tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post8050907273439418662..comments2024-03-27T16:48:21.039-05:00Comments on Wuthering <br>Expectations: Artfully and airily removed from our mundane sphere - Hawthorne's last fantasy novelAmateur Reader (Tom)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-38000501145731367802010-12-08T18:28:46.481-06:002010-12-08T18:28:46.481-06:00I loved the gingerbread kid.
Me too. I read thos...<i>I loved the gingerbread kid.</i><br /><br />Me too. I read those first few chapters, about the little shop, and thought "The whole novel cannot possibly be written like this." And it's not. Hawthorne's novels work, or don't, scene by scene.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-55770444141888771032010-12-08T15:11:26.331-06:002010-12-08T15:11:26.331-06:00I'm pleased on your take on "Seven Gables...I'm pleased on your take on "Seven Gables". When I read it I could not believe that Hawthorne thought it his best but, you are right, there are excellent moments that show his brilliance. I loved the gingerbread kid.Imaninoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-13889362698669845102010-12-08T11:07:50.792-06:002010-12-08T11:07:50.792-06:00The word "fantasy" has been highjacked b...The word "fantasy" has been highjacked by knights-and-wizards romances. I'm trying to reclaim it a bit.<br /><br />I mean, <i>The Scarlet Letter</i> is a fantasy, too. What do solemn realists, combing that novel for insights into the historical Puritans, do with the <i>actual witch</i>? Dismiss her as metaphor? Pretend she's not there? What would I have done, if I had read the novel in high school - I was a solemn realist back then. Kinda narrow.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-32874788380371950452010-12-08T08:07:11.408-06:002010-12-08T08:07:11.408-06:00I'm not a big fantasy person, but the fantasy ...I'm not a big fantasy person, but the fantasy of the "not quite real" sounds right up my alley. (I loved Little, Big.) I like thinking about this work as part of that school. Sounds like an interesting read.Hannahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09543197858284977937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-29702916821293023702010-12-06T21:46:22.927-06:002010-12-06T21:46:22.927-06:00I'm perfectly happy to say that The Marble Fau...I'm perfectly happy to say that <i>The Marble Faun</i> is a failure. As a mystery, it's a failure; as a Jane Austenish romance, it's a failure. As a fantasy novel, as a Hawthorne novel, it's an extraordinary success - I'd rank it second behind the more concentrated <i>Scarlet Letter</i>.<br /><br />One of my mostly unspoken mottos as a reader is "Read the book in front of you." If I'm stubborn about my expectations, I'm stuck with the novel in my head, not the one the author wrote.<br /><br />Thanks for visiting, by the way. Good luck with your comps! <br /><br />You know, I hadn't thought about the difficulty of <i>The Marble Faun</i>. Is it particularly difficult? It's just <i>different</i>. Hawthorne is working on atmosphere, and striking effects of mood and meaning. The unreality of the characters is an essential part of that atmosphere. Rome is solid; the characters are kind of <i>shimmery</i>.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-48714246116539419622010-12-06T20:51:14.418-06:002010-12-06T20:51:14.418-06:00Hmmmmmmm . . . One of the book sets my husband has...Hmmmmmmm . . . One of the book sets my husband has giving me recently is a nice set of Hawthorne, and I have been meaning to dip into it in earnest. But this sounds maybe more challenging than I had in mind. I'll start with something else, I think.Gilion at Rose City Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18080293172467000794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-18454209843705926072010-12-06T17:44:13.305-06:002010-12-06T17:44:13.305-06:00I like your discussion of the "real" and...I like your discussion of the "real" and "unreal." I read "The Marble Faun" two months ago, and it was a challenge for me. My friends and colleagues who had read it described it as bizarre to say the least. I wouldn't go so far as to claim that I think the book is a failure, but it certainly did not meet my expectations. Thinking about the aesthetic descriptions of art and of Rome in the way you lay out helps me to understand the book better. Thanks!Annahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00961332983813359209noreply@blogger.com