295:(the Snow Honkies' word for whale blubber). Augustus eventually gestures to Jaynes that he wants Little Debbie cakes by showing him an empty wrapper, which leads them back to the campsite and Garth. Jaynes and Garth then plot an escape plan for the enslaved crew as Augustus eats out of a bag of sugar and eventually falls ill and vomits. Jaynes and Garth drag the Snow Honkie back to the mouth of the ice caves, where they secretly plan to meet with the others. After returning, Augustus (who is translated by Pym) drunkenly announces to Jaynes that he has been sold to Sausage Nose, an abusive master who owns both Jeffree and Carlton. Jaynes realizes that he must escape with the crew soon or they will be enslaved forever. He attempts to convince Booker Jaynes to escape with him and Garth, but fails to persuade him as Booker is in an intimate relationship with his mistress, Hunka. Jaynes manages to escape by himself to the mouth of the cave, but sees that both snowmobiles have been destroyed by Pym. Garth and Jaynes tie Pym up and begin to walk away from the ice caves with a ration of seasoned krakt from Booker as their own source of food. Garth unfortunately eats it all and leaves everyone to starve.
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Nathaniel, treating the venture as a honeymoon. But instead of the black inhabitants described by Poe, Jaynes and his friends come across "a prehistoric world of giant white people, or 'Snow
Honkies.’ They also find Pym, who has been frozen in some form of cryostasis for some time. It is not long after this that the Snow Honkies enslave them." Garth is the only one spared from the enslavement, since he trades his Little Debbie snack cakes for freedom but does not have enough to free the rest of the mining crew.
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gardening hoe to the head, courtesy of Garth. To avoid suspicions of
Sausage Nose going missing, Jaynes forces Garth into a robe and smears toothpaste on his face and hands. The Snow Honkies discover that something is amiss and that Garth is not Sausage Nose at all. The Snow Honkies begin to attack the humans when the Biodome's boiler explodes, causing an earthquake to occur, killing all except Jaynes, Garth, and Pym.
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The novel then becomes a number of journal entries about the journey to Tsalal by raft, in which Pym dies. Jaynes covers Pym's face with a black cloth, and they arrive at Tsalal, which is not an island of blackness, as Poe describes, but instead a place of color and most notably of people with brown
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Because the
Biodome uses so much energy, the heat from its machinery is melting the ice caves of the Snow Honkies. Both Pym and Nathaniel arrive with all of the Snow Honkies and attempt to persuade the Karvels into using less energy and relinquishing Jaynes and Garth, as they are property of Sausage
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The quest is led by the protagonist's older cousin
Captain Booker Jaynes, "the world's only civil rights activist turned deep-sea diver", who is planning on mining blocks of Antarctic ice to melt and sell as expensive bottled water. Garth Frierson, Jaynes's childhood best friend with a fondness for
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Chris Jaynes is the only
African-American professor of literature at a liberal Hudson Valley college. Refusing to limit his teaching to the African-American canon and serve on the college diversity committee, he is denied tenure. His obsession with Poe's novel comes to a head when his ancient book
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between Jaynes and his childhood pal." Other members of the expedition include water treatment engineers
Jeffree and Carlton Damon Carter, a gay couple documenting the trip for their "Afro-adventure blog." Angela Latham, a lawyer and Jaynes's "much-pined-for" ex-wife, brings along her new husband
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During the feast, Mrs. Karvel asks Jaynes to bring out more dessert, and
Sausage Nose and a child follow him inside the Biodome. The child dies in a river from the rat poison, and Sausage Nose realizes the trick that is being played on the Snow Honkies. He charges at Jaynes and is killed by a
134:, Edgar Allan Poe's only novel, the book explores racial politics and identity in America, and Antarctica. The novel was written over a period of nine years and has been well received by critics, who have praised its lighthearted and humorous style of social criticism.
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is a swiftly paced satire which "skewers Edgar Allan Poe, race in
America, the snack-food industry, academia, landscape painting and abominable snowmen." She concluded, "A commentary on racial identity, obsessions and literature should not be as funny as
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Nose. Mrs. Karvel invites the Snow
Honkies to a feast, which takes place on the rooftop of the Biodome. The mining crew (except Nathaniel), Jaynes, and Mrs. Karvel cook all of the remaining instant food, and cover the dessert with
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Jaynes and Garth wake up in a saturated paradise and are greeted by Thomas Karvel, the Master of Light, and his wife, Mrs. Karvel. They are given a tour of the
Biodome and are given
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Johnson's website features a list of books by other notable writers inspired by Poe's open-ended novel since its publication in 1838, including
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as a "high-concept adventure" which provides "a memorable take on America's 'racial pathology' and 'the whole ugly story of our world'".
