Reviews

It took me more time than I was planning to finish it dispite the book's small size. The story is hidden between the non-stop-following ideas and high meanings. Very difficult and sometimes quite boring, even though the story is promising.

namizaela's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Love, whether newly born or aroused from a deathlike slumber, must always create sunshine, filling the heart so full of radiance, that it overflows upon the outward world.

For a mandatory read, this wasn't so bad. However, it was pretty dense and hard to understand. The themes of the book (freedom, religion, oppression and suppression) are great, and so is the prose. The characters are all great, deep and flawed. For a book written in 1850, it's very progressive. Writing an essay on this was also pretty easy since the writing was overflowing with symbolism.

emeryboettcher's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

No me gusta

crock_potiii's review against another edition

Go to review page

reflective tense 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? Yes

2.5

UHM. I thought this would be a fascinating drama about betrayal, hatred, spiritually, and a critique against Puritanism.

It was about these things but OH MY GOSH THE WRITING? Please, I understand it is an old book from like the 1800s but the man (Hawthorne) NEEDS. TO. GET. TO. THE POINT. And there was a particular focus on bosoms. You trying to say something man?

Anyway, the only reason I gave it 2 stars and some change was because I think I'll give it another chance and actually examine it on my own time because when I read it, I was doing it for a semester long project.

goobgoblin's review against another edition

Go to review page

slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Content Warnings

snowreo's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

I went into this book really wanting to like it because it is apparently one of the most beloved books in the classic canon. Once I got past “The Custom-House” and into the actual story, I did start to enjoy it. It was unlike any other novel I had ever read: the plot was a unique concept while still based in what we know as a historically accurate setting.

However, as the novel progressed, I found myself not caring too much for the writing style. I found it to be difficult to comprehend, so much so that I had to go back and read certain sections again to make sure I had not missed anything that could be important. I have read many books written in Old English for school, and I can definitely say this had the most intricate, occasionally incomprehensible of all of them

Additionally, I feel like the action of the book did not pick up until much later. While Hawthorne did it seamlessly, for a person like me who is all about the action it did not work.

However, I loved the characters, I loved the plot, and would certainly recommend this novel to an avid reader of literary classics.

More...