Twenty Days With Julian and Little Bunny, a Diary

by Nathaniel Hawthorne

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Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Classics, The United States Of America, American, Parenting

98 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1851

About the author

Nathaniel Hawthorne was a 19th century American novelist and short story writer. He is seen as a key figure in the development of American literature for his tales of the nation's colonial history.

Shortly after graduating from Bowdoin College, Hathorne changed his name to Hawthorne. Hawthorne anonymously published his first work, a novel titled Fanshawe, in 1828. In 1837, he published Twice-Told Tales and became engaged to painter and illustrator Sophia Peabody the next year. He worked at a Custom House and joined a Transcendentalist Utopian community, before marrying Peabody in 1842. The couple moved to The Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts, later moving to Salem, the Berkshires, then to The Wayside in Concord. The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850, followed by a succession of other novels. A political appointment took Hawthorne and family to Europe before returning to The Wayside in 1860. Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864, leaving behind his wife and their three children.

Much of Hawthorne's writing centers around New England and many feature moral allegories with a Puritan inspiration. His work is considered part of the Romantic movement and includes novels, short stories, and a biography of his friend, the United States President Franklin Pierce.

Reviews

[Paula Mota · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook: Paul Auster

The old boy is now riding on his rocking-horse, and talking to me as fast as his tongue can go. Mercy on me, was ever man before so bepelted with a child's talk as I am! It is his desire of sympathy that lies at the bottom of the great heap of his babblement. He wants to enrich all his enjoyments by steeping them in the heart of some friend. I do not think him in danger of living so solitary a life as much of mine has been.

No verão de 1851, o escritor Nathaniel Hawthorne passou 20 dias sozinho com o seu filho e o coelhinho de estimação, enquanto a mulher foi de viagem com as duas filhas. Foi um deleite e uma surpresa ver um homem no século XIX a dar banho ao pequeno Julian, a pentear-lhe os caracóis, a resolver acidentes nocturnos e a dar-lhe as refeições, basicamente vegetarianas, pondo de facto a um canto muitos homens do século XXI. Identifiquei-me também bastante com ele na exasperação e cansaço de ter a seu cuidado uma criança infatigável nas perguntas e nas brincadeiras. Encantador!

I have before now experienced that the best way to get a vivid impression and feeling of a landscape is to sit down before it and read, or become otherwise absorbed in thought; for then, when your eyes happen to be attracted to the landscape, you seem to catch Nature at unawares, and see her before she has time to change her aspect. The effect lasts but for a single instant, and passes away almost as soon as you are conscious of it.

[thestorygirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am in love with Nathaniel Hawthorne.

[Elettra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Molto gradevole e divertente questo romanzo breve di Hawthorne che ci offre un ritratto sincero e commovente del suo rapporto con Julian. L’autore si trova a trascorrere tre settimane da solo con il figlio Julian, di cinque anni. Va da sé che per un autore come lui, solitamente introverso e concentrato sulla scrittura, il trovarsi improvvisamente a dover gestire le esigenze e la vivacità di un bambino piccolo, non è semplice. Ma all’iniziale difficoltà di comunicazione subentra il trovare un linguaggio comune e la scoperta della bellezza dei piccoli gesti quotidiani. Julian, con la sua infinita curiosità e la sua fervida immaginazione, invita il padre a riscoprire la meraviglia del mondo e a guardare le cose da una prospettiva diversa. Questo, oltre al ruolo della paternità e dei legami familiari, è il messaggio più bello.

