The Scarlet Letter: The Original 1850 Edition (Nathaniel Hawthorne Classics)

Good plot, character development, themes, etc... which probably accounts for it being part of our 11th grade requirements, but what a difficult read!

While the particular language is a bit antiquated, the writing style is colorfully creative. Just the ways in which Hawthorne conveys the internal conflicts within these characters is enough to cement this book as a classic.

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.