Customer Reviews

Not Quite Dead

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Edgar Allan Poe was found lying in a ditch, ill and nearly dead, and was taken to a local Baltimore Hospital where he died. Or did he? Gray, in Not Quite Dead, sets out a series of events that bring Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, American politics, and publishing in 1849 into a book that is part historical, part wishful thinking, and surprisingly believable.

The first third of this book was totally engrossing as Gray set up the characters, atmosphere, time period, and political factions. The style and narrative kept me turning pages as fast as I could read them. The middle third of the book was, unfortunately, a chore to read. I kept going because the first chapters had convinced me that I really wanted to know what was going on. Finally, in the last third of the book, everything came together again and found me staying up late to finish because I couldn't wait 'til morning to find out how it all played out.

Thinking about it after finishing the book, I'd have to say that the reason the middle dragged so much for me was I really didn't care all that much for the main character of Dr. William Cheevers, childhood friend of Poe, who was our point of view character throughout most of the mid-section of the book. But none the less, I'm glad I read Not Quite Dead.

Living not that far from Baltimore, and having lived several years in Providence, RI, it was the mention of Poe that caught my interest. Poe's part is relatively minor, but pivotal, to the plot which seems designed not only to tell a story, but also a way to bring the reader into the time period. While history is frequently dull, when presented as a story, a well researched work of fiction (even when it's bordering on alternate history) can really give the reader a feel for the way people lived and their day-to-day activities that makes the past come alive.

This story is so well written and is a unique read....I found I couldn't put it down. The way the author took two real authors, Dickens and Poe (who I admire, by the way) and put them in such a unique situation, made for a fantastic, quick read. I learned so much about a place and time I knew nothing of...I didn't realize that politics and the world in general in the US at that time were so dangerous! If you have any love of Dickens or Poe, this is a unique story (am I overusing the word UNIQUE?!) that you are sure to find intriguing.

Not Quite Dead is a great read. Despite surprising and outrageous turns the complex plot maintains plausibility and produces a conclusion that is satisfying on all fronts. The story is set in mid 19th century America and the bleak and troubled conditions of the period are detailed with great historical accuracy and nuance by 21st century author John MacLachlan Gray. The characters, who include authors Edgar Allan Poe and Charles Dickens, are wonderfully developed and actually very alive, if one dares repeat the suggestion that life and death can be matters of degree. The emotional priorities of Poe are constrasted to Dickens' pragmatism and this difference manifested in their approach to writing becomes an important plot point. Their differences also provoke a delightful level of consciousness about Gray's own project and the famciful mix his mind has imagined. Still, the best parts of the book may well be the little bits, found on every page: the narrator's wonderful sense of humour and acute observations, his wisdom and care for the human condition that make this such a wonderful read.

Downright funny, especially in the beginning. The humor can catch you off guard, but in the end the book approaches its own death weighted down with plot twists.

In 1848 on a cargo ship sailing from Liverpool to the United States, Irish stowaway Finn Devlin steals a package containing worthless papers "David Copperfield, Final Four Numbers, by Charles Dickens." Although the Irishman sees no profit, he plans to visit Dickens's American publisher to see if they might pay him anyway. Angry with his treatment Devilin kills the publisher.

In 1849 in Baltimore, infamous author, journalist and critic Edger Allen Poe collapses and is rushed to a hospital where he insists he has proof of a mob hit. Allegedly dying, he arranges with his childhood friend Dr. William Chivers to fake his death so that he can elude the Irish mob that wants him silent. Charles Dickens begins an America tour by having as a roommate in a dive, the maniacal Poe, who hides from the Irish mob. Soon all the players on this stage will collide in a final chapter worthy of both writers.

Although well written and very insightful into mid nineteenth century Baltimore and Philadelphia, NOT QUITE DEAD loses some speed by rotating perspective from the first person accounts of harassed Chivers and a third person viewpoint of Devilin's crossing and lethal time in the States where he seems more like a character from a Corman movie version of a Poe novel. Poe and Dickens play key roles, but are secondary to the prime duet.

Harriet Klausner