The Scarlet Letter and Other Writings (Norton Critical Editions)
Grade 9-Up Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel of Puritanism giving  rise to twisted gender politics, hypocrisy, and strength of  character in the face of public scorn is well realized in this  reading by Annie Wauters. She gives individual tone and rhythm  to each of the main characters, while keeping the passages of  narrative relatively uninflected. While this suits the author's  own sometimes dry writing, it means that listeners must get to  the second hour before the story truly gets underway. Since this  lengthy forepart fits almost entirely onto the first disk, and  each chapter is clearly marked as to track number on the  packaging, it is possible to simply skip ahead rather than give  up what becomes a delightfully lively listening experience once  the romance gets going. Because the reading adheres so entirely  to the print in spirit as well as in word, this is an excellent  choice for students who cannot access print or who would like to  accomplish college prep reading while undertaking other  activities. Sturdy packaging makes this a shelf ready  purchase.Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CACopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.