5.0 out of 5 stars
Haunting, Enthralling Writing, April 11, 2011
This review is from: The Blithedale Romance (The John Harvard Library) (Paperback)
Hawthorne's usual knack for characterization and his unparalleled talent are on full display in The Blithedale Romance. The tale is part mystery, part social critique, and all fully involved in 19th century dark romanticism.
I could picture the characters as well as if I knew them, which is important because this is a character driven novel written from a first person limited perspective (purposefully to occlude the motivations of the other characters). It's a great study in just how well this can be done by an author - but unfortunately if you find the narrator rather dry (which I didn't for the most part) it may hinder your enjoyment of the text.
There are some interesting twists in the plot, especially towards the end, and one stand out character (in my opinion), Zenobia, who truly makes the entire read worthwhile. Think of the most beautiful, strong willed, overly prideful woman you know - that's her in a nutshell. The other characters start out as almost caricatures of themselves, but they develop to some degree by the end of the book.
Although the story is based around the premise of the main characters participating in a socialist, commune style society, there is surprisingly little commentary on the implications of such a society more broadly nor its philosophy. It's really not what the novel is about - it merely serves as a backdrop. Therefore if such philosophies are your interest, you should probably look elsewhere. Also, if you're not a big fan of the paranoid romantic types, then you may want to avoid this work since the narrator is such and the entire story comes through his lens.
This edition has nice typography and is well spaced, but doesn't include any extra analysis other than a helpful introduction.
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