The Scarlet Letter Audiobook

" Hester was the first female heroin and I enjoyed reading the book, though the language was hard to understand at times. "

" One of the best books I have ever read. I want to read it again. "

" Most boring required book I've ever been forced to read. "

" I forgot how good this book was and I think I appreciated it more reading it as an adult. "

" Once I was able to adjust to Hawthorne's writing style, I enjoyed the story he had to tell. His story has several lessons to be taken from it. An adultress who accepts responsibility for her actions and how she is able to move forward and turns her scarlet "A" into her strength. The father of her child does not take responsibility for his actions and by not doing so turns out to be his demise. He also tells a story of one person's quest to destroy another and the results... "

" Loved it! The trascendental writing was a bit tough to get through at times but the recurring themes about people and society give the reader so much to think about. "

" The Scarlet Letter wasn't my favorite book to read. I liked the story and the characters but I found Hawthorne's writing kind of annoying. He used a lot of words to explain one little thing. The type of proper English he used was hard to get used to. Honestly, I never got used to it and wasn't very comfortable with his style of writing throughout the whole book. Like I said earlier, I liked the storyline and the characters, and the main idea of the book, however, it was difficult to get through. "

" It was better than I thought it would be. The language is laborious. It's a good story. Too bad I kept picturing Demi Moore has Hester Prynne. "

" This book really reflects on the stupidity of the world, it shows how people can be cruel,arrogant and blind to most things. "

" Good story but wish it was easier to read and understand. "

" While the Scarlet Letter had an interesting plot, I just could not get into the book. The ways that Hawthorne wrote every detail in a round about way was anoying, and it was hard for me to stay interested in the book when more than half of every chapter was about describing one simple thing that could be exxplained in less than a paragraph. Despite that it did have a few nice points. These were mainly about a the interesting plot. However, overall, I did not like this book. "

" I really did not like this book. It was very hard to read and that made it extremely boring. I would not recommend this book to anyone. It may be a classic to some people, but I really did not like it. Unless you have to, I would say, don't read it. "

" Love the story....hate Hawthorne's writing! "

" While some may find this book interesting, it definitely wasn't for me. The style,dialogue and overall conventions of Hawthorne's writing made the book agonizingly slow. Though it had some interesting points, most of the book was continuous monologue interrupted by 1600s styled dialogue. The plot in itself was too simple with not many developments. "

" I thought that this book was very well written. It had a lot of symbolism and imagery. However, this intense description lead to me being bored at times. The end of the book was easily my favorite part. I liked the irony of how Dimmesdale was really the father the whole time, but I thought it got boring as they talked about how he was beating himself up so much for his sin. "

" I read this in high school and honestly did not care for it. Perhaps now I would feel differently about it. "

" I really didn't care for this book and I think a lot of the symbolism people read into it is bullshit. "

" so this was my second attempt to read and comprehend this novel. still difficult to understand. the story is great but the language is really advanced. requires lots of motivation and focus. "

" I have read this book probably 4-5 times since high school. Each time I read it, I find more and more. So many ways to analyze this piece of literature, and so much symbolism! "

" Keep trying to convince me to like this book. I hated it, utterly. "

" I rely on dialogue when I read, and unfortunately this book lacked the amount of dialogue I need. But, the narration was beautiful and had a lot of personification (my favorite), therefore it deserves 3 stars. The story itself was also very beautiful and a compelling read. "

" Despite all of the complaining and bickering my teacher receives every semester from his students, I LIKED THIS BOOK! I'm one of the rare ones, I know, but I really did enjoy this book. My secret? Loudlit.org, or any other audio book. It will save not only time, but plenty of headache, and you might actually get something out of the tale. "

" I think I would have liked this book better if the language was different, as in a more modern language. I loved the story, but reading it was very difficult for me to get through. "