[_nuovocapitolo_ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nell'estate del 1851, rimasto solo con il figlio di cinque anni, Hawthorne si ritrova di fronte a un infaticabile produttore di parole e di domande. Schivo, introverso, non è abituato alle piccole incombenze che accompagnano la vita di un bambino: vestirlo, nutrirlo, distrarlo sempre rispondendo alle sue incessanti domande. Il risultato è un modello, ironico e autoironico, del modo di intendersi di un padre e un figlio, un resoconto di un rapporto dove l'unico adulto che appare è Herman Melville che fa visita all'amico per parlare del possibile e dell'impossibile. Come osserva Paul Auster nel suo saggio introduttivo, Hawthorne è riuscito a compiere quel che ogni genitore sogna: far vivere il proprio figlio per sempre.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely charming. Hawthorne really comes alive in the looser, less fussy sentences of the notebooks. The picture of his five-year-old son here--irritating, vulnerable, delightful--demonstrates he could write real children after all (and therefore something else is going on with Pearl in The Scarlet Letter). Loved the careful descriptions of summer in the Berkshires, NH pining for his wife (did not know he was so uxorious), the Melville cameos, the glimpses into the life of a famous writer in the 19th c (letters from autograph seekers, a stranger at the door who wants to talk books). And maybe above all, the texture of daily life and childhood in that world. Feel free to skip Auster's introduction, which is light on insight and padded with long quotes from the main text--clearly trying to plump the page count enough to justify selling this thing in the first place.

[Chris Dietzel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook, which contained three additional stories. The highlight for me was that the introduction, written by Paul Auster, was also read by him, as was the main story in the collection. Auster is great in general but also has a wonderful voice as a reader. The stories themselves were good--not great or bad but fairly average for the genre.

[Thomas DeWolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

This little book was recommended to me by a literary agent I met at the Writers Digest Conference I attended in New York City in August 2018. Nathaniel Hawthorne is remembered for his classics The Scarlett Letter and The House of the Seven Gables. What a treat to learn of this memoir of three weeks Hawthorne spent caring for his 5-year old son Julian at their home in Western Massachusetts, while his wife Sophia, and daughters Una and Rose, were away visiting relatives near Boston. Whatever work and writing Hawthorne may have imagined continuing in their absence were interrupted by tree-climbing, bed-wetting, flinging stones into the nearby lake. The result is this little-known work that was buried in Hawthorne's American Notebooks until being extracted and published on its own 150 years after the author wrote this 50-page diary. As he noted, "it is impossible to write, read, think, or even to sleep (in the daytime) so constant are his appeals to me in one way or another." Of particular interest to me are their encounters with Herman Melville, a neighbor at the time, and someone to whom I am distantly related. Today, most of us try to capture the memories of childrens' youth through photos snapped on our phones. What a gift that Hawthorne's son lives on through the written word. This brief narrative brought constant smiles to my face, particularly because his experiences mirror my own, and those of anyone who has spent significant time around, raised, or helped to raise young children.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book I had in my choir bag for reading on my Sunday walks when I stopped for a cuppa. It proves that even the scribblings in a notebook of day to day life, if done by a brilliant writer, can be brilliant -- and makes me more determined to burn my journals so that future generations are not subjected to my day-to-day writing dregs.

Nathaniel Hawthorne's writings of his sojourn with his young son, Julian, when Mrs Hawthorne and the two girls were away for a bit. Includes his wonderful observations of his lively son, life in the country, interactions with his neighbor, Herman Melville, and a wonderful intro by Paul Auster.

[LPR · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a surprisingly delightful little morsel. Pinnacle of what 'slice of life' can be in the hands of a talented writer. Warm and affectionate and real. Referring to the five year old as "the old gentleman" was exactly as funny as he clearly found it (extremely funny).

I think my Papa would have liked this book.

[Leka]

Quanto avrei desiderato conoscere Nathaniel.

Essere la quacchera che gli fa visita, nella casa rossa a Lenox -Massachusetts- per esprimergli, in modo garbato, tutto il suo apprezzamento.

[Sherry Shenoda]

Pure comedy gold from one of the grimmest writers of all time.

[Pollo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un diario de casi 20 días de paternidad, bastante sincero y que plasma la rutina de cuidar a un niño, con pocas frases rescatables pues toda la imaginación corre por parte del hijo (solo mostrada en algunas dosis) y lo repetitivo y aburrido del lado del adulto, lo que es bastante aproximado a la realidad. Llevar un diario en sentido literal, es decir, escribiendo toooodos los días aunque no suceda nada digno de destacar, tiene esos bemoles. A los que cuidamos peques nos puede servir como motivación para encontrar la belleza de los días comunes. Lindo prólogo de Paul Auster que incluso comentando este texto no es monótono.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

¡Qué libro tan hermoso!

