tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post1610987440478525846..comments2024-01-02T15:37:04.858-05:00Comments on Caravana de recuerdos: Young Goodman BrownRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-56403358579020853762013-04-25T22:53:06.024-04:002013-04-25T22:53:06.024-04:00Did I just hear an "ouch!" from the Poe ...Did I just hear an "ouch!" from the Poe corner? Why, yes, I think I did. Hawthorne as "an author of moments, of scenes" makes a lot of sense to me esp. since that one morbid vigil in <em>The House of the Seven Gables</em> is such a standout chapter in a book largely full of non-standout chapters. I really need to reread <em>The Scarlet Letter</em>, though, to see if what I thought was so fantastic in high school still appeals to the more jaded and maybe more critical me.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-72238849287796682742013-04-25T00:52:11.252-04:002013-04-25T00:52:11.252-04:00Poe is among the worst prose writers of any first-...Poe is among the worst prose writers of any first-class literary author, perhaps the worst. Not that he does not have his moments.<br /><br />Hawthorne, in his novels, is also an author of moments, of scenes. Sometimes he writes a <i>lot</i> of great scenes (as in <i>The Scarlet Letter</i>), sometimes a few (<i>Blithedale</i>). I just took a look at my favorite scene in <i>Blithedale</i> - my god, is Hawthorne a weird novelist. <i>The Marble Faun</i> may be the weirdest of the weird.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-48232934366270864032013-04-24T22:41:01.331-04:002013-04-24T22:41:01.331-04:00Hawthorne and Poe were so different stylistically ...Hawthorne and Poe were so different stylistically that it's sometimes difficult for me to fathom that they were both contemporaries. I'm up for reading/rereading more of both, though, since it's been a while since they were really on my radar. By the way, Miguel, I'd bet big money that you're going to be terribly disappointed if you bypass <em>The Scarlet Letter</em> for that mediocre blah known as <em>The Blithedale Romance</em>. Don't say I didn't warn you!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-70486467066161881182013-04-24T18:09:18.939-04:002013-04-24T18:09:18.939-04:00I read a big book of his stories a few years ago, ...I read a big book of his stories a few years ago, they were very good, in fact I think he's a better prose writer than Poe.<br /><br />What I really want is read one of his novels one day, but not The Scarlet Letter. I want to try The Marble Faun or The Blithedale Romance, they seem more interesting.LMRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08538873868140070018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-41456413285268724502013-04-24T13:06:09.442-04:002013-04-24T13:06:09.442-04:00I'm way off your trailblazing pace on my perso...I'm way off your trailblazing pace on my personal (i.e. heretofore nonexistent) Hawthorne project these days, Tom, but even so I thought this was a particularly lively example of writing from the guy. In other words, a fun way to shave off 13 of the approximately 5,000 pages separating you and me and those insane LOA Hawthorne tallies you racked up and then blogged about!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-5916460529926692222013-04-24T00:50:47.683-04:002013-04-24T00:50:47.683-04:00I gotta reread it too. I remember the twist, but ...I gotta reread it too. I remember the twist, but not all of those juicy lines!Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-65405254694654515272013-04-23T13:32:37.753-04:002013-04-23T13:32:37.753-04:00Scott, I still haven't started Guimarães Rosa ...Scott, I still haven't started Guimarães Rosa yet but hope to change all that this weekend. Until then, better the devil you know than the devil you don't!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-32833934619277287312013-04-23T13:29:23.365-04:002013-04-23T13:29:23.365-04:00Brian, it's a quick read but packs a mighty pu...Brian, it's a quick read but packs a mighty punch for such a minimal time investment--hope you get a chance to get to it soon. I need to get to that Hogg novel myself; it's been gathering dust on my bookshelves for a few years now even though almost everybody I know who's read it just <em>raves</em> about it. Not enough time, not enough time! :DRichardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-23896342517234466042013-04-23T13:25:26.706-04:002013-04-23T13:25:26.706-04:00Séamus, I've reread "Young Goodman Brown&...Séamus, I've reread "Young Goodman Brown" two or three times in the last couple of years alone--always pleased to see how well it holds up! Also, the awesome thing about Hawthorne's plot twist at the end is that it isn't just some shallow ploy for attention: it's essential to the ultimate meaning of the story although you might not realize the significance of what the story's really all about up until the very end. Impressive!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-29794664823731903632013-04-23T09:56:30.193-04:002013-04-23T09:56:30.193-04:00Richard - I see you're laying some good ground...Richard - I see you're laying some good groundwork for approaching <i>The Devil to Pay in the Backlands</i>!seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-71246751135707323512013-04-23T07:04:36.690-04:002013-04-23T07:04:36.690-04:00i have not read this but I really want to. Sounds ...i have not read this but I really want to. Sounds a little reminiscent of James Hogg's Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner. I read that earlier this year and I found it very engaging.Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-52295103432842919412013-04-23T03:57:47.926-04:002013-04-23T03:57:47.926-04:00You have me scuttling off to reread this. I don...You have me scuttling off to reread this. I don't think I've read it in 30 years and have forgotten the twist although I remember I loved it and which short story collection it is in.Séamus Dugganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00574186409184247059noreply@blogger.com