Rating: 
Summary: An Old-Time Soap Opera
Review: I am not one who enjoys romance, however Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter is truely an unshakable landmark in American Literature. Unlike most people, I read this novel in college (I don't know why junior high teaches this book; it's way to advanced for that intensity of reading) and depicted it as a soap opera in Puritan society. The novel inhibits sex, suspense, drama, and romance all in one pakage. I found the invidious Roger Chillingwoth to be an extremely interesting aspect about the novel's well-rounded plot. The theme of the novel is sin, and how tragically easy it could destroy a normal town denizen. I mean, all 3 main characters are virtually consumed and eventually destroyed by their own private sins. Read this book; by doing so, one will appreciate truly powerful literature that still shakes our foundation today.
Rating: 
Summary: It wasn't good
Review: I starting reading this book with great enthusiasm for my 11th grade English GT class's summer homework. I read and read, and I just started hearing names of people who, didn't make sense. I could never figure out who Reverend whatever is, or that other guy they talk about, I just went a long skimming the book, not able to feel any plot whatesoever! I was completely bored with this book. I didn't need a dictionary whatsoever either, but I will probably need Cliff Notes, so I could understand what the story is about, if anyone can help, please do.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book, without the "classic" feel to it.
Review: Nathaniel Hawthorne does a great job of including detail, I think that is one of this book's strengths. It also has a very believable moral message, which makes it the classic known around the world. Classic is a repulsive word though, this book doesn't contain all the boring and repetitive characteristics of classics written 6,000 years ago. The book isn't just some ancient work written in an Italian province either. It was written here in america, maybe a little under 200 years ago. Classic maybe, but this is the only classic I'll read.
Rating:
Summary: Great plot. Great classic, but doesn't read like one.
Review: Nathaniel Hawthorne is a superb writer of American history with an interesting story to tell. When he first wrote this story he was told, probably by the an editor or publisher, that the story needed to be longer so that it would be considered a novel. So he went back and incorporated filler and massive detail into his story and that is the book you have before you today. If you don't read this, you are missing out. It may not have dinosaurs eating people on a remote island or worse yet San Diego, or any other worthless s***, but it was written with actual talent. This writer doesn't need unbelievable effects and wild stories to make a good story. READ THIS BOOK NOW!
Rating: 
Summary: Morality and the subordination of women
Review: I am a third year law student who read this work in the tenth grade (11 years ago) so I am working from memory here. I did not enjoy it, despite the grand themes that the author addresses. Frankly, I felt that the work was entirely too dense to be an enjoying read. I get the same feeling now when I am trying to dissect some obscure statute...in other words, it needs to be done, but it isn't any fun. I feel that some reviewers on this page are unfairly haranguing people who could not read the book without a dictionary. I feel that this is the wrong attitude. When I am writing a legal brief, it is expected that my work be crafted in such a way that it is READABLE [e.g. tell a good story]. If you do not write in such a way as to engage the greatest number of people, you will be less likely to get your audience to appreciate the merits of your case. The same is true with this book. The author does not allow our minds eye to fill in any blanks. His prose is dense and he fills in so many of the details that it is impossible to let your imagination add the finishing touches to the work. In the end, most students are drained and bitter at the author for pushing us into his overly descriptive morass. This has nothing to do with the fact that there are so many "dictionary words" in the book. That is another matter entirely. However, I would note that most people who are complaining about the difficulty of the individual words would probobly not be complaining if the author had not so totally preempted the reader's imagination. The words individually are not so difficult as the density. There are those who love this work anyway and i have no problem with that. But I assure you that If one of the senior attorneys here refers to my work as "dense", I am bound to have to do a rewrite. That said, i still believe that this is a worthwhile book as much for the revolutionary readings that are possible as the traditional themes for which it became famous. Who has re! ad this book with an eye toward dissecting the nature of the subordination of women in western culture? Or to examine the ways in which Hester rebels (however modestly) against the strictures of her station? Anyone who has will find new layers to the book that speak as much to the modern day as they do to the audience of the author's times
Rating:
Summary: Each read is like peeling layers of a rose
Review: What greater journey than to delve into the human heart? Every emotion one can nurture there is here, bared and examined.Hester, at once forthright and complex, serves as our guide, as she wanders the lambrynth of her own private neart. That we can fall, sin, disappoint and still find redemption in confession make the message of The Scarlet Letter a most comforting tract for out day.
Rating:
Summary: POWERFUL Portrayal of the depth of human emotion! SMASHING!!
Review: So maybe I'm not your typical high school student. I was prepared to love this book, so I came in with more patience and excitement than most, probably. What I found, through a month-long picking apart of this book in my Lit. Class, was that I loved it more than I ever could have imagined. I flew through it! This book is a high-gear powerhouse of emotion, reeling with the intensity of deep true love fighting the evil forces of human hate and revenge. I would recommend this for any reader who is mature enough to handle the language and themes of forbidden love with acceptance and understanding. It's a fantastic book. I cherish my hardbound copy!
Rating:
Summary: Suprising, compared to other reviews
Review: I'm an average 12 year old who read "The Scarlet Letter"!!!!!!! And YES, I read the UNABRIDGED VERSION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was reading all these reviews in confusion. None of the words were complicated. I didn't have to use a dictionary. All in all, it is an excellent book. Although a bit monotonus at times, it is an excellent book with an excellent reflection of the times. I would recomend it, and even if you have to look up every other word, ITS WORTH IT!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Good, but extremely wordy
Review: I thought the book was good, but it was way too descriptive and wordy. It is about the consequences of a woman who committed adultry and has to suffer the conseqences of bearing an illigitimate child. It deals with the feelings of guilt and isolation. It gives us a history lesson as to how this type of crime was dealt with in the late seventeen hundreds (I think that's when it took place). The problem was that it was very wordy and overdescriptive. The author used huge words and I had to have a dictionaory with me at all times. The length of the book could have been cut in half if the author had been more direct and to the point. It was a good book, but it probably should not be read by a high school student like me. I say this not because of the subject matter, but because of the vocabulary and long sentences. It has some Shakspearian language in it (thou, art, thee) which make the simple plot even harder to understand. I would recommend that you wait until college before you read this book, unless you have a very large vocabulary.
Rating:
Summary: Incredibly confusing; have a dictionary on hand!
Review: This is probably the most confusing and worst book I have ever read! The author uses incredibly large words and you constantly have to use a dictionary or else you most likely won't know hat you are reading. From my point of view as a high school (with mostly A's and good at English) student I would not recommend this book to any other high school age students. The author needs to get to the point and not drag on for pages about things that are not important at all. Long setences also makes the book drag on. If I didn't have to read this book for a book report I would have put it down after the first page or two and usually I finish every book that I start. This book had me in tears because it was so difficult. I had to ask my English teacher to explain this to me. Read this book at your own risk, but i do not reccommend it to anyone.
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