The Scarlet Letter (MaxNotes) Book

Impressive scholarship from an important McCarthy scholar. She does much in this book and that is perhaps the root of my main concern with it. It doesn't seem to have any central thesis nor does the book itself build towards any cumulative effect. The emphasis on gnosticism is such that a lot feels repetitive in later chapters. Luce says in the introduction that she wants to read what McCarthy has read and use knowledge of his contexts to help provide readings of his early works. She does an admirable job and has obviously done much research and hard work. I just would have liked to have seen it be a bit more focused.

Overall though, this book is a fine addition to McCarthy scholarship.