Saturday, May 2, 2015

"The House of Hawthorne" - Erika Robuck

Hello fellow bibliophiles! Another day, another book as I continue my weekend reading marathon! I said in my previous review, I have a slew of ARC's to get through. The House of Hawthorne by Erika Robuck was provided to me by NetGalley. Thank you! I am always greatly appreciative of your books!

The House of Hawthorne is a beautifully wrote book. From the point of view of Sophia, the reader is transported through the tale of her life from her time in Cuba as a young woman through her courtship with the famous writer Nathaniel Hawthorne and finally through their life together as two artists struggling to stay afloat. It's a beautiful love story full of happiness, heartbreak, and the constant need for each of them to not only work on their own art but also foster the other's needs.  Nathaniel is a writer but struggles to write what he considers "enough" to fully support their family which forces him to take other jobs as necessary and puts the family on a gypsy-vagabond lifestyle, constantly moving and uplifting the roots of their Hawthorne bush. Sophia is a painter but is plagued by severe headaches that leave her drained of all energy when creating. Because of this, she is unable to paint majority of her time or make enough to support the family consistently. Through all their pain and struggles, Sophia and Nathaniel have a love that goes much deeper than the surface; their souls become one with each other.

Robuck does an incredible job writing and expressing the story with great detail that places the reader within the pages. The writing is somewhat difficult at the beginning but once you are immersed and get in her style, it just gets better and better. I really enjoyed this book. It's a side of a writer that we often do not see or know about; their struggles in daily life, their struggles in supporting their families while yet supporting their creative needs, and the constant internal struggles they face within themselves. The overall toll it takes on their lives and the lives around them makes for a fascinating story. Great book. Highly recommend it. Thanks again NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

As always, please share and recommendations, suggestions, or comments! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the book as well! Enjoy your weekend!

Happy reading fools :)

1 comment:

Thanks for commenting! I love hearing feedback and your thoughts on the book!