La introducción es muy acertada y contiene un análisis de los textos como muy sentido y reflexivo (es la mitad del libro y bueno, es Paul Auster). Luego, el diario se hace muy ligero de leer y seguir. Definitivamente Hawthorne era un tipo muy adelantado a su época, sus reflexiones son a la vez reales y en extremo consideradas con la infancia. Precioso diario.

[Tom Hembree · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Mercy on me, was ever man before so be-pelted with a child’s talk as I am! It is his desire of sympathy that lies at the bottom of the great heap of his babblement. He wants to enrich all his enjoyments by steeping them in the heart of some friend. I do not think him in danger of living so solitary a life as much of mine has been.”

[Melanie Magistro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simpatica, dolce e divertente! Una lettura piacevole

[Andrea Greene Myers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, quaint little book. Actually it's a chunk out of Hawthorne's "American Notebooks" I want to buy one day if I can ever find it in its entirety and not abridged. Cute little kid. Hard to believe he ended up in jail. (Google "Julian Hawthorne.") Baby Rose ended up being a nun and they're trying to make her a saint. Interesting family. Wife Sophia is one of the Peabody sisters from Salem, MA. Hawthorne is one of the Concord authors I study. Though I'm interested mainly in the Transcendentalists, he lived among them and was a friend to them - them being Thoreau, Emerson, and the Alcotts. I've read much of his fiction - long ago - but I don't read much fiction really and am interested in his non-fiction writings. He kept notebooks. Have never seen any journals for sale. Spent some time in Italy, so there are Italian notebooks as well. This little book/notebook excerpt is about 3 weeks he spent with his 5-year-old son Julian while his wife and young daughters were away visiting relatives. It's interesting the meds he gave his son when ill, the scant dinners and suppers they had. Being a well-known author at that time you'd expect better meals than bread and berries lol. He had a woman cooking for him, so... Not sure who planned the meals. The best meal they had was macaroni, but they had it with rice, bread, and squash. Not much variety. Nathaniel truly loved his wife, pined for her to return, and was worried when she was late. Back then there were no phones or e-mails. An interesting glimpse into 19th century family life and what things were like with children then.

[Kathleen Fowler · Rating 5 out of 5]

According to the introduction written by Paul Auster, this brief piece was written between July 28 and August 16 of 1851 when Hawthorne was 47 years old. While his wife went to visit her parents, taking the couple’s two daughters with her, Hawthorne remained at home with 5-year-old son Julian, the cook, and a pet rabbit. By writing this account of what happened in his wife’s absence, Hawthorne “embarked on something that no writer had ever attempted before him: a meticulous, blow-by-blow account of a man taking care of a young child by himself,” as Auster notes. Hawthorne did not write the piece for publication, but for the eyes of his wife alone. It eventually appeared in Hawthorne’s seven volume American Notebooks.

This is Hawthorne’s most personal piece of writing, in which he captures the essence of the father/son relationship in its early years. Hawthorne hides none of his irritation with this “frisky little monster” and his endless chatter and questions, his constant demands for attention. He does not sugarcoat the drudgery of dealing with wet beds, stomachaches, and outbreaks of willful opposition to parental authority, but he captures the joy and spontaneity of their time together, too. As Auster says, “He managed to accomplish what every parent dreams of doing: to keep his child alive forever.” Reading this book gave me a glimpse of Hawthorne the man that none of his other writing ever did.

[Maureen Grigsby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather delightful diary excerpt from Nathaniel Hawthorne about 20 days his wife and daughters spent away, leaving Papa in charge of 5 year old Julian. Papa’s descriptions of his days spent with a high energy young boy who never stops talking is totally relate able. Young Julian also misses his mother, wets the bed, gets sick, and never ever stops asking questions. We’ve all been there, so I found it to be very amusing.

[Rammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Absolutely adorable. Hawthorne is "stuck" taking care of his eldest child, Julian, while his wife and other two children go on a trip. Referring to Julian as "the old gentleman," they eat together, fetch milk together, and go for long walks. There's also the troublesome bunny, who Hawthorne loves but questions its need in their lives.

