Reviews

The Marble Faun by Nathaniel Hawthorne

rachelkbc's review

5.0

The Marble Faun by Nathaniel Hawthorne was a daunting read for my American Romanticism class. The chapters are weighty, long, and descriptive - especially when reading an average of 50+ pages every other day over the course of a week or two. All the same, I greatly enjoyed this novel. I loved the ambiguity of the book - the mysterious concerning Miriam's past as well as being introduced to the alluring Italian Donatello, the sculptor Kenyon, and the innocent, angelic Hilda as they journey through Rome as American artists. Filled with drama, and quite the romantic piece that defines the influences of European thought for the American mind.

jessicadmj's review

3.0

Some parts of this book are a hit, and some are a miss. The plot starts to become uninteresting and dragged out by halfway through it, but Hawthorne's descriptions of Italy and the aesthetic arguments between characters are what make the skeleton stand on its feet. This took me awhile to read just because of how dragged out it was.