The Blithedale Romance

I really loved the beginning of this novel. It was written in the first person, different from most of Hawthorne's work. The situation was interesting and complex, and then it just ended. There was so much detail and thought in the first half of the book and then it seems that he just became disinterested and ended it. Not his best, could have been soo much better.

Really interesting, Hawthorne's books are always a good choice.

It's very romantic, or in other words, Hawthorne uses so much description that the plot moves along at a tediously slow pace. The ending is a little odd too. But that's just my opinion.

Hawthorne has written more scandalous things.

Book 64. Interesting, subtly political and refreshingly straight-forward. My 1961 paperback also looks great.

Throughout most of this book, it seemed like Hawthorne had failed to control his unreliable narrator--almost as if Hawthorne himself couldn't keep track of who was saying what for what purpose. The ultra important last chapter helped to resolve most of that concern. I appreciate Hawthorne's attempts at humor and found this an enjoyable, though flawed read.