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    The Black Cat
    The Black Cat
    The Black Cat
    Audiobook26 minutes

    The Black Cat

    Written by Edgar Allan Poe

    Narrated by Cathy Dobson

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Poe's classic supernatural tale of a black cat which is maltreated by its drunken owner and reaps a macabre form of revenge from beyond the grave.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRed Door Consulting
    Release dateJul 10, 2013
    ISBN9781467669177
    The Black Cat
    Author

    Edgar Allan Poe

    Edgar Allan Poe (1809–49) reigned unrivaled in his mastery of mystery during his lifetime and is now widely held to be a central figure of Romanticism and gothic horror in American literature. Born in Boston, he was orphaned at age three, was expelled from West Point for gambling, and later became a well-regarded literary critic and editor. The Raven, published in 1845, made Poe famous. He died in 1849 under what remain mysterious circumstances and is buried in Baltimore, Maryland.

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    Reviews for The Black Cat

    4/5

    263 ratings14 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Although I can’t stomach Poe’s writing style, I thought this was an interesting short story. It’s heavy on the “telling”, with very little “showing”, but I like the originality of the tale.
    • 2/5
      Pluto---this was the cat's name---was my favorite pet and playmate.

      I read this for the Black Cat Halloween Bingo square.
      This short story is a doozie for animal lovers, especially cat ones. Our leader through this madness states he has an "illness". As you read along, it seems to be a mixture of self-loathing and depression with alcoholism the symptom and pushing the progression of his deterioration.

      I didn't know what to expect and was firmly along with the guy at this quote:

      To those who have cherished an affection for a faithful and salacious dog, I need hardly be at the trouble of explaining the nature or the intensity of the gratification thus derivable.

      Love my doggies. Things, uh, quickly went off the rails though...

      I took from my waistcoat pocket a pen-knife, opened it, grasped the poor beast by the throat, and deliberately cut one of its eyes from the socket!

      *********************

      Have we not a perpetual inclination, in the teeth of our best judgment, to violate that which is Law, merely because we understand it to be such?

      No dude, healthy, in body and mind, people generally do not strongly feel this way. Or if they do, they sign up for boxing classes or eat cookie dough.

      I was not expecting the ending and kind of had a "Well, that escalated quickly." moment.
      Goaded, by the interference, into a rage more than egomaniacal, I withdrew my arm from her grasp and buried the axe in her brain.

      His alcoholism is not strongly thrust to the forefront but it is weaved in to remind and give the reader an easier out for him. What I found the most compelling about this story and why I love reading Poe is directly related to this snippet quote:

      ---hung it because I knew that it loved me, and because I felt it had given me no reason of offense;

      There's a lot to unpack there. It portrays a man struggling with self-hatred, not feeling worthy of love, and striking out violently because he doesn't know how to process his feelings any other way (again, probably aggravated by the inclusion of alcohol). This story is hard to read because of the animal cruelty but it's a great discussion on why and how humans punish themselves.
    • 5/5
      This was always a fitting ending to the tail, in my opinion.
    • 4/5
      This short story was most unexpected. the main character has succumbed to his illness and is thrust into despair and unhappiness only to find relief upon committing murder. His sense of superiority and arrogance are ultimately his downfall. I only wish there were more to the story as I found myself sad that it was over.
    • 2/5
      Pluto...

      I will say this for Mr. Poe, he knows how to piss me off! The story was absolutely vile & despicable & I never want to read anything like it again! The only redeeming part was the ending & for that alone and that only I give it 2 stars especially considering I found an inconsistency...

      In one paragraph it states "The whole house is blazing." "...My entire worldy wealth was swallowed up, and I resigned myself thenceforward to despair." Then on the next page it says he brought his new cat "home" to his wife. So if his house burnt down what home did he go to??

      unless I just missed something in my rush to get through with this fkd-up story.


      Pluto's brother- Shadow : )

      IF YOU TOUCH MY CAT, HE WE WILL COME AFTER YOU!!

      *I read this for my 2016 Halloween Book Bingo: ~Black Cat~ square
    • 3/5
      At it’s most basic, The Black Cat, is about domestic violence and brutal murder. The narrator is fundamentally giving a confession of how he destroys himself, his wife, and his pets and ultimately ends up on the gallows. He is unable to pinpoint why he has gone out of control and in a way this fact is one of the reasons that the story is so interesting.
    • 1/5
      The first time I read an Edgar Allan Poe story, I was a teenager. I haven't read all of his works, but I did read The Telltale Heart, Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Cask of Amontillado, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Raven, and probably others that I don't remember. I enjoyed Poe's stories, but I haven't read anything by him in a while. I chose to read The Black Cat for the Black Cat Square in Halloween Bingo. I did not enjoy this story. Yes, Poe was a masterful storyteller and he was original and creepy. But, this one did not scare me at all. I hated reading about how the narrator treated the cat who adored him. I wanted him to suffer for what he did. I wasn't surprised by the ending, perhaps because I did read this story in my teenage years. There is one thing that did surprise me (although I guess it shouldn't have, given the man's character and that this is a Poe story)... (sorry about the spoiler. I couldn't get it to work properly and my preview wasn't working. I finally just took it out. Hope I didn't spoil the book for anyone...) Bottom line, this story disturbed me (and maybe that is part of what horror stories are supposed to do). I prefer my horror stories to not involve animal abuse. Avoid if you are sensitive to animal cruelty.
    • 4/5
      I think I might have to give this one the Most Unpleasant Narrator of All Time award.

      It's true, animal abusers tend to be psychopaths.

      Here, Poe gives us a disturbing glimpse into the mind of a man who shows no remorse for his deeds and is eager to blame outside factors for his own decisions. The story, published in 1843, still has the ability to shock, even today.
    • 2/5
      Scary in its own right, I didn't enjoy this as much as 'The Tell-Tale Heart.' Not my favorite of Poe's work, but still a fun short read.
    • 4/5
      Crazy story, love the writing in this time period.
    • 4/5
      I know it's a short story, but he's always poetry. Good kitty.
    • 5/5
      Great tale, a great reread. The tale follows the narrator, who was once a gentle soul, as he is driven mad and violent by alcoholism. He begins by torturing his beloved pets, and eventually leads to murder. Creepy and suspenseful.
    • 4/5
      I listened to this free at Lit2go, great little site. This short story is gruesome, but Poe does it so well. And what happens to that poor cat, well be warned it isn’t pretty.
    • 4/5
      This is a horror.I was very surprised at the last seen.But the story is simple.So I can read this book easy.