The Marble Faun

It seems a little padded with descriptions of Roman architecture and festivals and the like, but the story is a good one, and the mysteries involved kept me reading through the slower parts to the end. All in all, it is very much worth reading. Miriam, a creative painter, Hilda, a talented copyist, and Kenyon, a gifted sculptor, are all Americans. Donatello is a young Italian count who has befriended them all, but is besotted with Miriam. The faun of the title is a sculpture known as the Faun of Praxiteles. Donatello so closely resembles the statue that the friends kiddingly decide they must see Donatello's ears (normally covered by his hair) to see if they are pointed like the faun's. Most of the other mysteries in the story are resolved at the end of the book, but we never do get to see Donatello's ears.

I started the Marble Faun twice: The first time was kind of a slog before my trip to Rome. The instant I got back home drom the trip I started all over again and I felt I was reading a completely different book! It was an absolute joy to tour that wonderful ancient/Christian/Renaissance city with Hawthorne as my guide. After all, Rome hasn't changed THAT much since the mid-19th century, and it's been a tourist attraction forever. Be sure to read this book with the Internet close at hand, or sitting in the public library, or at least a decent pictorial tour book of Rome at hand. (If you google the words `rome art lover' you will find a website that answered most of my questions.) You'll want to see exactly what Hawthorne is talking about. The writing just drips with metaphor and symbolism, ie Corrupt, eroding Europe vs. American Purity. Hawthorne references history, specific artworks, architecture, myth, literature to describe (I wouldn't say flesh out) out his 4 characters--three young American expat artists, and their Italian friend--and the intrigue that manages to take them all over the city and on a trip beyond the walls. I loved Hawthorne's broodings all the things I loved about Rome, in particular a visit to Saint Peter's by an innocent Protestant who has witnessed a murder by her friends. Another highlight: the guilty parties' reaction when, creeped out by something they see in the Capuccine Church, they flee down to that amazing crypt...During his characters' walk through the Forum, Hawthorne ruminates on why the ancient past in Rome seems so much more recent than, say, the Middle Ages do in England. I could go on and on. I did not find the solution to the mystery of the plot at all satisfying, but I forgive Hawthorne this once and have even vowed to re-read the Scarlet Letter, which I didn't enjoy in HS.

This penetrating and provocative novel has the power to create a trance-like state in the reader's mind. Much of the dream quality of the scenes is the result of the setting in historic Rome, the art focused characters, and, especially, the author's poetic genius. Like "The Scarlet Letter" and other Nathaniel Hawthorne works, this story centers upon morality and the value of experience in a person's growth, and here read "SIN" for experience. I read the book in four days, and that is a dash for me. Totally immersed in the story, I frequently found myself marveling at the poetic presentation of universal truths about mankind; some of which had me re-examining hard won personal realizations about morality. It had been years since I read this icon of the American Renaissance; I'll be reading another selection of his soon.

I'm not a big fan of The Scarlet Letter, but The Marble Faun is, in my opinion, the best American novel ever written. Although it can move slowly when Hawthorne describes various architectural sites throughout Rome, the rest of the story is a theodicy of great power and imagination. Hawthorne uses a brilliant combination of mythology, history, and humanity in this piece. A must for anybody who loves Italy. This book has been overlooked for more than three generations now...it's time it was uncovered!

Much faster reading than expected from Hawthorne; this book is very haunting and romantic. Very psychological and tragic--like a mythical phantasmagoria. I was disappointed in the ending (which is why I didn't give it a 10). I really really enjoyed this book--ALSO, for anyone who is familiar with Shelley's La Cenci or the tragedy of Beatrice Cenci, you'll REALLY enjoy this.