The Scarlet Letter has been one of my favorite books for a long time, so I was excited to hear about this new origin story.
In this novel adaptation, Isobel Gowdie is a woman who experiences color associations with words and speech. Spectral perception, a color’s ability to evoke emotion, was a strange concept to most as well as many other misunderstood phenomena . . . or anything out of the ordinary in this era, was easily considered witchcraft-related and had to be suppressed. Keeping talents, thoughts, and desires deeply hidden seemed to be a daily struggle for all the females of Salem.
In all honesty, some of the beginning narrative was a bit too slow to fully grab my attention, but I am so glad I stuck it out because the second half fully met my expectations.
Above all, this author stayed true to the historical period and conjured an innovative backstory to a dearly beloved classic.
I’d like to thank NetGalley for an advanced copy of Hester for my unbiased evaluation. 3.5 stars
