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3.2 AVERAGE
3.2 AVERAGE
It was slow at first but I loved the second half of the book. It was really interesting to read an old book that took place in early America.
Gotta love slice of life in spooky house (this took me a long time to finish but it was worth it)
DNF. Bits of horrific historic racism aside...haha, no--let's talk about it, because I see no one else mention it.
CW: Racism, genocide, murder, manifest destiny, Jim Crow, minstrel blackface performers, period-typical sexism/racism/(antisemitism if you squint) and the accompanying language. I'll also pay it safe and include a warning for non-explicit pedophillia/statutory rape/Old-man+Young-woman trope so read further for more details if you need to decide if you want to engage.
There might also be more...but I dunno because I DNF.
This is an old work--obviously it will reflect the attitudes and prejudices of the time, there is no way to escape that; I acknowledge it.
But just as when we choose to continue engaging with other old racist works, like some of Disney's films, the problems must be continually called out--otherwise we continue to obliquely pardon them. We are not so far removed from the problem of racism that it can be safely ignored as a relic of the past. It is still very much a modern problem. Therefore, let me explicitly state that this work is racist. It has it other issues too, but other reviews have covered them, so I won't belabor those points.
Part this book revolves around a deed of land that drives plot by providing a point of contention and something to argue over...A plot of land that native people were screwed out of as part of all the false treaties common to their treatment at the time and as a part of the concept of manifest destiny. This book *distinctly* mentions the land as having been something the native people had signed over & given up (implying a previous ownership) and yet was described as having no visible signs of being previously inhabited. -_-
And let's not get into the blackface minstrelsy cookies. *Sigh*
The book is a slog at times, it's true. I am generally adept at reading historical works while keeping the attitudes and circumstances of the time in mind, but the casual racism really kept jolting me out of it and turning it back into slog status. Honestly, even if you can set aside the "-isms"--it just feels like he's trying out a genre and not altogether succeeding at it, but to be fair--the genre was generally a little ridiculous and what I'd today call melodramatic anyway. If this was modern, I'd tell him to just go for a few more rounds with an editor and maybe get a co-writer, although the bones of it are ok (....for the historical gothic romance genre.) I might try to get back into it for the sheer nonsense of it all, but I'm not strong enough yet. Gotta gird my loins a bit first.
CW: Racism, genocide, murder, manifest destiny, Jim Crow, minstrel blackface performers, period-typical sexism/racism/(antisemitism if you squint) and the accompanying language. I'll also pay it safe and include a warning for non-explicit pedophillia/statutory rape/Old-man+Young-woman trope so read further for more details if you need to decide if you want to engage.
Spoiler
An old man sexually oggles & lusts over a teen/young adult even though he does not actually assault her. The signs of her having reached puberty/sexual maturity are remarked upon by the author and are exciting to the character. The narrative tries to excuse this.There might also be more...but I dunno because I DNF.
This is an old work--obviously it will reflect the attitudes and prejudices of the time, there is no way to escape that; I acknowledge it.
But just as when we choose to continue engaging with other old racist works, like some of Disney's films, the problems must be continually called out--otherwise we continue to obliquely pardon them. We are not so far removed from the problem of racism that it can be safely ignored as a relic of the past. It is still very much a modern problem. Therefore, let me explicitly state that this work is racist. It has it other issues too, but other reviews have covered them, so I won't belabor those points.
Part this book revolves around a deed of land that drives plot by providing a point of contention and something to argue over...A plot of land that native people were screwed out of as part of all the false treaties common to their treatment at the time and as a part of the concept of manifest destiny. This book *distinctly* mentions the land as having been something the native people had signed over & given up (implying a previous ownership) and yet was described as having no visible signs of being previously inhabited. -_-
And let's not get into the blackface minstrelsy cookies. *Sigh*
The book is a slog at times, it's true. I am generally adept at reading historical works while keeping the attitudes and circumstances of the time in mind, but the casual racism really kept jolting me out of it and turning it back into slog status. Honestly, even if you can set aside the "-isms"--it just feels like he's trying out a genre and not altogether succeeding at it, but to be fair--the genre was generally a little ridiculous and what I'd today call melodramatic anyway. If this was modern, I'd tell him to just go for a few more rounds with an editor and maybe get a co-writer, although the bones of it are ok (....for the historical gothic romance genre.) I might try to get back into it for the sheer nonsense of it all, but I'm not strong enough yet. Gotta gird my loins a bit first.
As others have noted, this book is perhaps excessively wordy and takes its time getting to the point and the plot. HOWEVER, I would venture to assert that that doesn’t have to be a bad thing and is likely so disagreeable to us because our society has become so accustomed to instant gratification. Some of the loveliest passages and most profound descriptions would cease to exist had Hawthorne taken a less circuitous route. So have some patience reading this and attempt to lose yourself in the journey rather than looking so single-mindedly toward the resolution and you may enjoy it more.
Hated it. Skimmed the last 100 pages. No plot, too wordy, didn't give a damn about the characters, all-round blech.
It was slow at first and the language rather dense but Hawthorne pulled it together nicely in the end. It was gothic, romantic, and filled with symbolism. It left me wanting to read "The Scarlet Letter."
I listened to this book, and my god did it make me want to be back in high school English class. Hawthorne's prose is just so meaty, thoughtful, and layered (and surprisingly sprightly and tongue-in-cheek) that I wished I had a classroom of type-A teenage girls at my fingertips to unpick it.
It was also a great October read and deceptively spooky (there was truly a whole chunk where the narrator (Hawthorne??) teases a corpse and imagines (or does he??) a spooky procession of ghosts). I particularly enjoyed Hawthorne's insights into and musings on how one generation affects the next, but did find that, occasionally, he could ramble to the extent that I would lose his train of thought (but this also reflects the current mushiness of my own brain). All in all would heartily recommend to those of us who love spooky New England, problematic families, and (shockingly!) happy endings.
It was also a great October read and deceptively spooky (there was truly a whole chunk where the narrator (Hawthorne??) teases a corpse and imagines (or does he??) a spooky procession of ghosts). I particularly enjoyed Hawthorne's insights into and musings on how one generation affects the next, but did find that, occasionally, he could ramble to the extent that I would lose his train of thought (but this also reflects the current mushiness of my own brain). All in all would heartily recommend to those of us who love spooky New England, problematic families, and (shockingly!) happy endings.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I didn't love Scarlet Letter so I didn't come in with high expectations. This book is (slash purports to be) a family history of the (formerly) wealthy Pyncheons who were "cursed" when they stole the land from the family Maude (a "wizard", of the Salem witch trial variety). The book is, theoretically, about reconciliation between these two families. In reality, there is not much of a plot until the last 2-3 chapters when suddenly a lot happens all at once. For the rest of the book, it is very descriptive and qualitative and blah blah blah... 2 pages of describing the chickens, lots of portraits of poor sad ugly Hepzibah and pure innocent Phoebe and blah blah blah. I did find some of the word choices interesting and amusing. Chrissy made the point that this whole scenario of one family rising to wealth and power and the expense of another is exactly Hawthorne's family (who were leaders in the salem witch trials) and so perhaps this was his way of working out his own personal feelings.