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calling it "loony, disrespectful, and sharp" and "a welcome riff on the surrealistic shudder-fest that is Poe's original." According to
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referring to it as "an acutely humorous, very original story that will delight lovers of literature and fantasy alike" and
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snack cakes, joins the team in the hope of finding landscape painter Thomas Karvel, "Master of Light" (a parody of
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For a number of days, Jaynes is forced to labor for his master Augustus by cleaning his ice cave and kneading
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and also the worst sequel Come for the novelty, stay for the unbridled racism". The narrative of
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The True and Interesting Narrative of Dirk Peters. Coloured Man. As Written by Himself.
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also includes elements from Verne's and Lovecraft's Poe-inspired works.
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517:"Pym by Mat Johnson. Edgar Allan Poe gets dragged down to Antarctica."
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really shouldn't be missed". Maggie Galehouse, book editor of the
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University of Houston College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
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of a home, and the Karvels agree to let them stay only if they
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Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination
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959:Various editors (December 9, 2011).
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263:dealer introduces him to a copy of
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838:Maggie Galehouse (March 6, 2011).
713:Maureen Corrigan (March 2, 2011).
227:The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym
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876:Laura Miller (December 7, 2011).
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857:Joe O'Connell (March 27, 2011).
771:"Looking for Poe in Antarctica."
446:– The best books we read in 2011
121:, published on March 1, 2011. A
787:Rowan Kaiser (March 10, 2011).
769:Adam Mansbach (March 4, 2011).
688:Michael Dirda (March 9, 2011).
1131:Dark Rain: A New Orleans Story
491:Jennifer Kay (March 2, 2011).
178:Dark Rain: A New Orleans Story
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635:Mat Johnson (March 1, 2011).
559:Mat Johnson (March 1, 2011).
454:– 32 of the year's best books
283:is laid out as "a road story/
244:'s 1992 collection of essays
540:Staff (December 15, 2010).
212:At the Mountains of Madness
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878:"The best fiction of 2011"
561:Mat Johnson's Twitter feed
961:"Notable Fiction of 2011"
864:Austin American-Statesman
808:"Whiteness (Book review)"
462:– Notable Fiction of 2011
404:Austin American-Statesman
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1231:Spiegel & Grau books
1201:Novels set in Antarctica
168:Hellblazer: Papa Midnite
1191:African-American novels
1226:Novels by Mat Johnson
641:. Random House, Inc.
355:writer Jennifer Kay,
145:takes its title from
1181:2011 American novels
1158:The Great Negro Plot
1015:with Mat Johnson on
904:"Best books of 2011"
743:Staff (March 2011).
661:Mat Johnson (2011).
438:– Best books of 2011
222:An Antarctic Mystery
16:Novel by Mat Johnson
1186:2011 fantasy novels
966:The Washington Post
694:The Washington Post
612:Mike Emery (2011).
585:on January 27, 2013
459:The Washington Post
376:The Washington Post
373:Michael Dirda, for
252:post-racial society
138:Development history
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985:2012-01-06 at the
883:2012-01-11 at the
775:The New York Times
672:, matjohnson.info.
668:2011-03-09 at the
367:The New York Times
67:Spiegel & Grau
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1211:Lost world novels
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1080:Hunting in Harlem
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909:Houston Chronicle
845:Houston Chronicle
750:Publishers Weekly
648:978-0-8129-8158-2
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435:Houston Chronicle
421:Awards and honors
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1139:Right State
1057:Mat Johnson
992:Vanity Fair
589:January 23,
467:Vanity Fair
217:Jules Verne
182:Right State
119:Mat Johnson
41:Mat Johnson
1175:Categories
1150:Nonfiction
1123:Incognegro
1096:Loving Day
812:Amazon.com
475:References
312:rat poison
173:Incognegro
157:Antarctica
31:Book cover
1055:Works by
890:Salon.com
843:Bookish.
724:Fresh Air
430:(Fiction)
401:, in the
389:, called
330:Reception
316:sprinkles
202:Moby Dick
123:satirical
63:Publisher
983:Archived
881:Archived
817:23 April
666:Archived
579:MTV Geek
501:ABC News
285:bromance
258:Synopsis
176:(2008),
170:(2005),
47:Language
126:fantasy
58:Fiction
50:English
1161:(2007)
1142:(2012)
1134:(2010)
1126:(2008)
1118:(2006)
1099:(2015)
1091:(2011)
1083:(2003)
1075:(2000)
1064:Novels
789:"Pym."
645:
326:skin.
215:, and
37:Author
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