The Scarlet Letter (Classic Collection)

Rating:
Summary: One of the better books around.
Review: This was truly an enlightening book and showed that men were jerks even way back then! (obviously I am a girl) Seriously though, I found the book to make compelling reading- the character descriptions were insightful and I did not find it difficult to read at all! This book should be read at least once by everyone.

Rating:
Summary: Terrible book, do not read it.
Review: Hawthorne's dull prose really gets to you after a while. The book is filled with antiquated language, and is basically an account of a Puritan woman who suffers because of her adultery. I was forced to read this book for my English class, and it was a terrible waste of time. Hawthorne hits you in the face with run on sentences that take up the entire page. I do have one good thing to say about this book however, for all you insomniacs out there, read it! It induces sleep in minutes! ZzZzZzZzZzZz.....

Rating:
Summary: DO NOT READ THIS BOOK!!!!
Review: Please, I beg of you, if you have any respect for your own time whatsoever, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK!!! Maybe if a couple of generations completey ignore it, it will cease to be a so-called classic. First of all, it is written in pretty difficult language. That is all fine and good if the book is worth the effort, but this one definitely is not. The author has no knowledge of subtlety and his message is both wrong, I believe, and poorly conveyed. The second star is given only because his use of language is sometimes impressive, but I would sooner read a taudry romance novel than re-read The Scarlet Letter.

Rating:
Summary: great
Review: A moving and biting indictment of hypocrisy that is still relevant today

Rating:
Summary: Without a doubt, the best book I ever read!!!
Review: Either you love it or hate it. As for me, I loved it! Admittedly, I can understand how many people find this antiquated novel difficult to comprehend. The lengthy descriptive narratives can be taxing on our twentieth-century fast-food attention span. However, if this classic work of literature could somehow be miraculously re-written for modern readers in our contemporary vernacular, most readers would then be able to appreciate its captivating and compelling themes, all of which are relevant to our lives today: women's rights, religious bigotry and hypocrisy, vindictiveness against a perceived injustice, and the eternal quest for self-realization. Wow ... just imagine how thought-provoking this novel must have been in the era in which it was written. This makes it all the more outstanding! Truly an undeniable masterpiece!!

Rating:
Summary: The beginning was promising, but it fizzled out.
Review: It's been almost a year since I've read _The Scarlet Letter_, so my memory of it isn't entirely intact (yeah, a year isn't _that_ long, but for my brain, it is :)). All I remember thinking was how disappointed I was from about the middle to the end. The book started out with excellent twists and turns, and I would constantly wonder about what each character would do, and where the book was going to go. Then, Hawthorne started dawdling and blabbing to an unnecessary extent. The book became boring. I was really disappointed, but _The Scarlet Letter_ is a worthwhile read just for the very human qualities of the characters.

Rating:
Summary: Don't read this book. I repeat don't read this book.
Review: The Freshmen in Minnresota who are going to take novels or american novels don't read this book it is ever dull and boring.

Rating:
Summary: Quite good
Review: I can't agree with people complaining that Hawthorne uses a difficult language. I am not english-speaking and yet I found it pretty easy to understand and follow. (By the way: at what age does the average American boy master his mother tongue and when is he able to read anything that comes within his reach without the support of a dictionary? it seemes impossible to me that a 16-year-old can't read a book written in the 19th century!! Come on, Hawthorne is no Chaucer!) On the whole, The Scarlet Letter is not my favourite book, but it is well written and well structured. Let us give it its due.

Rating:
Summary: Perhaps this book is read too early in one's literary life!
Review: I have read some of the reviews pertaining to this, the first great novel written in our country, and was not surprised. This novel is typically read in high school,in grade ten. At that age who can appreciate Hawthorne's poignant prose, and insightful observations into a woman's heart; for he warns that the most wretched man is the one who"procures the hand of a woman, and fails to procure the uttermost passion of her heart". A sixteen year old can not even begin to fathom what that entails. I recommend to those who have given this book poor reviews, to wait a few years and then reread this amazing novel which is an insightful journey into the one region that is worth exploring: a woman's heart! Also, the way females were mitreated at the dawn of our great country's rise to equality is a lesson worth pondering.

Rating:
Summary: A book for those with time on their hands
Review: If this book is so great, then why are there so many people who give it only one or two stars? Should a great book not be able to be enjoyed on some level by everyone? To the best of my knowledge, only erudites and scholars enjoy this book. A good book, but one with a limited audience. Don't read it unless you don't mind wading waste deep through overly long sentences, antiquicated words and flowery prose. Personally I like an author who gets to the point.