[Kristina · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book bored me to tears. This was basically a journal of a father (Nathaniel Hawthorne) watching his son Julian for 20 days while his wife is gone. It was fun to hear the point of veiw from a dad while being with his young son, but it was boring.

[Missy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a Nathaniel Hawthorne deep cut. It's his journals from three weeks on his own with his five-year-old son Julian in 1851.

I read it this summer while home with my 5-year-old son. His takes on child rearing and parenting, boredom and fun are shockingly fresh.

[Joseph Bergan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute little book to read about being a dad alone with a young boy. Nice intro by Paul Auster that went on a little too long.

[Talia Schonberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twenty Days with Julian and Little Bunny by Papa - Nathaniel Hawthorne
תרגום: יורם נסלבסקי
הוצאת תשע נשמות 116, 2023, 89 עמודים מודפסים

"... ירדנו אל האגם. בדרכנו אסרנו מלחמה על הדרדרים, שהופיעו לעינינו בדמות הידרות ודרקונים מרובי ראשים, ועל בוצינים גבוהים שהתחזו לענקים. אחד האחרונים גילה התנגדות כזאת, שמקלי נשבר במפגש עימו..." עמ' 16

"באני כבר התרגל אלינו, מדלג לעומתנו בהיכנסנו לחדר ומזדקף על רגליו האחוריות לראות אם יש לנו משהו בשבילו... הבאתי לו מעט שיבולת שועל ירוקה משדהו של מר טאפאן. אך נראה שהוא מבכר את נעליו של ג'וליאן על פני כל המאכלים, ומתמסר לטעימה מהן כל אימת שנקרית לו הזדמנות לכך." עמ' 21

הספר הזה מתאר שגרה, לכאורה - אין משעמם מזה, אבל כמה היינו רוצים שגרה כזאת. זו לא שגרה שיכולה להתקיים כאן ועכשיו. עשרים הימים שעליהם אנחנו קוראים פה קרו ב 28 ביולי 1851 כשאשתו של הסופר, סופיה (פיבי), ובנותיו אונה ורוז יצאו מביתם במערב מסצ'וסטס כדי לבקר קרובי משפחה ליד בוסטון. הות'ורן נשאר בבית עם ג'וליאן בן החמש ועם באני, ארנב המחמד שלהם (או כמו שנדבי קרא לזה חיית נחמד).

אז לכאורה יש כאן 20 ימים שלא קורה בהם שום דבר מיוחד. השניים מתעוררים תמיד ב 6:30 בבוקר, ג'וליאן מושכב לישון ב-7 ונתניאל עולה על משכבו בין 9 ל- 10. בבוקר מסלסלים את שערו של "האדון הצעיר" ויוצאים להביא את החלב. מדי פעם הם הולכים להביא דואר, ואם אין כזה - שבים מאוחר יותר לאסוף אותו. לפעמים פוגשים מישהו (למשל את הסופר הרמן מלוויל,) לפעמים מישהו דופק בדלת, שזו הפתעה מיוחדת. אנחנו מדוּּוָחים על מזג האוויר וגם על מה שאכל כל אחד מהם במהלך היום.
כאלה דברים הוא מספר לנו, ועושה את זה כך שאנחנו לא רוצים לעזוב אותם שם בלעדינו.
מזג האוויר מכתיב את סדר היום. יש אגם ליד הבית, וגם יער, ושכנים מעניינים יותר או פחות. יש את הגעגועים לפיבי והבנות, ויש את האיש הקטן, הגמדון, שהוא פעלתן בעל אנרגיה אינסופית שממטיר שאלות על ראשך ללא הרף. "כעת הבחור הצעיר רוכב על סוס הנדנדה ומדבר אליי מהר ככל שמתירה לו לשונו. רחמים עלי, האם עמד עוד אדם במטח דיבור ילדים כמו זה שניחת עליי! " עמ' 72