" In the Scarlet Letter i did not enjoy the writing style of dark romantic. That is kust not my style I would much rather read a suspense or adventure novel.I belive also that the writing style was over the top, and had a excess of words. I would not recomend this book to a friend because it is difficult to read and understand, and is depressing the whole novel. In conclusion reading this novel was not a pleasant experience. "

" this book was one of the most boring books of all time. though aside from that, and the fact that the reviews i read were more interesting than the actual book, it had its moments. this book is much easier to read if you can skip words and paragraphs that have nothing to do with the actual story. The diction is obviously enhanced to the point of madness. seriously there are sentences in here that have no less than 7 letters in each word. The syntax makes no sense with multiple ideas being added in each sentence and the overuse of commas. honestly the book deserves a 3 but im petty enough to vote it down because i didnt enjoy it "

" Too dull to finish. I really tried. "

" No doubt it's well written but it's all depressing all the time. Didn't like it much. "

" I had to read this book at a time in my life where reading the hardships of the main character was very difficult on my emotionally. For that reason I would have given the book a very low rating. However, 15 years later the book and its characters are still running around in the back of my mind at times and a book that strikes that much in your mind deserves a higher rating (can't give a 5 for the reason I mentioned earlier). It is an interesting story, with great characters and great heart aches. "

" The details of the book got in the way of the plot, which made the book to understand. His style of writing was interesting, it gave plenty of sensory details which helped to put you inside the minds of the characters. The symbolism was deep and enriching, the only problem with trying to understand the symbolism is that much of the details about the symbolism are vague and overshadowed by the details of all the various flowers in the book. the characters were well described and help to make a very good plot, one of my favorite characters was Pearl. "

" I finally did my 9th grade homework assignment and I loved it! "

" I started revisiting this book when Isaac needed help studying for his English test. I decided I should reread it since it had been since my Jr. year of high school. It was just okay. It gives good insight into the culture of the early settlers of this land. I don't feel great sympathy for any of the characters except perhaps Pearl. I enjoy the fact that Hester is able to overcome her disgrace and find a way to have a fulfilling life of service. We should all be a little more like Hester, willing to accept the consequences of our actions and then move forward in a positive direction. I didn't love this book, but was not disappointed. "

" I've been reading this for ages, really dragging my feet over it too, I found once I made myself pick it up it flowed but it was the incentive to actually get reading it that slowed me down! Maybe I just need to read some more classics so that I can adjust to the formal writing style properly! "

" Proof that people will always be hypocritical and judgemental. Not my favorite book. "

" Was interesting, but the author wrote the book in such a slow way, where sometimes its just rambling on and on about nothing. However, the story does have a good message. "

" I didn't like the ending but it was OK. I usually like to read fantasy or romance so this book wasn't for me. "

" I really enjoyed this book. I'm a big fan of Hawthorne. He describes human sentiment and character well in this book. Nice to read a book from the past where slow progress and fully descriptive language was used. Refreshing. Gives you time to ponder deeply about what is going on. "

" I thought the setting and the themes of the novel were pretty interesting but I didn't really like Nathaniel Hawthorne's style of writing. The book had a good plot but I believe that it didn't go well together with everything. Nathaniel Hawthorne was overly dramatic in some matters and the novel switched from disturbing to overly dramatic at certain times. The book tended to be a bit disturbing in my eyes because there was always a problem that Chillingworth had to get revenge on Dimmesdale and Hester. The thing that I did like though was the detail that Nathaniel Hawthorne added to descriptevely describe the actions and emotions of the characters. This changed how the plot carried out. I would have to rate this book a 2 out of 5 because even though it had a good story line and had descriptive detail to carried out in the plot, I really didn't like Hawthorne's style of writing and I thought that the plot was overly dramatic. I also am not a true fan of romantics and the book tened to be a bit sinister for my liking. "

" Sad, strong, frightening. Terrible first chapter- afterwards a masterpiece! "

" And we're lead to believe we are overly dramatic....... "

" Again, probably would have liked this book if I had not been in 8th grade and had it forced on me. "

