The Oblong Box

Long time ago, when I was a teenager, I was deeply impressed by a a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, who -by the way-, became my favorite writer: The Oblong Box. 

Now that I'm taking The Future of Storytelling course, my first task was to remember this story (the one that impressed me the most) and to talk about it, so here I go... 

Sorry, this text may contain spoilers!

The story talks about a man bording a steamboat where he finds an old friend. This friend is traveling with his wife and two sisters but has reserved 3 rooms. The narrator doesn't understand the dynamics of this group of people: Each day the sisters go to one room and his friend goes to another one, with his wife; but every night the wife goes out to sleep in the third room, leaving her husband crying, alone.

I remember almost everything about this story: The way the narrator is surprised by the ugliness of the wife when it supossed to be a beautiful woman (the hook), the strange behavior of the husband along the trip (the hold), when this tale rapidly becomes a true mistery story, where the narrator, and therefore the reader, jump into several conclusions to finally, be surprised with a poetic ending (the payoff). 

At the end I believe this is a true love story (but maybe not the one you expect), and that's why I got the most impressed with it. So, if you want to read it, please do it, it's a short story, it will take you just 10 minutes, or less: The Oblong box online. 

Epilogue

One of the most amazing talents of Mr. Poe, besides his unique writing style, is his ability to create suspense almost about any topic. Many people believe his tales are about horror (and some of they are), but I think they are more about intelligent suspense. In his literature, you are taken into the journeys he deliberatly wants, to finally, release you in a free-fall for you to be amazed.