Review: The horror of classic literature
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 01 15, 2014
This book, for me, is the perfect example of why teenagers may feel let down with reading habits in high-school. For a mandatory book, this is probably one of the most boring books I have ever read. It seemed to have every single characteristic of the grammar that the teacher always told me to AVOID. And yet, they make us read it in school. So... besides having to bear the annoying writing style, I am expected to actually understand what is the big lesson behind this tedious story? Then what, am I supposed to juggle eleven rubber balls while singing "O Sole Mio" meanwhile?Anything can be deduced from this book, from a deep, angst story of a forbidden love to a critique of the society as it labels its sinful denizens (like what happens in many other books, by the way), so I don't understand why The Scarlet Letter in special is in the list of the "1001 Books to Read Before You Die". With so many books that are good in giving moral lessons and entertaining at the same time, I don't see anything special in this one.I may look a bit revolted in this "review", but all these words of despise do have a reason: the book's writing style. The way the narrative flows (or does not flow, in this case) drags you back the whole time. Hawthorne changes the focus of his sentences so many times that by the time you get to the point, you already forgot what he was talking about. It's like being hungry, being about to take a bite on a sandwich and being interrupted in every single attempt to do it. By the time you actually manage to eat the goddamned sandwich, you're no longer hungry because it is cold and the mayonnaise became icky and liquid and the lettuce is dry.I gave it two stars rather than one because, somewhere in the book, there actually is a beautiful story of a forbidden love and the child that comes from it is, in a way, the material representation of the resentment of both parties. Still, at a certain part of the book, I didn't even know what the hell I was reading.