" It's a classic what else is there to say. "

" I've not only read this, I've taught it. "

" Highly confusing and riddled with needless symbolism. The first half of this book is not very entertaining but the second half is pretty decent, but it doesn't save this book from being more than 2 stars. It takes far too long to get into. "

" Well written, with some thought-provoking sentences, but ultimately a long-winded book about religion, good and evil. Also, I found Nathaniel Hawthorne's male chauvinism highly unpalatable. The best part of his novel is the character, Pearl, the otherworldly child of Hester Prynne. "

" This book is pretty good once you get past the stuff about the Customs House. That is really tough reading. I liked it more after I read it than while I was reading it though. Worthwhile book to read. "

" Verily indeed, this book doth suck! Behold how confusing and archaic the language hath appeared unto me! Thou who reads this surely shall die (of boredom, at least). "

" I would like this book more, I think, if I wasn't forced to read it and discuss it on seven different occasions. "

" I thought the book was okay. It was very easy to decipher all of the symbolism, but I didn't like it as much as other people did. "

" Read this while in high school. I can't remember which year. "

" Current Book Club read for NOV "

" The message of this story has stuck with me for decades, since I read it in high school. Time now for my daughter to read it, so we listened together to the book read aloud on CD. Still as chilling and haunting as I recalled. "

" I actually loved this book. The plot was a bit slow, but the language was elegant and the story was fantastically tragic. Hawthorne beautifully described each scene, and revealed the inherent evil that lives inside us all. First assigned book this year that I loved! Five Stars!! "

" A study in the human need for psychological visibility. The brazenly guilty has an advantage over the guilty who are tormented by their invisibility. "

" Difficult language but quite a good story! "

" Another excellent classic. The moral of the story still holds true today. This is another school yard book. Not really my genre, but it has no noticeable flaws. "

" I liked Nathaniel Hawthorne's style of writing. I feel that it improved my vocabulary. I did not like the story a whole lot because it was a little slow but it was still a good read. "

" Ok yeah the symbolism was overdone and Hawthorne's got a "get it? get it?" approach at times but its still sweet and amusing in a sad way and the characters were great even if the narrative wasn't. "

" I just found this book to be really boring with no conclusion. "

" A worthwhile classic, certainly. The first section--The Custom House--can be tedious, but once you get into Hester Prynne's infuriating story, you don't want to leave it. "

" Not a bad book, but the language throws me off. Will be doing IOP on this in a week, so more in depth analysis might raise my hatred of the book. "

" It was high time for me to read this classic. I was underwhelmed. "

" School makes me dislike all of the books we read. It just makes me feel like we go to in depth about what everything means that what is going on in the book isn't really looked at anymore. I only really like to take things in at face value, not try to figure out what else it could mean... "

" A great classic! Many hidden meanings that I could uncover with my Socratic class! "

" Just read for the first time. Great classic "

" This book is pretty good once you get past the stuff about the Customs House. That is really tough reading. I liked it more after I read it than while I was reading it though. Worthwhile book to read. "

" I know I have read this at least twice and it still doesn't really stick with me so I must not enjoy it that much. "

" I'm so glad that I didn't have to read this book when I was young. I would have most likely hated it. In contrast, reading it at a mature age was such a pleasure. I absolutely love Hawthorne's writing style and savored every word. "

" While it was a beautiful book, the story itself is rather difficult for me to connect with. I enjoyed the way it was written more than the actual plot of the book. "

" Who defines us? Ourself - or society's assessment of who we are? Loved the book, and wish we were all strong enough to be true to ourselves no matter the judgements swirling around us.... "

" It took a while to get into this book, but once it grabbed me, it never let go. "

" Another book I read in highschool and recently re-read. Hester Prynne is an incredibly strong woman. Has a surprise ending. I appreciated it more the 2nd time. "

" I've not only read this, I've taught it. "

" I loved this book. Loved the message, and I really didn't mind analyzing it in class. It was a good read. "

