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anacarol's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
regina_gz's review against another edition
4.0
Yo sí le doy 4 estrellas porque fue una lectura obligatoria pero me sorprendió. Me gustó mucho ver cómo el narrador se relaciona con los demás personajes y las imágenes que forma alrededor suyo, también por la ambivalencia de los conflictos. El final fue un gran buh y rompió con todo lo que había construido antes :(
sputniksweetheart's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
shelbertcarr's review
5.0
I was really demoralized after having read two Hawthorne novels in a row, but this one slapped. Probably my favorite of his works. Everyone is so bitchy.
rachaelakraft's review against another edition
4.0
That feeling when an author has to kill off (by drowning no less) the feminist character to get the novel published... :/
msand3's review
3.0
2.5 stars. It's hard to understand how a novel that begins so well can take a turn for the dreadful about 2/3 of the way through. Hawthorne presents a light (and often funny) account of several people at a socialist commune (based on Brook Farm) who are clearly unable to put their noble philosophy into practice. They are selfish, lazy, horny, jealous, and materialistic, and it's enjoyable to watch them pretend to be otherwise. The characters are very thinly-veiled sketches of real people, despite Hawthorne's preface claiming the contrary. Indeed, the preface, which reeks of "he doth protest too much" rhetoric, only makes the reader assume that these characters are most definitely based on real people! This includes the narrator, a head-in-the-clouds poet who is obviously a fictionalization of Hawthorne himself.
Despite this promising opening, the novel begins to go off the rails when the protagonist leaves the commune. Events turn darker, but in a way that ends up souring the novel rather than illuminating the lessons learned from the failed attempt at transcendental bliss. The final chapter returns to being funny (but for all the wrong reasons!) as the protagonist laments growing older and extravagantly reveals a "secret" so obvious I could only chuckle that Hawthorne uses it to conclude his novel as a shocking revelatory moment. Had this not been written by Hawthorne, it would have been largely forgotten after publication.
Despite this promising opening, the novel begins to go off the rails when the protagonist leaves the commune. Events turn darker, but in a way that ends up souring the novel rather than illuminating the lessons learned from the failed attempt at transcendental bliss. The final chapter returns to being funny (but for all the wrong reasons!) as the protagonist laments growing older and extravagantly reveals a "secret" so obvious I could only chuckle that Hawthorne uses it to conclude his novel as a shocking revelatory moment. Had this not been written by Hawthorne, it would have been largely forgotten after publication.
anniesauveur's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“I-I myself-was in love-with-“ HOLLINGSWORTH!!!! Just say it already. A truly incredible compelling work, both as a queer character study of Coverdale, but also the complete evisceration of ***** (no spoilers) and how it mirrors the real life Margaret Fuller who was supposedly Hawthorne’s FRIENd. Haunting. Dark. And surprisingly hilarious at times. Who throws bark at cows because they’re angry they don’t recognize him? I love it
nearit's review against another edition
5.0
An American "romance" as viewed so close that you may find yourself, like the narrator, dazzled and overwhelmed by what may be fine details or motes in your eye.
sleeping_while_awake's review
3.0
The Blithedale Romance is the story of Miles Coverdale and his summer living at the commune-like community of Blithedale Farm. They spend their days working on the small farm, hoping to realize the efforts of living simply without the involvement of society. He befriends three important characters, Hollingsworth, Zenobia, and Priscilla, and a love “square” develops. Hollingsworth is the natural leader of the community and greatly devoted to prison and criminal reform; Zenobia is wealthy and beautiful and unapologetically critical; Priscilla is gentle and mysterious. Miles cannot help but become intrigued by them, but he has promised to leave the farm at the end of the summer, as it is only an experiment for him.
The Blithedale Romance seems quite mundane for the first half of the novel. The commune isn’t very exciting and there isn’t any devil-worshiping or satanic rites or some strange mystery occurring. That was difficult to get out of my imaginative mind because of some recent movies I’ve seen and the fact I kept expecting some sort of Nancy Drew plotline with a secret staircase.
Much of the story is dialogue between Miles and other characters, so it is easy to become bored and wonder where Hawthorne is intending everything to go. Remember, the focus is on the romance, not on the farm, which I kept expecting the latter to be of more importance.
Everything exciting happens after Miles leaves the farm when the summer ends. I won’t go into it because of spoilers, but then it becomes a page turner and things are reveled about important characters. The Blithedale Romance essentially is a book that gives you everything at the end, and makes you want to go back and re-read the tedious beginning to see if there was anything you could have picked up on. Although these sorts of stories are always interesting, it is difficult to become invested if the beginning was such a snooze.
The Blithedale Romance seems quite mundane for the first half of the novel. The commune isn’t very exciting and there isn’t any devil-worshiping or satanic rites or some strange mystery occurring. That was difficult to get out of my imaginative mind because of some recent movies I’ve seen and the fact I kept expecting some sort of Nancy Drew plotline with a secret staircase.
Much of the story is dialogue between Miles and other characters, so it is easy to become bored and wonder where Hawthorne is intending everything to go. Remember, the focus is on the romance, not on the farm, which I kept expecting the latter to be of more importance.
Everything exciting happens after Miles leaves the farm when the summer ends. I won’t go into it because of spoilers, but then it becomes a page turner and things are reveled about important characters. The Blithedale Romance essentially is a book that gives you everything at the end, and makes you want to go back and re-read the tedious beginning to see if there was anything you could have picked up on. Although these sorts of stories are always interesting, it is difficult to become invested if the beginning was such a snooze.