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A review by nickjonesreadsbooks
The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
3.0
When I was in my early teens I remember coming across a copy of the House of the Seven Gables. I think the cover had a gargoyle on it, and the description, involving wizards, musty documents hidden in an old mansion, and dark family secrets hooked me. However, I never read it. Several false starts later, I decided it was high time to satisfy years of curiosity. The over-all story was good and held to the promise on the back cover of that gargoyled cover of long ago. The characters were mostly interesting if fairly one dimensional.
It was quite dry in patches where there were long stretches of description and reflection that didn't hold my attention very well. But come on! the whole book is only 245 pages or so. There were some elements that Hawthorne belabored early on that made me wonder if they were filler or would tie back in at some point--in the end, he tied everything together quite nicely and left me satisfied. I haven't been able to quite explore how this novel related to national guilt, as it describes on the back cover. Alas, since I am no longer in English classes I read more classics and reflect on their symbols less.
Takes patience but it is good.
It was quite dry in patches where there were long stretches of description and reflection that didn't hold my attention very well. But come on! the whole book is only 245 pages or so. There were some elements that Hawthorne belabored early on that made me wonder if they were filler or would tie back in at some point--in the end, he tied everything together quite nicely and left me satisfied. I haven't been able to quite explore how this novel related to national guilt, as it describes on the back cover. Alas, since I am no longer in English classes I read more classics and reflect on their symbols less.
Takes patience but it is good.