" It was better than I thought it would be. The language is laborious. It's a good story. Too bad I kept picturing Demi Moore has Hester Prynne. "

" Had to read in High School. Didn't take much from it however I understand it was the start of the first American books written and comes up in US culture every now and then. "

" fun to have to read again. was cursing the teacher who taught this when he stated assigning it to my resource room kids, but gave me chance to re-read it for the first time in 17 years. "

" Absolutely detest this book! Hard to read AND no justice for the characters! "

" I was pleasantly surprised when I read the Scarlet Letter. I expected a book full of lust and jealousy, but it was entirely the opposite. It was about humility, truth and forgiveness. "

" It was a struggle to get through. "

" Really liked the story even though there was not much action. Was really poignant but liked it. Lots of feelings and views packed in the story. Four star rating is because of the ending. "

" This was one of the better books that I had to read in an English class. I definitely would not have read it for fun but now that I have, I see so many allusions to the book in other literature, and even songs. I'm glad that I read it for that reason. "

" This book is really weird. It's hard to get into. The characters aren't particularly likeable. The kid Pearl especially is a little brat. omg. But yeah once I got into it I didn't want to stop reading! It was really good. "

" I like to talk about this book more than I enjoy reading it. This is very Hawthorne, but I prefer his short stories. Such heavy-handed symbolism! "

" I've tried to read this book so many times, but it just doesn't catch me. "

" Took me a while to get through this one "

" Excellent look at how guilt plays such an important role in our lives and the effects of ignoring the truth. "

" Just read for the first time. Great classic "

" I appreciated Hawthorne's style more in this than in his short stories. I think I might have enjoyed this more if I didn't have to do homework assignments on it. "

" What a beautifully written book! Very dramatic. Go back for a read if you haven't read it since high school - you'll probably like it a lot more!! "

" Read this for my 11th grade literature class and hated it at first, but over the years I grew to understand, appreciate, and like it. The movie contributed to that too, lol. "

" Really good with many excitement detail in the pilgrim time set in Boston. But the end was a tragic when he died after he had a Scarlett letter on his chest. "

" Read this in HS & the way the protagonist was ostracized has stayed w/ me over the years. It affected me in much the same way as Wuthering Heights in that it became even more imbedded in my psyche how much we are human and need the forgiveness and help of a Savior. "

" Took me forever to actually get into the book. Once I did, I found Hawthorne's ability to convey the relationships between the characters and their internal states really incredible. The old English language threw me off at times, but all in all, it was a good read. "

" the story was good but I really do not like to read the Old English. "

" I did not read the other stories in this book as our class focused on the Scarlet Letter, which was a good story with very moving quotes, once you move past the heavily descriptive writing style. "

" Difficult language but wildly twisted story. "

" I am not a fan of this book, but we had to read it for high school and I learned from this book. "

" This book really reflects on the stupidity of the world, it shows how people can be cruel,arrogant and blind to most things. "

" Whore gets knocked up by priest. Society shuns priest. Priest dies. "

" I get that it's a classic and it has a great message, but can we say bore? I love reading classics, but one can only take a novel with no dialogue for so long. "

" I had to have some serious assistance with this book. Sparknotes was my best friend with this read. It was hard for me to understand it. However, once I knew what was going on, it was a good read. "

" Good writing, but frankly not to my taste. I dislike the fact that they force everyone to read this in high school. I think there are a lot better books out there... "

" The book was ok. I wish the ending would have been better. "

" Had to read it for school. In fact I'm not sure I even finished it given that it pissed me off. I'm pretty sure I cliff notes-ed it. "

" Most boring required book I've ever been forced to read. "

" You know, surprisingly I liked this book when I read it in high school. For all the rap I heard about it, I thought I wouldn't like it. But I felt that the characters were real. And wasn't there a twist-up in the end? I don't remember . ..it's been so long! =) "

