Member Reviews
I enjoyed this manga version of the classic The Scarlet Letter. It was a fun way for a new generation to learn about the classics.
This classic in the manga style did a good job of keeping to the original themes of Hawthorne's story. The stark black and white illustrations with the single spot of a red "A" was a great visual. This would be a great addition to classrooms and libraries. Students that need help understanding themes or that do well with alternative forms of media will benefit from this series.
Thank you, Netgalley, for a complimentary review copy in exchange for my honest review.
This is the third of the Manga Classics I have read: Great Expectations was a fantastic manga version of the classic! I did enjoy reading Les Miserable but thought that it was not a classic that could be condensed and shorted enough to fit into a manga and still have the same impact as the classic! And now I have finished this one and I have to say ... I love it! This manga was a great read! The only thing I would criticize is the appearance of Roger. It is said that he is misshapen. The manga didn't really bring that across. He just looked like every average old man. But other than that, I really had a blast reading this one. The illustrations were wonderful, the story kept flowing without any weird disruptions or confusion, the manga characters reflected the personality of the characters in the book, and the conversation and thought bubbles were nicely selected and composed.
Hester Prynne is a young woman, who's one mistake changed her life. After having an affair and a child, she's put in prison. Moreover, she's forced to wear a scarlet letter A on her breast as a punishment, to remind everyone about her sin. While she's in the prison, she was visited by her husband. However, he's not trying to avenge himself on her, he seeks a vengeance on the mysterious man, she doesn't want to reveal a name. With the years her life gets easier, however, it's not getting easier for a father of Pearl.
I always wanted to read The Scarlet Letter, but never had much time to do it. That's why I was happy when I found this graphic novel. I read few of the books from the Manga Classics series. They are a nice shorter vision of the books. However, so many explanations of the characters were lacking and I feel like I need to read the book to understand characters. This graphic novel motivated me even more to read it, as it showed me how amazing is this story.
Back in my high school days, one of the books for required reading was The Scarlet Letter. I read some of the beginning, but wasn’t really able to make my way through the book, mostly because I thought it was just so odd. Especially Little Pearl, Hester Prynne’s daughter. She was like a whole different creature, not entirely human.
With that said, now that The Scarlet Letter is no longer required reading, I decided it would be fun to foray into the Manga Classics version.
The story surrounds Hester Prynne, a young woman who had committed adultery, and for her sins, had to wear a scarlet ‘A’ on her chest, and every day climb the scaffold and stand there, in shame, while all the other members of the town looked down upon her. As a product of her sin, Hester gave birth to a daughter, whom she named Little Pearl. Pearl grew up to be a wild child, with a disregard to the Puritan beliefs.
There are many mysterious characters in this tale, but the plot remains solid and true, with no mystery, but plenty of heart. Despite the people’s reservations, Hester proves herself a woman of good character and skill, using her gift of embroidery to make a living. While it seems like Hester is the kind of person to pity for her plight, she proves herself strong enough to handle anything thrown her way.
The only character I really had pity on was Reverend Dimmsdale. He was dying from a sickness of his own making, a grief that he could never seem to shake. Even though God forgives the repentant, the poor man believed that he had done something so terrible, he would never be forgiven.
Manga Classics: The Scarlet Letter really helped me see what an interesting book The Scarlet Letter really is. Also, it gave me the opportunity to see just how the story ended. Because I wasn’t able to get that far back in high school.
The facial expressions of the characters told me so much about their feelings, they passed so much emotions and deep to the characters.I just adored the drawings, and the story being a classic and I`ve had read it before, nothing shocking happened but that didn`t made me give up reading it! It was refreshing even if I knew the story already.
I remember reading this book in high school. It was one of the few classics that I understood reading the first time around. This adaptation is great for those who need some help with understanding the writing style of the 19th century. The artwork is spot on although I did imagine Arthur Dimmesdale to be a bit older. The symbolism that is portrayed in the book carries over well here and even more the artwork emphasizes it. I wish I had this version when I needed to write my papers. A good story made even better with the artwork. A great way to jump into classical English Literature that leaves you wanting to read more.
So I had never read this classic before so it was easy to get through. It seemed like there wasn’t much in the story and they just dragged it out. I do enjoy reading these but just seemed so much longer than it needed to be. The artwork was pretty and went very well with the story! Had to give it only 3 stars because it just wasn’t my cup of tea. Interesting idea but could have had so much more plot in this!
