The Scarlet Letter

It was a sad story. Even so, I loved it. This is the first Hawthorne's novel I read. I'm surprised about his ability for making you feel close to the characters and close to the story, and at the same time, you, as a reader, feel the story as an intruder, as a real witness of a tragedy you don't belong to, but you are taking part in. It was beautiful, especially, the depictions of the walks through the wild and unexplored woods of New England. I felt it as an autumnal reading. Very soft, very gentle, very simple and quiet in appearance, and full of violence and injustice on the other hand. A painful love story, but most of all, a story about love and hate, and the very little distance between them. A story about humankind conscience vs sin. A tragedy in all its rule. The final chapter is a masterpiece.

Just love Hawthorne.

One of my favorite classics. I thought this would be a slow read, but I had a hard time putting it down.

cancel culture has always been a thing! surprisingly enjoyable to read. maybe just because i’ve read a little hawthorne before or maybe because i’ve been reading a lot recently, but i didn’t find the style too bad/hard to read!

unfortunately there are some racist descriptions of native americans, though i can’t be surprised due to the time period, and they’re fairly limited

I read this as a sophomore or junior in hs and struggled with it. It thought is wasn’t that bright and reading wasn’t my thing. I believe this book is my 100th book I’ve read this year and I can say, I was very wrong. This book is brutal. It’s dull. Its writing is as of 2024 incredibly challenging to read and comprehend. Many times did I find my mind wandered out of boredom much like when I read this in HS. Why do we make kids read this? I don’t mind the story of adultery, I’m all for books, but this thing is just horrible to impart on kids as it dissuades them from appreciating reading.