My first memory of enjoying a scary story was watching the Disney animated version of this tale. I watched it in the living room, alone, in the dark, My first memory of enjoying a scary story was watching the Disney animated version of this tale. I watched it in the living room, alone, in the dark, stubborn in my desire to watch it. Since then I am fond of the story, even the Tim Burton film that deviated from the original. So I purchased an unabridged copy at Wal-Mart, back in the late 90's. It says so in the corner cover that its only for 98 cents.
I need to reread this to see if I still love the story. I just now, in 2020, found this tiny Wal-Mart copy, so it's been quite a while. ...more
The cover is the same as those cheap romantic thrillers you always see in bookstores, filling up entire bookshelves because no one wants them after thThe cover is the same as those cheap romantic thrillers you always see in bookstores, filling up entire bookshelves because no one wants them after they've had one good read. I gave this book a benefit of a doubt when starting it, that it wouldn't equal those kinds of books in terms of quality and subject matter.
Well, I was wrong. Here and there there's moments of "huh, that's interesting", but really it's nothing spectacular, nothing to keep my interest and to forgive the novel for romanticizing stalking. Seriously, it sensationalizes it just as much Hollywood sensationalizes murder, or smoking cigarettes back in the 50's. This aspect of the novel is dated, of course. It is written for a female audience but the audience its targeting has changed. I read this for a Women's lit class and no one in the class was impressed with this. Or if they were, they did not speak of it.
At any rate, I groaned most of the book. Every daring escape is so sensationalized its...well, like a Hollywood movie. The man who's stalking her has more prowess in stalking than Waldo does in disappearing. How is any of this believable beyond a thrilling fantasy?...more
A majority of the stories presented here i've read in numerous literature classes. Therefore, being able to read the other stories was a treat and hp A majority of the stories presented here i've read in numerous literature classes. Therefore, being able to read the other stories was a treat and hp put his more well known work in perspective for me. For the most part I enjoyed all of them, though I particularly enjoyed "The Artist Of The Beautiful", which is probably the simplest of the stories (every one of them is required re-reading in order to appreciate the entire depth of Hawthorne's skill), but very effective and not ambiguous. Other greats include The Birthmark and Rappaccini's Daughter, but I assume most of you are familiar with those titles already. If you enjoy any of Hawthorne's work and want a little more (as I did), this is a relatively cheap book that should suffice. ...more
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