The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket

 The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe

This book is on so many "must read" lists that I felt almost obligated to read it. I'm not familiar with much of Edgar Allan Poe's writing, but I did like The Fall of the House of Usher and his poems Annabel Lee and The Raven. I knew this one, too, would be dark but looked forward to some excellent writing.

It started out as a sea-faring adventure that became a sea-faring disaster and finally a sea-faring horror story. Every time I thought the situation couldn't get worse, it did, and then it got worse than that. When they drew straws to see which of them to kill and eat I really wished they'd just jump overboard and let themselves be swept away by the tides. Wouldn't that have been easier?

I'm sure it's an important piece of literature - people more astute than I have found find much to admire in it - but I did not enjoy it. At all. Even with the excellent writing.