אז אתה לא מציץ בטלפון כל רגע. מתעדכנים בחדשות פעם בשבוע בדוכן העיתונים, או דרך מכתבים שמגיעים בדואר. התרבות באה ממה שקורה ליד האגם או בשדה, ממזג האוויר, מִסְפרים ומשיחות עומק עם הסופרים והמשוררים שגרים שם.
מה רע?
https://did.li/QUpOf

[Jessie Turpin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a delightful book, small, but capturing perfectly the 20 days Nathaniel Hawthorne spent caring for his 5-year old son, Julian, while his wife and daughters were away. It was not meant to be published, and Hawthorne wrote this little diary for some purpose, though probably for the benefit of his wife, Sophia, on her return. After Hawthorne's death, Sophia refused to publish these pages of her husband's notebooks because she believed he "would never have wished such an intimate domestic history to be made public."
The way Hawthorne writes of his and Julian's activities is both humorous and beautiful; he has a delightful way of telling of their adventures in a simple but clever way. As a parent myself, I could relate to many of his observations and annoyances, especially this one: "It is impossible to write, read, think, or even to sleep [in the daytime] so constant are his appeals to me in one way or another; still he is such a genial and good-humored little man that there is certainly an enjoyment intermixed with all the annoyance."
Also, "Either I have less patience to-day than ordinary, or the little man makes larger demands upon it; but it really does seem as if he had baited me with more questions, references, observations, than mortal father ought to be expected to endure."

I also appreciate the fact that Herman Melville is mentioned in these pages, and is a part of their adventures on occasion.

The introduction by Paul Auster is also notable, and is just as interesting as the writings of Hawthorne this little book contains. He adds background information on persons and events which is helpful to put some of the things Hawthorne mentions in context.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely little book which is essentially an excerpt from Hawthorne's eight volume AMERICAN NOTES. Hawthorne, a native of Salem, MA, lived briefly in western Massachusetts with his wife and three children. Shortly after the birth of her third baby, Mrs. Hawthorne set out with her two daughters for three weeks to visit her mother near Boston, leaving Nathanial to take care of his 5 year old son Julian by himself. Nathaniel, that introverted, somber, often infuriated genius of American literature, had a son with a completely different personality than his own. Julian was a happy chatterbox, filled with curiosity, endless questions, and constantly in motion. There were daily early morning trips to get the milk supply, walks to the nearby lake, hiking trips through the thickets, and friendly visits at the post office and with the likes of a young Herman Melville. There were occasional tears and stomach aches. Hawthorne observed his son's behavior carefully, loved him dearly, admitted their differences, and said after just one day alone with him that "This may be too much of a good thing". I don't think it was. It was surprising and heartfelt to read the notes of this often solitary man about his adventure in single parenting, where he recorded his frustrations as well as his joys and his love for his family. The two were both anxious to see Sophia return, but their experience together looked to be valuable and well remembered. There is a forty page introduction by Paul Auster which offers valuable insight and context, and Hawthorne himself includes in his Notes Thoreau-like descriptions of the early morning weather: the hills, the clouds, the light.

[Suni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mi è venuta un'improvvisa fissa con Hawthorne e prima di buttarmi sulla Lettera scarlatta (che non ho mai letto, che vergogna) ho deciso di passare da questo libriccino autobiografico, uno stralcio delle memorie dell'autore, in cui sono raccontati in forma diaristica i venti giorni dell'estate del 1851 in cui Hawthorne è rimasto a casa a badare al figlioletto Julian, di cinque anni, mentre la moglie con la figlia maggiore e quella appena nata si recava in visita dai parenti a Boston.
Praticamente è una sequela immutata di giornate tutte uguali in cui il nostro si sveglia, osserva il tempo (e ha sempre da ridire), sveglia il figlio, vanno a prendere il latte, fanno un giro in paese a ritirare o spedire la posta, o al lago, o entrambi, raccolgono il ribes (e quanto ribes! probabilmente questo è il libro che detiene il record del mondo di presenza di ribes), pranzano, cenano e vanno a letto tra le sette e le nove.
In mezzo non succede nient'altro. Cioè, nient'altro... a parte ad esempio un paio di visite di Melville (che stimava così tanto Hawthorne che gli ha dedicato Moby Dick).
Però ecco non posso dire che non sia noioso, solo che è anche molto piacevole, perché è scritto con una sincerità insolita. Il bambino è descritto come un vero bambino, non come un piccolo genio o un angelo, ma come un marmocchietto con un intelletto giustamente ancora poco sviluppato, spesso ipereccitato e incapace di tacere, ma anche molto buffo e dolce.

