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Book Review
Apr. 9th, 2015 11:11 pmThe House of Hawthorne
by Erika Robuck
This novel about the relationship between Sophia and Nathaniel Hawthorne is a very enjoyable read. Told from the perspective of Sophia, it is a warm and heartfelt look at a truly loving and very successful 19th century marriage. At its core The House of Hawthorne is a love story, but it is also an interesting if not very probing look at the tensions between domestic life and creative life, as Sophia is a promising painter and writer in her youth.
While I found the story quite compelling - romance among the New England intellectual middle class of the 19th century is a somewhat different marriage plot than seen in classic novels of the era - I sometimes found it all a little too swoopy. I don't know if these were real nineteenth century attitudes, but both Sophia and Nathaniel are portrayed as occasionally overly mystical and sentimental about their relationship. However, at its best, Robuck's writing was both elegant and emotional.
The best things about The House of Hawthorne was the characters. Robuck beautifully brings the Hawthorne family and their circle to life. Sophia and Nathaniel are particularly well-drawn, which has the added benefit of making their marriage a vital and complex thing, almost like a separate character in and of itself.
by Erika Robuck
This novel about the relationship between Sophia and Nathaniel Hawthorne is a very enjoyable read. Told from the perspective of Sophia, it is a warm and heartfelt look at a truly loving and very successful 19th century marriage. At its core The House of Hawthorne is a love story, but it is also an interesting if not very probing look at the tensions between domestic life and creative life, as Sophia is a promising painter and writer in her youth.
While I found the story quite compelling - romance among the New England intellectual middle class of the 19th century is a somewhat different marriage plot than seen in classic novels of the era - I sometimes found it all a little too swoopy. I don't know if these were real nineteenth century attitudes, but both Sophia and Nathaniel are portrayed as occasionally overly mystical and sentimental about their relationship. However, at its best, Robuck's writing was both elegant and emotional.
The best things about The House of Hawthorne was the characters. Robuck beautifully brings the Hawthorne family and their circle to life. Sophia and Nathaniel are particularly well-drawn, which has the added benefit of making their marriage a vital and complex thing, almost like a separate character in and of itself.