I remember enjoying the Scarlet Letter even as my peers hated it when we were forced to read it in high school. I haven't read it since, so I was thrilled to find a manga version. A long time fan of manga, I enjoy many manga adaptations of classics. Scarlet Letter was no exception. The artwork is appealing and the story itself keeps to the meat of the story. Even though I haven’t read the novel in a while, I felt the adaptation remains loyal to its source material.
I received this earc from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.
I love The scarlet letter and this manga adaptation is really well done. The artwork is magnificent, the characters are expressive and really beautiful.
The story is known. Hester Prynne fell in love with the minister Arthur Dimmesdale of the city where her husband sent her to begin a new life and wait for him, but years passed, she thinks he's dead and fell in love with the minister of the church. Expecting a child, she's branded with the scarlet letter from the title to point at her state as adulterer. With her daugher Pearl, Hester is forced to begin a life shunned by the society of Boston, trying bit by bit, year by year to be a honest woman, as the society expected the women to be. But her life is complicated when her husband reappeared, taking the name of Chillingworth and gaining the trust of the minister, taking advantage of his guilt and remorse and tormenting him.
The characters are portraited beautifully, maybe, except for Chillingworth, too young-looking, above all when seven years are passed. Their expressions are perfectly done and the writing is on point. Hester is a determined young woman, Pearl is, sometime, downright scary with her intense expressions, questions and tantrum. Chillingworth is portraited like a fiend, above all in the last moments, where he's so obsessed with Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale is, like the books, conflicted and full of guilt and remorse, living a sort of double life where everyone saw him as the golden minister, a saint, while he's suffering physically and mentally from his sin and guilt.
A really beautiful adaptation, the artwork is astounding and brilliant, thanks to the amazing SunNeko Lee.
Having not priorly known the story of The Scarlet Letter, this was a great way to catch my attention for the story. The art was beautiful, and the story was addicting. For sure, a great read.
Manga Classics is an incredible way to explain and explore classics in a new way. This manga classic took a difficult (for me) classical tale written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and made it absorb-able. Once I started reading the manga I could have finished it in one sitting. The artwork made this tragic tale come to life. There were scenes that seem to delve into human alienation and its effect on the soul, that the combination of the words and artwork made it unforgettable.
The Scarlet Letter is about a single sinful act that ruins the lives of three people. None more so than Hester Prynne, a young and dignified woman, who conceived a child out of wedlock and receives the public punishment of having to always wear a scarlet "A" on her clothing. The Scarlet Letter is set in a Puritan community during the Colonial American period. This retelling dealt with the main subjects of the tale beautifully.
Hester Prynne is a married woman. When her husband leaves her for two years Hester ends up becoming pregnant by another man. Living in a Puritan town, Hester is punished dearly for her adultery and made to wear a red embroidered 'A' on her chest while she stands on a stage for the whole town to see for so many hours a day. Despite everything Hester refuses to name her baby's father and takes all the punishment by herself.
I absolutely adore this take on Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. I love how this version is easy to follow and fun to look at. The drawings are beautiful and well done. I love that books like these connect the past to the present by taking an old classic and pairing it with modern art.
Manga Classics: The Scarlet Letter by Crystal S. Chan, 308 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL
Udon Entertainment, 2015. $20.
Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISALBE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
As punishment for committing adultery, Hester must now wear a red “A” for the rest of her life. With her poor treatment from the townspeople for her sin and her lover staying hidden, Hester’s daughter is all that she has left -- but will they ever have a happily ever after?
I was intrigued by the idea of a manga version of this classic book, but I was also hesitant to pick it up because I hated this book in high school. However, as I read this adaptation, I discovered that I was engaged by the story and that I love Hester’s character, the epitome of strength. Being able to actually understand the story in a way that I didn’t when reading Hawthorne’s original planted the desire to go back and read the full classic again. I want to know the details that had to be left out, and I want to gain greater insights into the characters I have been reintroduced to. Hawthorne’s story deserved redemption from the poor first impression it left on me, and anyone who struggles with the original -- and even those who loved the original -- will find that Chan’s adaptation is a great supplement to the classic.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
*received from netgalley for honest review * I really love these classic mangas! tbh never really cared much for this as a book but I did enjoy this so 5 stars.
I am a huge fan of Hawthorne's classic book, The Scarlet Letter. The writing is beautiful, quiet and nuanced. The story is smart. But what really sets it apart is the strength, hope and resilience found in Hester Prynne. So, finding this Manga comic was an intriguing thing for me. It could be wonderful, or it could detract from a book I already love.
