youya_310023's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
shiprim's review against another edition
4.0
Başarılı alegorik öyküler var içinde; tür olarak farklılıklar gösteriyor çoğu da. Özellikle 'Ateşe Verilen Dünya' isimli öykü hoş, devrim ve devinimlerin önceki yaşantıları mahvedebilme kapasitesine dikkat çekiyor.
"Yazık, ne büyük bir yanılgı! Belki zamanla en gözde çılgınlıklarımız sona erer, ama kıyamete kadar hepimiz çocuk kalırız!"
"Yazık, ne büyük bir yanılgı! Belki zamanla en gözde çılgınlıklarımız sona erer, ama kıyamete kadar hepimiz çocuk kalırız!"
mixedvalence's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
papi's review against another edition
5.0
Another short story that was one of my favorites as a child. I think I first found it in a book of short stories that also included The Selfish Giant. I think I must have read it a couple of dozen times before I left home for good, and probably that many times again during my adulthood. It is a good reminder of qualities that are essential in any right-thinking person - humility, wisdom, service, and so forth.
hollowspine's review
3.0
After a recent conversation with a fellow librarian about reading classic literature I was spurred to return to one of my favorite Gothic authors Nathaniel Hawthorne. I had realized that despite claiming him as a favorite I’ve really only read a couple of his works and thought gee, maybe I should re-evaluate? So I picked up something short just to get a quick taste and gain more knowledge of Hawthorne.
The Great Stone Face is basically a story about this humble guy and how his greatness is apparent only to the Lord. Everyone believes the folklore around this strange formation that resembles a noble face, and that someday, someone with the likeness of that face will appear and ...be noble or something. Men rise and fall in the estimation, at first they seem to be the spitting image of the great stone face, but soon they age and fail and do not live up to the great stone face. Our protagonist waits and watches for that great man to appear and it turns out (big surprise) that it was him the whole time. I was bored by the obviousness of the ‘lesson’ and the moralizing of the story. As an atheist, it was obvious this story was not meant for a faithless non-believer such as I.
My favorite among the stories was the Ambitious Guest, which was about a group of people taking shelter in a warm home, sharing stories and the warm glow of the fire, while a snowstorm rages outside. One guest dreams of leaving a legacy so that his name would never be forgotten. However, when an avalanche threatens the home the family and their guest all seek shelter in a safe place, but are swept away by the snow instead, their bodies never to be recovered. Later others discover the cozy house and wonder about the fate of the family. They also wonder if another person was lost in the slide as they take note of the seating arrangements and table settings left behind, but none have any idea about the mysterious guest whose name is lost to history.
The final story about the Great Carbuncle was very similar to the great stone face. Those with desires surrounding worldly goods are to be punished whereas those who are true of heart and faith will not face a terrible fate worse than death. I found it funny that the only reward for being ‘a good person’ was that one wouldn’t have something terrible happen to one, not that one would be happy or anything. Typical Christian message.
So while I found these stories appeal to the type of moral message that reads, “Be Good - Or Else,” I still found the prose beautiful and Hawthorne’s turns of phrase highly entertaining. However, I couldn’t say that I truly enjoyed the plots of these stories. Ah, well. I still love the House of the Seven Gables.
The Great Stone Face is basically a story about this humble guy and how his greatness is apparent only to the Lord. Everyone believes the folklore around this strange formation that resembles a noble face, and that someday, someone with the likeness of that face will appear and ...be noble or something. Men rise and fall in the estimation, at first they seem to be the spitting image of the great stone face, but soon they age and fail and do not live up to the great stone face. Our protagonist waits and watches for that great man to appear and it turns out (big surprise) that it was him the whole time. I was bored by the obviousness of the ‘lesson’ and the moralizing of the story. As an atheist, it was obvious this story was not meant for a faithless non-believer such as I.
My favorite among the stories was the Ambitious Guest, which was about a group of people taking shelter in a warm home, sharing stories and the warm glow of the fire, while a snowstorm rages outside. One guest dreams of leaving a legacy so that his name would never be forgotten. However, when an avalanche threatens the home the family and their guest all seek shelter in a safe place, but are swept away by the snow instead, their bodies never to be recovered. Later others discover the cozy house and wonder about the fate of the family. They also wonder if another person was lost in the slide as they take note of the seating arrangements and table settings left behind, but none have any idea about the mysterious guest whose name is lost to history.
The final story about the Great Carbuncle was very similar to the great stone face. Those with desires surrounding worldly goods are to be punished whereas those who are true of heart and faith will not face a terrible fate worse than death. I found it funny that the only reward for being ‘a good person’ was that one wouldn’t have something terrible happen to one, not that one would be happy or anything. Typical Christian message.
So while I found these stories appeal to the type of moral message that reads, “Be Good - Or Else,” I still found the prose beautiful and Hawthorne’s turns of phrase highly entertaining. However, I couldn’t say that I truly enjoyed the plots of these stories. Ah, well. I still love the House of the Seven Gables.
More...