As a second language English speaker, I loved this book. Maybe it's because I am a sucker for Anna Karenina and an English literature A (ironic) student but I didn't found it impossible to read. I even enjoyed the difficult words, collecting those who I thought were pretty on a notebook. Hester and Dimmesdale and Roger are tremendous characters which I found intriguing. I prefer much more books that explore character development than those who are action driven. I am glad I gave this book a chance. No one forced me at school and I am happy that this book has found a place in my must-read again shelf. I wish we had studied it at school instead of Jane Austen or Shakespeare.