<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: IT STUNK!
Review: I had to read this book for a college class on American Women writers, and found it especially intruiging. Sedgewick speaks with a literary voice that needs to be heard. You get so caught up in the story that you almost miss out on the intentions that the author has set out to convey through her story. The reader is captivated by the unfettered spirit of Magawisca, and feels remorse for Mrs.Fletcher and the hardships she must endure. While Hope becomes the main focus near the middle of the book, you find yourself rooting for other characters as well. Sedgewicks writing style is fresh, and you truly never know what to expect. She takes an old story and brings it to life with her own little twists and turns. You'll become absorbed, and although it is a rather long novel, you'll never want to put it down.
Rating: 
Summary: a wonderful glimpse in the past of our country
Review: Sedgewick wrote this book almost 200 years ago. It was hard to read this book without comparing just about everything.
I compared her vocabulary, her descriptions of indians vs the british, the descriptions of appropriate behavior, the mores of the puritans.
Particularly delightful was the way she portrayed Native Americans speaking in old english "thither he went" "thy hands"
I have read other books from this era, and normally they have a terrible ending, so we can all mourn the (dead) heroine.
This book had some skillful twists and turns. Surely as some of our less sophisticated readers have remarked, the plot
was rather romantic and maybe even foppish, but consider the era in which it was read. it is a valuable window to the past.
I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good read
Rating:
Summary: a wonderful glimpse in the past of our country
Review: Sedgewick wrote this book almost 200 years ago. It was hard to read this book without comparing just about everything.
I compared her vocabulary, her descriptions of indians vs the british, the descriptions of appropriate behavior, the mores of the puritans.
Particularly delightful was the way she portrayed Native Americans speaking in old english "thither he went" "thy hands"
I have read other books from this era, and normally they have a terrible ending, so we can all mourn the (dead) heroine.
This book had some skillful twists and turns. Surely as some of our less sophisticated readers have remarked, the plot
was rather romantic and maybe even foppish, but consider the era in which it was read. it is a valuable window to the past.
I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good read
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent example of early American literature
Review: The book was required reading for my American Lit Before 1865 class. I had never heard of it or the author before then. I am glad I was introduced to both. The narrative is fast paced and will not lose your interest. Sedgwick used the storyline to comment upon several issues peculiar to this country. It is amazing how many of those issues are still with us nearly 170 years after the book was written and over 350 years after the story's setting.
Rating:
Summary: The worst book written
Review: This is possibly the worst book written all time. Why is it studied? Should we just Fahrenheit-451 this drivel? I think so!
Rating:
Summary: The worst book written
Review: This recently re-discovered novel appears to have garnered attention primarily due to the fact of its female authorship. While exceptional simply because female-authored stories about this time period are few and far between, the story itself leaves much to be desired. All too often, works created by women are touted as great not because they are worthwhile pieces of art, but because they were done by women, whose lack of access to education throughout history has greatly hampered their creative abilities. Thus, when a woman comes along possessing the necessary capabilities for hammering out a narrative, we feel compelled to praise her for it, regardless of whether or not it is fit for human consumption. "Hope Leslie" is notable because it was written by a woman who defied the conventional female stereotypes, not because it contains any ideas, plot, or themes that have never been discussed before.It begins essentially as a narrative about the interaction between Puritan and Native American cultures, but is soon dissolves into an Austen-esque romance, though it lacks Austen's genius and unmistakable narrative voice. While the issues of interaction between disparate cultures still are raised, the primary action of the latter part of the story involves a struggle over marrying off the heroine. She raises some fairly compelling dust by making an Indian maiden and a white boy fall in love early on in the story, but she soon abandons that in the name of convention. Sedgwick appears to borrow the Austen motif of the dashing young suitor with a dark past in Sir Philip Gardiner, and makes three women fall in love with the same man, who wisely (of course) chooses the heroine for his wife. Sedgwick doesn't exactly keep you at the edge of your seat, but then again, she probably didn't intend to. And we'll continue to sing her praises simply because she was a woman with enough intellect to compose a mildly interesting story involving a slightly plucky and free-thinking heroine.
Rating:
Summary: subtexts give women options
Review: Written in the early 19th century and portraying the New England Puritan lives of the late 17th century, Sedgwick creates multiple patterns for what women can be, maneuvering between what is "appropriate" behavior according to men and the church and what is the motivation of the heart. Hope Leslie, the eponymous character, is almost always motivated by her heart rather than the rules of Puritan New England, and this lands her in all kinds of trouble. Still, her heart wins almost everyone despite her breaking of rules. Catherine Maria Sedgwick offended readers from the West when this was published because they felt her representation of Indians, through her female character, was too noble. But for women reading the novel today, almost 200 years later, the inspiration of this book lies in the many female characters, all of which represent some "pattern" or model that individual women may find themselves identifying with. There is not ONE model of womanhood, femaleness, but many. Interestingly, there are two women blown up on a ship near the end of the book. One is given a funeral ceremony (although she was Catholic, not Puritan, masqueraded as a male, and lived with a male lover unmarried); the other woman is never missed by anyone. Reading to find out who and why is worth the ride. Enjoy the book!
<< 1 >>
|