The artwork is sweet, intricate and lovely. I really like the baby/girl Pearl. I find her features to be childlike and pretty. She looks sweet and innocent. And the costuming is spot on, with each of the characters dressed in puritan clothing. My only complaint is that the Manga style of drawing hair and facial features looks a bit too modern for the time of the book.
These books are a unique and wonderful way to introduce young (or new) readers to the classic stories in literature. This is the third one I have read and reviewed and I have enjoyed all of them.
Thank you to Netgalley, UDON publishers and Stacy King for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Received a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley.
The classic The Scarlet Letter reimagined in a manga style. Good for the reluctant readers and teens.
I have only ever watched a movie adaptation of The Scarlet Letter but experiencing the books a graphic novel for the first time was great ! The art is beautiful and very well adapted !
I was pretty sleepy when I started this one and just intended to read 20 or so pages or a designated single chapter and put it aside. Turned out I was enthralled enough to finish the whole thing in one sitting.
In order to express why I loved this one so much, it would probably be beneficial to reveal some of my subjective and very favorite components of fiction, all of which this story and adaptation happens to have in spades.
- A dark, thick atmosphere.
- Characters who are harshly challenged by the plot in some way.
- Psychologically complex and puzzling characters.
- A brisk, focused, and consistent pace.
- A sinister yet thought-provoking tone. Not just grim for the sake of it.
- Messaging that is critical of injustices.
There are a lot more things I like but that is just a short list of what is very present in The Scarlet Letter and extraordinarily well adapted here. One thing of note though, forbidden romance is mentioned in the synopsis. I really did not sense any romance whatsoever here, nor affection between the main couple. The whole matter of them even getting together seemed mysteriously inexplicable. Just in case anyone may be expecting a touch of romance, that’s not the aim of the story or characterization here.
The main thing I focus on with Manga Classics is the art style and adaptation qualities.
The art is by SunNeko Lee who was also responsible for the art in Les Miserables, which I’d heaped considerable praise on for its art. The Scarlet Letter is one year newer and noticeably even better when it comes to finely detailed art style.
There is a lot more shading, characters are of a slightly more realistic proportion, and their expressiveness (both facial and the overall vibe of each character) is more distinctive. There are few characters though so that was probably easy to accomplish. The backdrops have lovely little details.
I was most impressed with the marked strength and dignity of Hester and how this was expressed both in text and in her facial expressions. Her child, Pearl, is the cutest thing imaginable but also has an eerie, pixie-like quality. It’s mentioned in the end notes that the artist strived to make her eyes unique to embody how the text mentions her eyes looking different from ordinary people. Long story short, I love the art, it’s carefully thought out and nice to look at.
Now the final thing I want to cover and perhaps the most important- the original novel, The Scarlet Letter. I've heard several times before that it's a pretty boring read that is styled in a way that's not flowing or easy to read.
I’ve read multiple reviews before (perhaps more than five, from varying sources) that bring up (paraphrasing) how it’s unfortunate for this book to be taught in high schools as there are so many more appealing and readable classics that could be chosen. By comparison, The Scarlet Letter could dissuade young people from reading.
I haven’t read The Scarlet Letter myself, but just from all I’ve heard, it’s amazing how appealing this adaptation is. Perhaps simplifying the core of the storyline and characterization may have played a big role in that, but I do have a bit of an interest in seeking out the classical novel now after reading this.
In closing,
Why You Should Try It – A darkly atmospheric tale with odd and distinctive characters. Without familiarity of the original novel, there were several tense moments where I wasn’t sure what to expect. The art is lovely and went far in getting me to feel for the cast, especially the adorable and precocious Pearl. The original book has a wide reputation for being one of the less exciting classics, so the fact that I was glued to the pages of this adaptation is really special.
Why You Might Not Like It – That aforementioned dark atmosphere lends a grim sadness to the overall tone of the story. Some of the behavior of the characters can be hard to fathom without a larger understanding of the setting and cultural norms of the time. The art style is not for everyone.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Udon Entertainment for providing this e-Arc to me for the purpose of review.
I'll be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the original novel. I read it a few years ago and I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I was however pleasantly surprised by how much I ended up enjoying this manga adaptation. Perhaps I ended up enjoying this more than the novel because the illustrations helped make the story a bit more vivid. It sure helps to have everything illustrated, as it helps clear up the more confusing aspects of the book and it gives a bit more life to some of the driest parts of the novel. I think that people who are struggling to get through the novel, like for class for instance, might find the manga easier to follow.