I had to read this book in high school. I absolutely loved it. I was surprised that I loved it as much as I did and my goodness if it didn't make me feel quite sophisticated and literary to be able to say I truly loved a Poe classic. lol ( )

"...I shall not die of a cough!"

"True--true."

Indeed, this is Mr. Poe's work. This one is not as gory or disturbing as others and instead has a satirical, perhaps whimsical mood. A swift and sweeping read. ( )

I had to read this story for my English I class, and I believe my teacher hyped this story up too much before we began reading. They said that this story was going to be page-turning and suspenseful. To me, this book was only slightly page-turning and not very suspenseful. Of course, I blame this more on my teacher rather than Edgar Allan Poe. This book was slightly hard to understand, especially towards the end. All in all, I believe that it was just ok. ( )

I recently read this for the first time in decades as a buddy read in advance of a group visit to the Poe Museum in Richmond. I will confess that although it didn't frighten me as much as it did when I was in my teens, I am still in awe of Poe's ability to create atmosphere. And if you happen to be in Richmond, I recommend a visit to the museum. Seeing the artifacts of his life added to my appreciation of what was behind his writing. ( )

I have read this story probably a dozen times and today I realized something I had missed in all those readings--they were young. Montresor and Fortunato were young men when this happened. And that has changed my entire perception of this story, making it even more horrible than it has ever been to me.

One of my favorite Poe stories, I find it so revealing of both men's characters. False pride and hubris drive them both. I marvel at how Poe can not only sketch a story, but also a character, in so few pages. ( )