PodCastle Miniature 19: Cask of Amontillado

[Heradel]

PodCastle Miniature 19: Cask of Amontillado

By Edgar Allen Poe
Read by Cheyenne Wright

I said to him –”My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met. How remarkably well you are looking to-day. But I have received a pipe of what passes for Amontillado, and I have my doubts.”

“How?” said he. “Amontillado, A pipe? Impossible! And in the middle of the carnival!”

“I have my doubts,” I replied; “and I was silly enough to pay the full Amontillado price without consulting you in the matter. You were not to be found, and I was fearful of losing a bargain.”

“Amontillado!”

“I have my doubts.”

“Amontillado!”

“And I must satisfy them.”

“Amontillado!”

“As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchresi. If any one has a critical turn it is he. He will tell me –”

“Luchresi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry.”

“And yet some fools will have it that his taste is a match for your own.

“Come, let us go.”

“Whither?”

“To your vaults.”

Rated R. Happy Halloween.

[Rachel Swirsky]

Just so people know - today’s outro is brought to you courtesy by a friend doing a last minute favor. I have bronchitis, so while my voice might go well with Halloween, it would probably also be unintelligible. Your regularly scheduled voices will return next week.

[stePH]

For the love of god!

[Heradel]

For the love of god!

I don't think Montresor cared about that, much anyway.

[bolddeceiver]

Can't think of a much better Halloween selection.  What more can be said about Cask?

(interestingly, I happen to have a bottle of cheap amontillado open in my fridge... I almost couldn't bring myself to go get some while listening, for fear I'd go on the pretense of getting a drink, and get walled in my kitchen by some maniac I had unknowingly slighted...

[eytanz]

Oh, wonderful. The fact that it's a brilliant story is a given, so I'll just say that the reading was wonderful.

[stePH]

Can't think of a much better Halloween selection.  What more can be said about Cask?

I don't really get it.  I didn't when I first read the story a couple of decades ago, and I still don't.  Mostly I wonder what slight Fortunato has committed against Montressor to warrant such retribution.  Without that, it's just a story about some guy who walls another guy up in a cellar.

[Heradel]

Can't think of a much better Halloween selection.  What more can be said about Cask?

I don't really get it.  I didn't when I first read the story a couple of decades ago, and I still don't.  Mostly I wonder what slight Fortunato has committed against Montressor to warrant such retribution.  Without that, it's just a story about some guy who walls another guy up in a cellar.

Yes. Yes it is.

[Rachel Swirsky]

Well, amusingly, the story actually seems to have been written by Poe as if it were about him and a rival of his. The rival and he had been fighting, and the rival put a parody of Poe in one of his books, and so Poe wrote this piece with what looks like the intent of, "Douchebag. If I could, I'd wall you up in a cellar."

[Windup]

Well, amusingly, the story actually seems to have been written by Poe as if it were about him and a rival of his. The rival and he had been fighting, and the rival put a parody of Poe in one of his books, and so Poe wrote this piece with what looks like the intent of, "Douchebag. If I could, I'd wall you up in a cellar."

Wow, I really do learn something new every day... 

[wintermute]

Shorter version

[Heradel]

Shorter version

The cartoonist forgot to throw the torch in.

[stePH]

Shorter version

The cartoonist forgot to throw the torch in.

And in Poe's story, Fortunato gave no indication of being aware that he's pissed Montressor off.  Of course, without that, the cartoon isn't funny (just like without that, the story is kind of pointless.)

[MacArthurBug]

It may well be that I've over read this story.  I helped one of my kids do a book report on it.  I am weary of this one- that and perhaps I just don't give a flying frick about wine- so this one never moved me that I can remember. That said- well read at least.  I'm glad October is over-  I want my "normal" fantasy podcastle back!

[hatton]

Shorter version

I skipped this episode - I'm not a horror person and did not feel like willingly submitting myself to it... even if it was the right time of the month.

[DKT]

Wow, that was a great reading.

[ryos]

I didn't much care for this one when I read it in 9th grade. That may have had something to do with the fact that I was in 9th grade.

Still not my favorite thing, but I enjoyed it more the second time around. The fantastic, brilliant reading helped with that.

[birdless]

Wow, I'm a little surprised at the number of negative takes with this Poe story... I've always liked it. I can fully appreciate the fact that I'm probably the weird one here, though. =)

[corydodt]

When I was assigned this in high school, it was one of the few times I didn't outright hate my homework, but I didn't enjoy it either.  This time, the reading made it come alive.  The drunken Fortunato was brilliant.  Loved this the second time over.

I don't think it makes a bit of difference what Fortunato did to Montresor; Poe's got plenty of protagonists who are simply sociopaths with pretensions to justice.  In fact, I think the story works better if you feel sympathy for Fortunato.  It is, after all, a work of horror.

[stePH]

I don't think it makes a bit of difference what Fortunato did to Montresor; Poe's got plenty of protagonists who are simply sociopaths with pretensions to justice. 

That thought had crossed my mind as well.  I guess I'd just like to have known which is the case in this story -- is Fortunato's offense real or imagined?