A review by gengelcox
David Swan by Nathaniel Hawthorne

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

The fantasy of the title is that of “what might have been.” A young man on the road to Boston to join his uncle’s firm takes rest in a copse of trees next to a babbling spring and falls asleep, and while he sleeps, three events occur that could have meant a much different future for him. Yet, he sleeps and knows not these dreams. Hawthorne’s purpose is to expose to the reader that such events occur all the time for each and every one of us, and no one can predict what fate might actually occur.