Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen: Review & Link Up

 Check out the 2014 Jane Austen Challenge!
Upcoming Reminders!
On March 31st, I will post information about Pride & Prejudice.
On April 30th, I will post my review and the linky for Pride & Prejudice.


Title: Sense & Sensibility
Author: Jane Austen
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Publication Date: April 2003 (originally published in 1811)
Length: 409
Series: Stand Alone
Audio or Book: Book
Reason for Discovery: the Internet

From GoodReads:
Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor's warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love—and its threatened loss—the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love.
The GoodReads' book blurb does a good job of describing the plot, so I am going to spare you from one of my summaries. :)

This review will be more of a discussion more than anything else and will have tons of spoilers!

Want more information about Sense & Sensibility? Check out my Sense & Sensibility links.

I remember when I first watched the movie Sense & Sensibility with Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant. I loved this movie so much. I remember thinking that I was just like Elinor (sensible and quiet) and that Marianne was ridiculous. I watched this movie more times than I can count. A few years ago, the BBC came out with their own mini-series. Of course, I gobbled this series up. Again, I decided that I was definitely Elinor and Marianne was ridiculous. I must admit that now that I have read the book and have gotten married, my views have changed a bit on Elinor and Marianne. Oh my goodness, I have been such a Marianne all of my life. I have always desperately craved proclamations of love. If a guy had asked for a lock of my hair for safekeeping, I would probably have swooned. When I was 10 or so, I thought that I would get married when I was in my early 20s. I really wanted my college boyfriend to propose to me in a romantic arch at our school. (Luckily, he didn't propose. We were not right for each other.) Would I call myself a Marianne or Elinor now? I probably walk the line between the two, but I probably still lean more on the Marianne side. :)

I must admit that I was surprised about how frustrated I was with the love interests in this book. Let's start with Willoughby. I realize that we are not supposed to like him, but I think I actually liked him less in the book than in the movies. I need to rewatch the movies, because I do not remember him ever telling Elinor that he originally was just playing games with Marianne's heart. I was also a bit displeased that Willoughby didn't get more of his just desserts. I felt bad for Colonel Brandon's ward and that she was given no real justice. Willoughby ended up in a loveless marriage, but he was still solvent, while Brandon's ward and Marianne nursed broken hearts (and worse!). I think I would have felt worse for Marianne if Willoughby hadn't been such a scoundrel. Will Marianne and Colonel Brandon be happy? I don't know. Colonel Brandon is more upstanding than Willoughy though.

Now let's talk about Edward. I thought Edward was perfect back in the day. I felt so bad for him! He was engaged to a girl that he didn't love any more, and she was a bit silly! Edward had to be with Elinor! They were perfect for each other! Now, my feelings are a bit more complicated. I thought it was very noble of him to remain engaged to Lucy Steele; however, I feel that he put Elinor in a bad spot. I wish Elinor had been a bit angrier with him about the situation! Despite this situation though, I can imagine Edward and Elinor living happily ever after.

I enjoyed reading this book, but I must admit that I think I like the movies better, which is weird because the movies are fairly faithful adaptions of the book. I think part of the reason that I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would is that I had some difficulty with the text. Some of the text was difficult to understand. I think this was due to reading a free e-book version that wasn't the best quality. I noticed a few spelling and grammar errors, and I think there were other errors that I couldn't discern that made some of the dialogue confusing.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I am curious to see how I like this book in a few years. Will I feel differently about Willoughby and Edward's behavior? Will I feel that I am more of an Elinor or Marianne?

I give this book a 4 out of 5.

Very Good
 Upcoming Reminders!
On March 31st, I will post information about Pride & Prejudice.
On April 30th, I will post my review and the linky for Pride & Prejudice.





Back to Home Back to Top Reading Is Fun Again. Theme ligneous by pure-essence.net. Bloggerized by Chica Blogger.