" I enjoyed this substantially more when I read it again after I was required to read it in high school. Hawthorne makes liberal use of the comma - just ignore them and it flows much better. ;) "

" I enjoyed this substantially more when I read it again after I was required to read it in high school. Hawthorne makes liberal use of the comma - just ignore them and it flows much better. ;) "

" You know, surprisingly I liked this book when I read it in high school. For all the rap I heard about it, I thought I wouldn't like it. But I felt that the characters were real. And wasn't there a twist-up in the end? I don't remember . ..it's been so long! =) "

" I enjoyed this substantially more when I read it again after I was required to read it in high school. Hawthorne makes liberal use of the comma - just ignore them and it flows much better. ;) "

" You know, surprisingly I liked this book when I read it in high school. For all the rap I heard about it, I thought I wouldn't like it. But I felt that the characters were real. And wasn't there a twist-up in the end? I don't remember . ..it's been so long! =) "

" Read for school. Painful as all hell. "

" I've always enjoyed this book because I find something new to focus on every time I read it. This time around was the contemplation of Chillingworth's moral decline. "

" I've always enjoyed this book because I find something new to focus on every time I read it. This time around was the contemplation of Chillingworth's moral decline. "

" Read for school. Painful as all hell. "

" It's pretty good so far, I just think it's a lot of description. It seems like Hawthorne is trying too hard, almost. Not a popular opinion, I know. A little disappointed because I love the concept! "

" It's pretty good so far, I just think it's a lot of description. It seems like Hawthorne is trying too hard, almost. Not a popular opinion, I know. A little disappointed because I love the concept! "

" I've always enjoyed this book because I find something new to focus on every time I read it. This time around was the contemplation of Chillingworth's moral decline. "

" Read for school. Painful as all hell. "

" As most people, I had to read this for a high school English class. This book is a classic and I actually enjoyed reading it and found the messages is conveyed interesting. "

" As most people, I had to read this for a high school English class. This book is a classic and I actually enjoyed reading it and found the messages is conveyed interesting. "

" As most people, I had to read this for a high school English class. This book is a classic and I actually enjoyed reading it and found the messages is conveyed interesting. "

" Read for Abrams junior year AP English...really enjoyed it. "

" Read for Abrams junior year AP English...really enjoyed it. "

" Read for Abrams junior year AP English...really enjoyed it. "

" I appreciate this book more as an adult reader than I did in high school. It is intriguing for many reasons. The hypocrisy of piety rings through the pages. That scarlet "A" is such a unique symbol. Always a good read! "

" I appreciate this book more as an adult reader than I did in high school. It is intriguing for many reasons. The hypocrisy of piety rings through the pages. That scarlet "A" is such a unique symbol. Always a good read! "

" I appreciate this book more as an adult reader than I did in high school. It is intriguing for many reasons. The hypocrisy of piety rings through the pages. That scarlet "A" is such a unique symbol. Always a good read! "

" I read this book in high school and could not put it down. I learned so much about the colonial/puritan period from reading it. I am looking forward to rereading as an older adult and finding out how much my perspective has changed. "

" I hated this book. So much. :| I hate Hawthorne in general. "

" I read this book in high school and could not put it down. I learned so much about the colonial/puritan period from reading it. I am looking forward to rereading as an older adult and finding out how much my perspective has changed. "

" I hated this book. So much. :| I hate Hawthorne in general. "

" I read this book in high school and could not put it down. I learned so much about the colonial/puritan period from reading it. I am looking forward to rereading as an older adult and finding out how much my perspective has changed. "

" I hated this book. So much. :| I hate Hawthorne in general. "

" It was written very long ago and to understand the writing took a little while. But good book "

" It was written very long ago and to understand the writing took a little while. But good book "

" It was written very long ago and to understand the writing took a little while. But good book "

" This was really well done. Hester Pryn comes out of this the winner. The reverand acted like a weiner for the longest time. The husband was a cruel bastard. That's what I remember about this work. I read this in High School. "