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moreilly1917's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
ni57's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
alayna017's review against another edition
3.0
It’s a classic, so I’m glad I read it and know the references. Other than that, it was okay. The men in the story are each weak, while Hester was held as this very noble character (other than the adultery). Not one I’m coming back to.
ninazlatkovic's review against another edition
5.0
I honestly love this book and have no idea what people mean when they say it is unreadable, the language is WONDERFUL.
Here are a couple of quotes I loved:
"Continuously, and in a thousand other ways, did she feel the innumerable throbs of anguish that had been so cunningly contrived for her by the undying, the ever-active sentence of the Puritan tribunal."
"His form grew emancipated; his voice, though still rich and sweet, had a certain melancholy prophecy of decay in it"
"He now dug into the poor clergyman's heart, like a miner searching for gold; or, rather, like a sexton delving into a grave, possibly in quest of a jewel that had been buried on the dead man's bosom, but likely to find nothing save mortality and corruption."
" To the untrue man, the whole universe is false - it is impalpable - it shrinks to nothing within his grasp. And he himself, in so far as he shows himself in a false light, becomes a shadow or, indeed, ceases to exist."
"The truth seems to be, however, that the mother-forest, and these wild things which it nourished, all recognized a kindred wildness in the human child. And she was gentler here than in the grassy-margined streets of the settlement, or in her mother's cottage. The flowers appeared to know it, and one and another whispered as the passed 'Adorn thyself with me, thou beautiful child, adorn thyself with me!' - and, to please them, Pearl gathered the violets, and anemones, and columbines, and some twigs of the freshest green, which the old trees held down before her eyes. With these she decorated her hair and her young waist, and became a nymph-child, or an infant-dryad, or whatever else was in closest sympathy with the antique wood."
Seriously, did we read the same book?!
Here are a couple of quotes I loved:
"Continuously, and in a thousand other ways, did she feel the innumerable throbs of anguish that had been so cunningly contrived for her by the undying, the ever-active sentence of the Puritan tribunal."
"His form grew emancipated; his voice, though still rich and sweet, had a certain melancholy prophecy of decay in it"
"He now dug into the poor clergyman's heart, like a miner searching for gold; or, rather, like a sexton delving into a grave, possibly in quest of a jewel that had been buried on the dead man's bosom, but likely to find nothing save mortality and corruption."
" To the untrue man, the whole universe is false - it is impalpable - it shrinks to nothing within his grasp. And he himself, in so far as he shows himself in a false light, becomes a shadow or, indeed, ceases to exist."
"The truth seems to be, however, that the mother-forest, and these wild things which it nourished, all recognized a kindred wildness in the human child. And she was gentler here than in the grassy-margined streets of the settlement, or in her mother's cottage. The flowers appeared to know it, and one and another whispered as the passed 'Adorn thyself with me, thou beautiful child, adorn thyself with me!' - and, to please them, Pearl gathered the violets, and anemones, and columbines, and some twigs of the freshest green, which the old trees held down before her eyes. With these she decorated her hair and her young waist, and became a nymph-child, or an infant-dryad, or whatever else was in closest sympathy with the antique wood."
Seriously, did we read the same book?!
lilian_456's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
utahmomreads's review against another edition
5.0
I have no less than fifty books literally waiting on the shelf in my bedroom for me to read them. Sometimes when I'm in the middle of a less-than-fantastic book for a review, I look longingly at that shelf and then hurry myself along (I'm also a one-at-a-time kind of girl). So, when I finished the book last week and needed something to read, it shouldn't have been hard to pick something. I surprised myself by reaching for my Nathaniel Hawthorne collection and opening up to The Scarlet Letter.
I read (or skimmed) The Scarlet Letter in high school. B-O-R-I-N-G! After I fell in love with The Peabody Sisters (which I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys biographies and literature) several years ago, I was anxious to try some more Hawthorne (he was married to the youngest Peabody sister). I started The House of the Seven Gables but put it aside when I just couldn't get into it after fifty pages. Even though I really really wanted to like Hawthorne, I figured it was hopeless.
Perhaps I just wasn't ready or mature enough then. I devoured The Scarlet Letter this time. I was enthralled and fascinated with the story, themes and the beautiful language (makes reading most novels now seem like fifth grade work). I almost wish I was back in high school college so that I could discuss it with a group. I definitely have some ideas to contribute this time. And I apologize to my mom's friends--I shouldn't have laughed when I heard you were reading it for book club.
It just goes to show, that some books are worth another try.
I read (or skimmed) The Scarlet Letter in high school. B-O-R-I-N-G! After I fell in love with The Peabody Sisters (which I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys biographies and literature) several years ago, I was anxious to try some more Hawthorne (he was married to the youngest Peabody sister). I started The House of the Seven Gables but put it aside when I just couldn't get into it after fifty pages. Even though I really really wanted to like Hawthorne, I figured it was hopeless.
Perhaps I just wasn't ready or mature enough then. I devoured The Scarlet Letter this time. I was enthralled and fascinated with the story, themes and the beautiful language (makes reading most novels now seem like fifth grade work). I almost wish I was back in high school college so that I could discuss it with a group. I definitely have some ideas to contribute this time. And I apologize to my mom's friends--I shouldn't have laughed when I heard you were reading it for book club.
