A review by sistermagpie
The House Of The Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne

3.0

I swear I read this years and years ago but didn't remember it. I'm not sure why, because it's very richly written and definitely made an impression this time. The story's simpler than I would have guessed, with really vibrant characters. There's an old brother and sister for whom life has been a real tragedy, the young cousin from the country who represents pretty much everything fresh and good in the world, and the young man who lives in one of the gables who's got a hint of darkness about him. Oh, and the wicked uncle who convinces the rest of the world he's a great guy.

I was especially touched by the whole opening, where the aged (actually she's only 60) near-sighted spinster opens up a little shop, something she finds so humiliating she can barely handle it. Plus there's a cool theme about peoples' physical appearance not always matching up with their real selves on first glance. The writing is of course a bit old-fashioned but I wound up liking it a lot. Especially a long passage where the author pretends to not know what's going on as an excuse to put a character's lie in context.

Definitely won't forget the book this time!