The style of 19th century novels can come across as very dense to modern readers probably even more so now than when this was required reading at my High School.
LAWD, I tried to read that, I just ended up skimming everything and I don't remember a single thing, fo srs. I want to try again, but... DDDD: Also I was gonna read this Scarlet Letter book but now you're making me have second thoughts hahaaaa
Skip Scarlet Letter. If you don't remember House of Seven Gables, it's not worth it going through Scarlet Letter. Your time is better spent on more deserving classics.
It depends what your tastes are. Are there certain genres or themes that you like? (I'm a sucker for dystopias, for example) Is there a style that speaks to you? Most importantly, what are your turn-offs? (Ex. Rape, verbose prose, Puritans, bleak endings)
It's easier for me to list my favorite books than to make recommendations for someone; what I treasure might be garbage to someone else. 'Cause I feel guilty reccing a book I adore only for a friend to end up not caring about it or hating it. ^^;;;
As I recall from the last time I read it (and I wasn't required to study it, so I was actually allowed to enjoy it), the main attraction of this book is the rampant slashiness and also the total screwed-up-ness of the characters. Not really something they're going to dwell on in school. I can't remember whether it was Hawthorne who had a massive crush on Melville or vice versa, but either way, readers are not imagining the homoeroticism in either writer.
Rampant slashiness and screwed up characters would be total pluses, except that I was so annoyed and/or apathetic with the entire cast that I couldn't care about their screwed-up-ness, let alone "ship" anyone. I would've been more interested in learning about Hawthorne and Melville's relationship though. :o (I'm not familiar with Melville's writing, since I was never assigned Moby Dick or Billy Budd in school)
You don't need to ship anyone, they do it for you. As I recall, it's one of those cases where two men are rivals in a Very Intense Way, and the woman in the middle is a bit on the shadowy side since the writer is primarily interested in the relationship between the men. Think Othello, for instance. The two blokes in this have a high charged relationship and end up living together, and possibly dying together in some way? It's been years since I read it, but it does make the whole thing much more interesting. I think it's about as subtle as Billy Budd. I'm actually more familiar with the opera of Billy Budd than the short story, incidentally, being a Britten fan. As for Moby Dick, I did make it all the way through that, though I was deeply unimpressed by the way that Melville hooks you in with fun same-sex marriage stuff (seriously, the two men wake up entwined in bed together, contemplating how marriage-like it is) and then subjects you to a very long treatise on whaling. Why on earth it is fed to schoolkids in America as
( ... )
"already I feel that this Hawthorne has dropped germinous seeds into my soul. He expands and deepens down, the more I contemplate him; and further and further, shoots his strong New England roots in the hot soil of my Southern soul."
I did not much care for "The Scarlet Letter." I was very turned off by Hester's adultery, even if her husband was a creep, and that ruined a lot of the book for me.
However, I LOVED "The House of the Seven Gables" and it is one of my favorite books.
I can tolerate Seven Gables much more than Scarlet Letter. I think it's because Seven Gables isn't as bleak and full of despair. Also, all the Puritans are dead and gone. The chapters about the store and the little boy who comes in every thirty minutes wanting gingerbread are my favorites.
weird, The Scarlet Letter was one of the few required-reading books i DID tolerate, lol.
what i also remember: The Red Badge of Courage bored me half to death :P and of the four required books, our teacher told us he would not subject us to Moby Dick because (direct quote) "it is nothing more than a cure for insomnia". LOL
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LAWD, I tried to read that, I just ended up skimming everything and I don't remember a single thing, fo srs. I want to try again, but... DDDD: Also I was gonna read this Scarlet Letter book but now you're making me have second thoughts hahaaaa
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It's easier for me to list my favorite books than to make recommendations for someone; what I treasure might be garbage to someone else. 'Cause I feel guilty reccing a book I adore only for a friend to end up not caring about it or hating it. ^^;;;
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Oh my gosh. This is amazing. ♥
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However, I LOVED "The House of the Seven Gables" and it is one of my favorite books.
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what i also remember: The Red Badge of Courage bored me half to death :P and of the four required books, our teacher told us he would not subject us to Moby Dick because (direct quote) "it is nothing more than a cure for insomnia". LOL
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