I had to read this for AP Language and Composition and I hated it. Hate is a bit too strong, but it is powerful enough to describe how much I DISLIKED this book. I'll admit it, a couple times I was interested to see what happened next, but that was ALWAYS when their was dialogue and not just freaking analyzing! I love little Pearl in all honestly, but God, a whole chapter dedicated to analyzing her--when she was but a child? No. Stop. You're describing EVERY feature on her stupid face and over-analyzing more than I do with boys. God just stop.
I get all the themes that Hawthorne was trying to show in the work. I do! So why did he have to over-complicate it and just...analyze? That was over half the book--just analyzing and describing. Did he ever hear the rule, "Show, don't tell"? Probably not, because all he did was tell. -_-
Hm...what els

e. I don't know. I just know that my feelings for this book are closer to hate than strong dislike. It was especially difficult because I am a fast reader and constantly had to go back--that's not his fault, necessarily, but it was an extra problem I experienced.
Ha, now I'm analyzing everything. In the end, I don't recommend this book unless you enjoy Hawthorne/classic literature/over-analyzing in fiction works. Otherwise you're better off with more modern works. But it's up to you. I most likely never would have touched it if I had the choice and honestly, the only thing that kept me from sparknoting it is the fact that I know it won't help me with the work regarding this book (in class) and then the test.