The Man Who Was Poe

Written by Avi

Narrated by David Case

A mystery of uncertainties and distrust envelops young Edmund as he desperately searches for his missing mother in the murky streets of Providence, Rhode Island in 1848. His aunt, who went in search of her, is now dead. And now his sister has disappeared! How can he find them when facts are woven into fiction, when people are not who they say they are? Acclaimed author Avi has penned a novel of great intrigue, bringing alive this New England seacoast town in the mid-1800s, haunting the listener with a tale of things which are not what they seem to be. Or are they?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blackstone Audio
• Release date: May 23, 2012
• ISBN: 9781620642559

Avi

Avi's many acclaimed books for young readers include the Newbery Medal-winning Crispin: The Cross of Lead and the Newbery Honor books Nothing But the Truth: A Documentary Novel and The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle as well as The Fighting Ground, Poppy, and The Secret School. He lives in Colorado.           

Reviews for The Man Who Was Poe

[anoceandrowning · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I was more than a little pissed off when I found this book in the children's section of the library. My younger brother was assigned to read this for a book report. He's in 8th grade. Too old, I felt, for the kid's section.Having finished it, I'm not sure where I stand. I don't know where I'd put this book if I were in charge of the library. It does feature a young protagonist in an adventure story, but there is murder, alcoholism, and one of the more complicated characters I've read in recent memory. The story itself was pretty standard children's mystery fare in the same vein as The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew; not very memorable: a kid looks for his missing family, mysterious happenings ensue, roll credits.But Poe made it interesting. Avi chose to follow a loose series of true events as framework for the story. His depiction of Poe is not very flattering. He's a completely hopeless alcoholic who suffers from a consuming obsession with death. Some of his behavior is rather detestable and the reader spends a good deal of the time not liking him. Since, as Avi points out in the "Something About Edgar Allan Poe" section of the book, Poe is the father of the detective story, a lot of depth was added due to the use of his character as a vehicle for mystery solving. His thoughts and actions were reminiscent of a drunken Sherlock Holmes, which only makes sense, as Poe laid the groundwork for later literary sleuths.The story was entertaining and engaging and, while I originally thought time might be better spent elsewhere, a decent read for an eight grade book report.