Reviews

I really loved this book, what an underrated classic! It is a strange novel and definitely not for everyone as the pacing is really slow most of the time and the style is very descriptive, however if you are captured by the tone of the story, you appreciate how it goes slowly to tell it well. I just had to keep reading. A great tale of a family curse with a creepy, haunted house in the middle and memorable characters. The writing is exquisite and makes me want to read more of Hawthorne's works. It made me think of Wuthering Heights, especially Heathcliff's obssession with land ownership as well as the generation changes.

cranberry__sauce's review against another edition

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4.0

good book. better than the scarlet letter

peyton_honeck's review against another edition

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4.0

This is one of my favorite books. I first read it in an independent reading class in high school and gave up part way through. A few years later I returned to it, remembering that I had been intrigued by the descriptions of the big house and lonely spinster who owned it. This time I couldn’t put it down and have reread it several times since. I love the themes of witchcraft and gothic horror. I love the set of characters and the suspenseful plot. I love the detailed description which make it so clear that it almost feels like watching an old movie. It might, however, drag for you if you are unused to the language or don’t like such hefty descriptive passages. For my part I loved it!