Sofa Spotlight - Mosses from an Old Manse, Nathaniel Hawthorne

What's it About?

Nathaniel Hawthorne invites you into the study of his house, which is an old manse, to listen to some stories that he wants to tell. The book is made up of these short stories, some of which are better than others. The first chapter of the book is Hawthorne's invitation. He describes the house that he is living in, and he does so with a large amount of detail. If I'm honest, the thought did cross my mind that if I wanted to read descriptions of houses I could just look at rightmove.com. Anyway he ends this description by taking you to the study and asking you to listen to the stories that he is going to tell.

What was Good?

Some of the stories were very good. My favourite was one called The Celestial Railroad. It is a sort of sequel to John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. Set in the time that Hawthorne was living, the way to the Celestial City has been replaced by a train that provides a much pleasanter journey. However, it is operated by some very dubious characters. It isn't a perfect analogy but I think it is a good reflection on the attitude that we can have towards the hard aspects of the Christian life. You should get this book just for that story.

Also the book cover of my edition is one of those old leatherish type covers that look and feel amazing.

And another good thing was that he said nice things about Charles Dickens, albeit in a very weird story that I didn't understand.

What was Bad?

Hawthorne gives his opinion too much. Reading the opening chapter I hated it, but then Hawthorne said some very nice things about his readers and I forgave him for waffling. I read this part of the book aloud and my Dad summed Hawthorne up with, "if he were here I would tell him to get on and say something". Maybe I was just feeling benevolent. Be warned though, some of these stories are just plain odd/weird - or they are genius and I have just missed the point.

Who is it for?

People who like short stories, American literature, and can cope with waffle. And those looking to try something a little bit different.