[Natàlia Cerezo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vint dies amb el meu fill Julian i un conillet és un dels llibres més bonics, delicats i tendres que he llegit mai. És un diari escrit per Nathaniel Hawthorne durant els vint dies que la seva dona va estar fora, visitant els seus pares. Hawthorne es queda sol a casa (una casa vermella i petita a Massachussets) amb el seu fill Julian i un conillet que anomenen Peu-dret. Tot i que al principi no les té totes, Hawthorne té cura d’en Julian i escriu la rutina que segueixen durant aquestes tres setmanes perquè la seva dona la pugui llegir quan torni.

És estiu, i pare i fill fan cada dia el mateix; anar a buscar llet, pescar al llac i acostar-se al poble per recollir el correu. El seu dia a dia és tranquil, només destorbat en un parell d’ocasions per visitants (com en Herman Melville, amic íntim de la família) o per tràngols menors (com un mal de panxa). L’estil, a diferència d’altres de les obres de Hawthorne, és molt senzill. Sona bucòlic i nostàlgic i ple d’afecte pel seu fill, un xerraire de categoria a qui no aconsegueix rinxolar bé els cabells.

http://natcerezo.com/vint-dies-fill-j...

[Maria Azpiroz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es un libro muy breve que se lee en un rato. Si bien no tiene un formato epistolar, se le asemeja bastante porque es un diario que lleva Hawthorne durante 20 días que pasa con su hijo de entonces 5 años y su conejito en la casa de Lenox, Massachussetts, con su esposa Sophie como destinataria. El prólogo de Zambra es poco pretencioso y por eso mismo, me ha encantado. Tiene destellos de brillantez y enorme frescura como cuando menciona que el "niño tiene en alta estima su gran sabiduría y se cree incomparablemente más listo y experimentado que su padre", o cuando describe la enorme alegría que siente su hijo a través del juego. Sin embargo, resulta un poco monótono y supongo esto no debería ser una crítica porque la crianza tiene esta cuota de monotonía no confesa la mayor parte de las veces. Sin embargo, en literatura, pienso que el texto se sostiene justamente porque tiene menos de 100 páginas.

[Alex Hulst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hoe bijzonder het is dat een vader in 1850 drie weken alleen op zijn vijfjarige zoontje past, wordt niet duidelijk. De juichende introductie van Paul Auster - bijna net zo lang als de tekst van Hawthorne - gaat vooral over de stijl en het werk van Hawthorne. Uit de tekst van de schrijver lijkt het erop dat het hem hetzelfde afgaat als een vader het nu zou doen. Misschien doet hij het wel beter. Hawthorne is zeer geduldig, ook al wordt hij soms horendol van de alsmaar doorbabbelende Julian. Dagelijks halen vader en zoon verse melk, lopen ze naar het postkantoor, vallen ze de distels onderweg aan en spelen/rusten ze bij het meer.

Een bezoekje van Herman Melville en een reisje met hem naar de Shaker-gemeenschap vormen de twee grote avonturen in de drie weken. Dat Hawthorne volgens Auster pathologisch verlegen zou zijn geweest wordt uit deze tekst niet duidelijk. Ook blijft vaag welke taken de huishoudster/kok nu op zich nam. Maar zelfs zonder deze informatie is het dunne boekje prachtig geschreven, herkenbaar en een mooi afgerond geheel.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely delightful. Julian, the little man, the old gentleman, has much more energy than Papa. And he chatters nonstop, giving Phoebe's (nickname of Sophia Hawthorne) husband Nat plenty to write about in this journal of his brief experience of being a single father. Mrs. Peters doesn't do a lot of visible work, mainly laundry and making bread, it seems.

This slim little treasure book includes a long introduction. I don't recommend that you skip it, though!