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khornstein1's review
4.0
A Book About Nothing...I struggled through Hawthorne in the 10th grade; I don't even remember what I read. At the beginning of the summer a friend invited me to spend the day in Salem and visit the House. When I got there, I was surprised to see several humorous quotes from Hawthorne on the walls. Humor? Hawthorne?
Reader, I struggled through the beginning of this book. I was amused by the other reviewers here and my husband who recalled being tortured by Hawthorne's page-long description of a tree...and then in about the middle of the book, I got it: this is a Book about Nothing. Yes, you heard me right. This book employs the same humor that Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David employed: just 150 years earlier.
This is a book with an ensemble cast: Hepzibah (Kramer?), Phoebe (Elaine), Holgrave (Jerry), Clifford (George). And bit parts: the annoying boy who eats gingerbread, the organ-grinder, Uncle Venner!
Pages go by where the characters stand around a window looking at the scene outside. "They just don't make a stagecoach the way they used to." A discussion goes on for pages...nothing happens. And then the need to wrap everything up and plotify it..."Weekend at Bernie's" ensues.
If you read an article in NYMagazine this spring about Seinfeld being the model for all modern TV...no heroes, no "plot" you will see that Hawthorne caught onto this idea in 1851. Brilliant.
Reader, I struggled through the beginning of this book. I was amused by the other reviewers here and my husband who recalled being tortured by Hawthorne's page-long description of a tree...and then in about the middle of the book, I got it: this is a Book about Nothing. Yes, you heard me right. This book employs the same humor that Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David employed: just 150 years earlier.
This is a book with an ensemble cast: Hepzibah (Kramer?), Phoebe (Elaine), Holgrave (Jerry), Clifford (George). And bit parts: the annoying boy who eats gingerbread, the organ-grinder, Uncle Venner!
Pages go by where the characters stand around a window looking at the scene outside. "They just don't make a stagecoach the way they used to." A discussion goes on for pages...nothing happens. And then the need to wrap everything up and plotify it..."Weekend at Bernie's" ensues.
If you read an article in NYMagazine this spring about Seinfeld being the model for all modern TV...no heroes, no "plot" you will see that Hawthorne caught onto this idea in 1851. Brilliant.
burrowsi1's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
mysteryspouse's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
2.5
kellyanne92's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
hp_reading's review against another edition
3.0
Almost one year later! In a tale so specific, I did not forget any of what happened over my long reading, but I may have lost some of the meaning. I am very thankful for the afterward in hashing out some of the symbolic details. Hawthorne, notorious for several symbols, did not skimp with Seven Gables. I believe I enjoyed this book as much as I did because I had the pleasure of visiting Salem & the real life House of the Seven Gables while I was reading it. Putting things, like the house & Hawthorneâs own family history, in a historical context relevant to the book was fun for me.
amberg25's review
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Child death, Death, Grief, and Mental illness
Minor: Racism, Sexism, and Xenophobia
shiroikamui's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25