A very creepy thing has just happened. There is a copy of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne on my bookshelf. In itself not such a random occurence. It’s exactly the spot I would expect a book to be. However I threw this book out years ago after a painful Year 11 English exam (”I never want to see this book again!” etc). Now I don’t want to get all paranormal on you guys but I have been watching Lisa Williams ‘Life Beyond the Dead’ on Foxtel and I am slowly becoming aware of the scary shit going on when my back is turned. (A few nights ago I thought I was about to have an encounter by the spirit of my angry hissing grandfather but it was just the possums fighting on the roof and weeing on each other so that was a relief of sorts…)

But this book. I know the The Scarlet Letter provokes extremes: you either hate it or you love it. Simple as that. I also know the people who love it say to be patient, and give it another go as it’s better the second time around. I don’t know how anyone came up with ’second time around’ for this one, I barely handled the first. I am partly to blame as I remember having read The Acid House by Irvine Welsh just before The Scarlet Letter was given to us at school. I know, talk about from one extreme to another.

The Scarlet Letter was the only book studied in school that I didn’t adore.  Shelley’s Frankenstein satisfied my need to over-symbolise everything.  Lord of the Flies sat in my imagination for months (and still does).  But The Scarlet Letter just didn’t cut it.  Was sixteen too young to appreciate certain subtleties?

All I know is this book has reappeared on my shelf and all this Second Time Around peer pressure is making me think I should give it another chance. Perhaps it will read more easily without the stress of exams and over analysing every paragraph. Maybe there was underlying tension, hidden symbolism and themes beyond my wildest imagination. At the very least I’m secretly hoping it’ll be less dry and I can get through the other side with my ‘I read The Scarlet Letter and enjoyed it’ literary badge of honour.

Clearly Lisa Williams heard me (she loves those literary badges) and got someone/thing to make the book appear and now I think I’ll give it another go because I might be missing out. It might not have been as bad as Year 11 English classes wanted me to think. And I suspect if I don’t give it another go, I might get hissed and weed on, so I’LL DO IT.

Over the next few weeks (yes, I’m pacing myself) I’ll read it and let you know how I’m getting on. We’ll see if it indeed is better The Second Time Round.