It just goes to show, that some books are worth another try.
bungadinding's review against another edition
5.0
Agak beda dari cerita tentang perselingkuhan/adultery biasanya, buku ini nggak menceritakan tentang perselingkuhan itu sendiri tapi apa yang terjadi setelahnya. Di awal buku langsung dihadapkan peristiwa Hester Prynne dihukum berdiri di panggung hukuman berjam-jam mengenakan huruf "A" (for Adultery) merah menyala di dadanya karena ketahuan hamil dan melahirkan bayi perempuan tanpa suami, kemudian kemunculan suaminya kembali yang dikira sudah lama mati, dan identitas kekasih Hester masih misteri karena Hester menolak memberitahu siapapun, dan tak ada pria yang mengaku. Suspense-nya sangat terjaga; sejak awal aku deg-degan sekaligus penasaran bagaimana Hester akan menjalani hukumannya sampai akhir hayat, harus selalu mengenakan huruf A itu di dadanya dan dikucilkan masyarakat. Lalu bagaimana reaksi si mantan suami yang ternyata berniat balas dendam ke kekasih Hester. Dan si pria misterius ini... siapa? Apakah dia masih bisa ongkang-ongkang kaki sementara Hester menanggung semua hukuman sendirian?
Ini bukan novel thriller, jadi sejak pertengahan buku pun sendirinya menjadi jelas siapa ayah dari bayinya Hester. Tapi aku tetap menanti-nanti apakah si mantan suami Hester akan berhasil melakukan pembalasan dendam, apakah si pria misterius akhirnya mengaku, apakah Hester dan Pearl, putrinya, selamanya harus hidup dalam hukuman pengasingan? Dan satu hal yang paling bagus, menonjol, dan paling kusukai dari novel ini adalah penggambaran yang sangat detail dan mendalam tentang pergolakan batin masing-masing tokoh. Gaya bahasanya yang liris justru bikin aku terhanyut dan enggan berhenti membaca.
Apakah si kekasih Hester pengecut karena nggak mengaku sejak awal? Dia punya alasan, martabat yang dipertaruhkan, tapi in the end sih menurutku tetap aja iya, dia lemah dan pengecut. "Hukuman" yang coba diterapkan ke diri sendiri terbukti tetap nggak bisa menuntaskan penderitaan batinnya. Tapi gimanapun, penderitaan diam-diamnya ini menimbulkan simpati juga. Si mantan suami Hester, pihak yang sejak awal sebenarnya adalah korban dari perselingkuhan istrinya, membuktikan bahwa dendam nggak membawa manfaat apapun, malah merubah sifatnya menjadi kian gelap dari hari ke hari, sehingga di antara dia, Hester dan selingkuhannya, sulit memutuskan siapa yang paling "bersalah." Tokoh Hester sendiri, si pendosa sekaligus korban masyarakatnya, pengasingan membuatnya berintrospeksi diri dan membukakan pikirannya, tapi aku salut dengan sikapnya yang tegar bertahan menerima hukuman. Untuk mendobrak sistem masyarakat yang hipokrit, caranya nggak melulu dengan kabur memberontak, justru dengan patuh bertahan Hester menelanjangi sikap masyarakatnya. Tapi pandangan masyarakat sendiri juga... bisa jadi sangat bebal, percaya apa yang memang ingin mereka percaya meski entah mana yang merupakan kebenaran, kayak yang terbukti di bab terakhir.
Gimanapun, mungkin memang begitulah kehidupan =)) Ending ceritanya dramatis dan cukup nggak terduga. Overall, buku ini berkesan sekali :))
Ini bukan novel thriller, jadi sejak pertengahan buku pun sendirinya menjadi jelas siapa ayah dari bayinya Hester. Tapi aku tetap menanti-nanti apakah si mantan suami Hester akan berhasil melakukan pembalasan dendam, apakah si pria misterius akhirnya mengaku, apakah Hester dan Pearl, putrinya, selamanya harus hidup dalam hukuman pengasingan? Dan satu hal yang paling bagus, menonjol, dan paling kusukai dari novel ini adalah penggambaran yang sangat detail dan mendalam tentang pergolakan batin masing-masing tokoh. Gaya bahasanya yang liris justru bikin aku terhanyut dan enggan berhenti membaca.
Apakah si kekasih Hester pengecut karena nggak mengaku sejak awal? Dia punya alasan, martabat yang dipertaruhkan, tapi in the end sih menurutku tetap aja iya, dia lemah dan pengecut. "Hukuman" yang coba diterapkan ke diri sendiri terbukti tetap nggak bisa menuntaskan penderitaan batinnya. Tapi gimanapun, penderitaan diam-diamnya ini menimbulkan simpati juga. Si mantan suami Hester, pihak yang sejak awal sebenarnya adalah korban dari perselingkuhan istrinya, membuktikan bahwa dendam nggak membawa manfaat apapun, malah merubah sifatnya menjadi kian gelap dari hari ke hari, sehingga di antara dia, Hester dan selingkuhannya, sulit memutuskan siapa yang paling "bersalah." Tokoh Hester sendiri, si pendosa sekaligus korban masyarakatnya, pengasingan membuatnya berintrospeksi diri dan membukakan pikirannya, tapi aku salut dengan sikapnya yang tegar bertahan menerima hukuman. Untuk mendobrak sistem masyarakat yang hipokrit, caranya nggak melulu dengan kabur memberontak, justru dengan patuh bertahan Hester menelanjangi sikap masyarakatnya. Tapi pandangan masyarakat sendiri juga... bisa jadi sangat bebal, percaya apa yang memang ingin mereka percaya meski entah mana yang merupakan kebenaran, kayak yang terbukti di bab terakhir.
Gimanapun, mungkin memang begitulah kehidupan =)) Ending ceritanya dramatis dan cukup nggak terduga. Overall, buku ini berkesan sekali :))