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3.2 AVERAGE
3.2 AVERAGE
Very long review short: I didn’t like this book. At only 158 pages it still took me a full week to read this book and for me that’s AGES. However, this book is my next-to-last book of my 2012 Mount TBR Reading Challenge (24 of 25) and my 14th book for The Classics Club! So at least it wasn’t a total waste. Plus, one quirky thing is they spelled clue ‘clew’ apparently. So strange.
So why, you ask, did I not like this book? First off I fell asleep every time I started to read it. Seriously. I nodded off on the bus, on the subway and even started to nod off during lunch one day, but the big wake-up point (pun intended) was when I started to nod off making dinner one night in a rather uncomfortable kitchen chair and lots of noise around me. So that should REALLY tell you something. However, the worst thing is, is that it’s not a bad book. The story has a lot of potential and the characters were pretty memorable, but the writing was just a bit too detailed or down-trodden or something.
Continue reading on my book blog at geoffwhaley.com.
So why, you ask, did I not like this book? First off I fell asleep every time I started to read it. Seriously. I nodded off on the bus, on the subway and even started to nod off during lunch one day, but the big wake-up point (pun intended) was when I started to nod off making dinner one night in a rather uncomfortable kitchen chair and lots of noise around me. So that should REALLY tell you something. However, the worst thing is, is that it’s not a bad book. The story has a lot of potential and the characters were pretty memorable, but the writing was just a bit too detailed or down-trodden or something.
Continue reading on my book blog at geoffwhaley.com.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
When there is an author disclaimer about how improbable the story will be, you know you’re in for a good time. I didn’t really know what to expect from this one, but it’s so pulpy and gothic, suffused with ancient sins and family curses. Most of the main characters are 50+ in the story, which I don’t normally expect from this kind of thing.
slightly too dense to be a good fairytale, and slightly too blithe to feel really emotionally satisfying in the end, but passes through some good stuff on the way. there’s some gorgeous descriptions of housing and trains and instantly imaginable characters. and i was completely blown away by the Governor Pyncheon chapter. its use of second person, its commitment to it, and the appearances of the ghosts, are so effective in what they do, and so aesthetically and vividly distinct that i thought of films: i was reminded of the sudden, memorable distinctions which a changed in visual language can create (the black and white parts of Dune Part 2, the reality/expectation segment of 500 Days of Summer, the brief court sequence in Dial M For Murder); i can’t think of another book section so striking that it caused me to recourse to visuals like this did (for instance, the story within a story here, which does have a distinct style to it, did not inspire anything like that). so that was great.
I read this book for school. I was really excited to read it and I enjoyed it a lot. The characters are interesting, not like most characters in most classical novels. Phoebe, especially, isn’t the ‘boring, unrelatable angel’ (creds to Chelsea for that line 😉 ) that the majority of classical authors tend to portray their young female characters as.
I felt like the author delayed informing the readers of an important development, even after what happened becomes obvious, so that was kind of annoying. Like, I already know what happened, but you still haven’t said what is so blatantly obvious. And another time, he leaves us guessing what happened to a particular character for the majority of the book. Some people may prefer a long-drawn-out disclosure, but it got frustrating after a hundred pages or so of hearing about something bad happening to this character and not knowing what it was and how it happened.
Overall though, it was entertaining and the writing style was a good mix of dialogue, imagery, and informational chapters (especially considering the genre XD).
I felt like the author delayed informing the readers of an important development, even after what happened becomes obvious, so that was kind of annoying. Like, I already know what happened, but you still haven’t said what is so blatantly obvious. And another time, he leaves us guessing what happened to a particular character for the majority of the book. Some people may prefer a long-drawn-out disclosure, but it got frustrating after a hundred pages or so of hearing about something bad happening to this character and not knowing what it was and how it happened.
Overall though, it was entertaining and the writing style was a good mix of dialogue, imagery, and informational chapters (especially considering the genre XD).
I finally got into this book about halfway through. I would recommend this book only to those who enjoy classic literature and are very patient.
American Lit is not my cup of tea. There were some interesting plot moments and I enjoyed the parallel between the family and the house and how visual it was, but I could barely stay focused reading this. I think I like the Scarlet Letter better but I haven’t touched that since junior year of high school.
The same slow descriptive pace that I remember not particularly being into while reading the Scarlett Letter in high school, but also that same interesting and thought-provoking fascination with how sins of the past can haunt the present and the deep affect that the environment and surrounding personalities can have on your psyche. Great follow up to reading about the Salem witch trials. And I'm a sucker for a good (spoiler alert) happy ending!
I did not care for the writing of this book at all. Despite a mildly intriguing plot all said and done, this book could have really been about half as long (and it was already short!) had a lot of the needlessly tedious descriptions and carrying-ons been reduced.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Didn't hate it, but Hawthorne's writing didn't work for me. It's overwrought and over-extended. And this coming from someone who loves Bleak House and The Baroque Cycle. I'm all for philosophical digressions and observations on the human condition, the state of society, the inner workings of the mind, and so on, but Hawthorne's rambling is neither insightful nor entertaining.
Kinda disappointed by the ending, but otherwise this would have made a fine novella. The characters and situation are not without interest. But if you're slogging through this because of its reputation as one of the great books of American literature, you're going to be disappointed.
Kinda disappointed by the ending, but otherwise this would have made a fine novella. The characters and situation are not without interest. But if you're slogging through this because of its reputation as one of the great books of American literature, you're going to be disappointed.