de cuentos que me gustaron mucho, otros se me hicieron un poco difícil de leer

[Katie Feller · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great collection of stories! I didn't love two of them, but the other four were fantastic.

[Paula Dominguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

no es del todo mi estilo pero bastante entretenido

[MistyDay · Rating 3 out of 5]

este librito fue un regalo de Poe no es para mi.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Esta bien, lo único que no me gusta tanto como pensé que me gustaria, no es para mi

[Mariana Soares · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fiquei um pouco desiludida com este livro, com excepção dos últimos dois contos ("O Poço e o Pêndulo" e "O Coração Revelador") que são exatamente aquilo que um fã de literatura gótica (como eu) procura num livro assim. Não acho que Edgar Allan Poe seja um mau escritor, não só por gostar da poesia dele como também dos dois contos de que já falei, mas acho que os outros três contos deste livro foram mal escolhidos

[Dominika Stará · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the stories were cool and I was intrigued and couldnt wait for the end of it just to figure out what really happened. The others were ok, but they did not really dragged me into the story. It was my first Poe and I am sure it was not the last but I will pick more carefully the next time.
PS: I love the edition from the Lello Library in Porto, it has a beautiful hard cover as well as the illustration…it will always be a nice memory from my Portugal travels.

[Yavanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bastante sin más la verdad. Ha habido un par de cuentos que me han gustado, pero tampoco ha sido nada del otro mundo leerlo.

Si quieres algo sencillo que leer para pasar el rato, no muy largo y con historias independientes que leer del tirón y no dejar a medias, es buen libro. Aunque a veces el lenguaje y la narración se pueden hacer algo pesados dada la fecha de publicación.

La edición, eso sí, es preciosa y muy fácil de llevar a cualquier lado por su pequeño tamaño.

[Tom Pernodet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Première fois que je lis Poe et j'ai adoré. L'écriture de Baudelaire est souvent un peu lourde donc à voir avec un autre traducteur mais les histoires sont géniales.
Permet aussi de mieux appréhender la série "The fall of the House of Usher" qui fait partie de mes préférées de 2023 et qui adapte plusieurs nouvelles de Poe.

[♡Aleksandra♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars. It was an interesting experience. I previously read 2 out of 6 short stories from author’s works but in a different language. Would recommend it if you are in macabre or thrilling style of literature.

[Monti Marco · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Deseaba abrir los ojos, pero no osaba hacerlo por temor a mirar las cosas que me rodeaban. No es que me asustase contemplar cosas horribles, sino que sentía pavor ante la posibilidad de que no hubiera nada que ver.”

[☆Sariii☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

general 3.5/5
manuscrito hallado en una botella:3/5
El hombre de la multitud:4/5
El pozo y el pendulo:3/5
El corazón delator:4.5/5
(los crímenes de la calle morgue y la carta robada ya los había leido)

[Paloma BG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poe no es un autor que me guste especialmente, se me hace aburrido y tiene un lenguaje...pomposo. La verdad es que me compré esta edición porque quería un recuerdo de la Librería Lello. Aún así, he disfrutado bastante leyendo Los crímenes de la Rue Morgue, para mí es el mejor de sus cuentos :)

[Jose Raynal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Los cuentos de Edgar Allan Poe en una versión de colección memorable.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lo compré para introducirme en la literatura de Poe, y la verdad es que, aunque no me ha disgustado, esperaba mucho más.

[Luis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prefácio pouco pretensioso, mas muito eloquente. Edição magnífica da Livraria Lello e escolha fantástica dos contos. Recomendo. O encadeamento está fantástico! Dupin no seu melhor🥸!!!

[MerelyABookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dragged a bit in some stories (maybe it's because I'm not used to the language?) but overall really good and interesting.

[Sheila Anguiano · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Irene · Rating 3 out of 5]

El estilo de escritura de Edgar Allan Poe definitivamente no es mi estilo, pero esos relatos estan tan bien, y que aparte te enseñan un poquito en cada relato me encanta