The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne

*This review contains spoilers.*

It's time for another book review! You should expect a lot of classics from me, since I recently purchased a fairly abundant stack from a place called Half-Price Books, which I absolutely love, because they have such old, careworn copies of things - the Great Expectations I purchased even has someone's handwritten notes in it! I just love stuff like that!Anyway, I'm not reviewing this book for it's literary merit or syntactical elegance, so if you're looking for some kind of SparkNote like thing, go there, not here, this is just what I thought of the book.

Surprise, surprise, it's set in New England and centers around the eponymous House of the Seven Gables and its resident Hepzibah and Clifford Pyncheon, the new addition of Pheobe Pyncheon and the daguerreotypist, Mr. Holgrave. Long story short, the first American Pyncheon accused Mathew Maule of witchcraft, resulting in his death and Pyncheon receiving the land, so Maule cursed the house and the whole Pyncheon family for eternity.

My Thoughts

1. Some people might be put off by the vocabulary of this book, but it's something I love. Once you read lots of older novels, it just comes naturally for you to read and even think (and occasionally speak, to the dismay of my friends) in language like this. I absolutely revel in additions to my vernacular, and I found two wonderful ones: obstreperous and eleemosynary, meaning noisy; difficult to control and relating to charity, respectively. Now, don't you just want to incorporate that into your quotidian conversations?
2. Also, I like the overall premise of the book; I'm very interested in mystical stuff, and the book's window into the mid-19th century perspective on "Mesmerism" was quite fascinating. And, I mean, who doesn't love a good family curse/haunted house?
3. I really felt for Clifford. I wouldn't have spent fifty pages describing his many idiosyncrasies, but this is Hawthorne after all, so I don't know what I expected. Wasted potential is something that always gets me, mainly because I hate how I'm eighteen years old and have no discernible way of achieving my purpose in life. 
4. I absolutely adored Phoebe. She's the kind of person I strive to be, you know? Pleasant, kind, cheerful, that sort of thing. She struck me as very genuine, I suppose. 
5. Clifford's speech to the random old gentleman during his and Hepzibah's train excursion was completely fascinating. He discussed how the entire course of human history was basically an upward spiral; we were nomadic before, so shall we be again. 
6. Phoebe/Holgrave. I loved them, truly. They're no Darcy and Elizabeth or Heathcliff and Cathy, but they're up there. I like that they complete each other: Phoebe soothes Holgrave's oddities, and he awakens Phoebe to a different world. I also swooned when Holgrave realized he had hypnotized Phoebe but chose not to irrevocably complete that action. Their declaration of love scene was precious. It was heartfelt and genuine, and the way that they did it as Judge Pyncheon's body sat in the parlor reminded me of Robin's proposal to Marian in the BBC version of Robin Hood (2006), which was my absolute favorite proposal scene in the history of literature, cinema and television. 

Who Should Read It: 

• Fans of supernatural/paranormal mysteries.
• Fans of mid-19th century American literature
• Fans of Hawthorne, or even if you're indifferent, I suggest you give this one a try. 
• Romance lovers!

Overall Rating: I give this an 8.5/10. At no point did I actually weep or feel my heart swell, and I'm generally fairly emotional while reading, but I certainly believe reading this book to be time well spent. 

The next book I will be reviewing is Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. 

You may be wondering what kind of teenager spends the last summer before college in this manner. This kind is all I can say, though I say it with assurances that I do leave the house and visit friends occasionally. 

Thank you for reading. 

Feel free to comment.