This review is part of my Spin challenge from the Classics Club. I have never read anything by Jane Austen before, although I have seen the Colin Firth version of Pride and Prejudice, along with the 2009 version of Emma. I can see why this is a classic, it had so much going on, and learning about the different rules of society (which I greatly enjoyed, although I did already know some of it). I often found myself seeing the scenes from the movie while reading the book. I enjoyed most of the characters, but of course not all. I do think that Mr. Darcy, Miss Darcy, and Mary were all in some way misunderstood. There were all unsure of themselves in society, for a variety of reasons it seemed. Unfortunately, it made them seem aloof, uncaring, etc., but I often wondered if sometimes they hated being unable to show their true feelings and thoughts? Was Austen trying to show that even though they were at the top or somewhat top of society, compared to the normal person, that they in fact were just as human? No matter the type of person, that sometimes we just don't enjoy social situations with lots of people. I was glad in the book it gave more insight into Mr. Darcy's thoughts, as I was previously unaware of them from the movie. I did like Jane's and Elizabeth characters, although thought Elizabeth was sometime's too judgemental. I was not a fan of Miss Bingley, Lydia, Mr. Wickham or Kitty. I thought it was too bad that Mary didn't have a bigger role, and at points throughout the book I would forget she even existed. I wanted to know more about her, and often wondered why Austen put her in, or if perhaps Austen was showing that not everyone fits into the "role" society thinks we should have.
Rank: 5 out of 5.
rewatch the movie!
Challenge:
6th book for Classics Cub. Next book: A Little Princess
1st book for Pride and Prejudice bicentenary challenge. Next: rewatch movie
The Jane Austen book Persuasion is the shortest out of all of her works, however it is also the most unique writing style as well. There is very little dialogue at all in this book, which may bother some people, but I found it to be interesting. The book is told in a background story and the views of the main character Anne Elliot. She happens to be in her late 20's and in previous years was in love with Frederick Wentworth, however at the time this occurred a relationship was out of the question. Anne's father is a Baron and known as Sir Walter Elliot and puts great stock in the nobility. However, he only has daughters and is currently in bad financial circumstances. On the other hand Frederick Wentworth has returned and is now a Navy Captain that has made his fortune. We meet several different characters in this book friends or in-laws of young people a few are shallow or vain, while others are quiet or overlooked. Anne Elliot was a quiet character who seemed to keep most of her opinions to herself, perhaps this is why her family often takes her for granted or they seem not to notice her at all. I wasn't a fan of most of her relatives. I am sure though that in writing the characters of the sisters that status and money were mostly all that was thought of at the time, especially in real life, women in the nobility/aristocracy needed to uphold or further advance themselves or their family by both status and financially. This book takes place in several locations including Bath in England, which from the previous Jane Austen books I have read is unusual. I did like the writing style but did wish this book was a little more in-depth in some instances and that the ending of it wasn't so rushed (this maybe because Jane Austen died and this book was actually published after her death). I was a little surprised though that for quite a while Frederick was nowhere around physically.
