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Book Review
Dec. 5th, 2009 09:08 pmThe House of the Seven Gables
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
I read this novel when I was about 10, but I don't really remember it and I'm sure several aspects of it went completely over my head. Inspired by my visit to Salem this summer, which included a tour of the house, I decided to re-read The House of the Seven Gables. I quite liked it - it's shadowy atmosphere and careful, empathetic examinations of character and motive were very engaging. Hawthorne has an unexpected snarky wit that came out at key points in the story and was very effective in illuminating aspects of the characters and plot. I was rather pleasantly surprised to discover that the book also fits the description of a gothic novel: a foreboding house, a dark past, a family curse, a subtle romance, death, murder, retribution, and redemption.
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
I read this novel when I was about 10, but I don't really remember it and I'm sure several aspects of it went completely over my head. Inspired by my visit to Salem this summer, which included a tour of the house, I decided to re-read The House of the Seven Gables. I quite liked it - it's shadowy atmosphere and careful, empathetic examinations of character and motive were very engaging. Hawthorne has an unexpected snarky wit that came out at key points in the story and was very effective in illuminating aspects of the characters and plot. I was rather pleasantly surprised to discover that the book also fits the description of a gothic novel: a foreboding house, a dark past, a family curse, a subtle romance, death, murder, retribution, and redemption.
