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latadych's review against another edition
4.0
like 3.5 i think
i was not expecting to like this cause it's so long and evelina is kind of annoying at times but the last like 70 pages slayed so hard, everything came together and i loved it.
i was not expecting to like this cause it's so long and evelina is kind of annoying at times but the last like 70 pages slayed so hard, everything came together and i loved it.
thenovelbook's review against another edition
3.0
I did not love Evelina as much the third time around. Also, it's been a number of years since I read it, and I think my tastes and level of tolerance has changed a little. This is a really, really long book, and though I enjoyed the last section, where Evelina and Lord Orville (who is honestly a little too idealized) actually get a chance at figuring each other out, my patience ran thin for all of the horrible people Evelina has to hang out with. The main thing I came away with was pity for the helplessness of young women back in the day. And even though Evelina is a person of sense and good judgment, she has to hide it most of the time in order to be polite. I'm not saying we don't do something similar nowadays, but the language of excessive decorum got a little tiring. And then it swung to the other extreme of spending way too much time on scenes where vulgar people are making mischief. There was hardly anybody ever talking sense. Even Evelina's guardian, who is supposed to be the ultimate voice of reason, mostly just talks about how he is looking forward to dying in her arms. I have to wonder, was all this kind of thing common in letter-writing and speech of the day? Or is it an exaggerated reality that people were supposed to aspire to?
As a reader, I always felt like Evelina was a bit of an enigma to me, in spite of the fact that nearly all of the hundreds of letters were written by her. I think it's because, though she is describing what happens to her in society, one gets the sense that she never really participates in it. Mostly she just watches and then feels appropriately disturbed or contented. No doubt she was seen as a paragon of womanly virtue at the time of publication, but it's hard to read without feeling the injustice of it.
It is interesting to view this as a prototype of women's literature. Jane Austen's novels, which came a few decades later, show society as still a mix of posh and crass, but with more of an insistence that there is a middle ground, and her heroines, while still polite, are less afraid to express their thoughts in conversation. She has also nicely pared down her dialogue and descriptions, so that they are not nearly as high-flown as Mrs. Burney's.
As a reader, I always felt like Evelina was a bit of an enigma to me, in spite of the fact that nearly all of the hundreds of letters were written by her. I think it's because, though she is describing what happens to her in society, one gets the sense that she never really participates in it. Mostly she just watches and then feels appropriately disturbed or contented. No doubt she was seen as a paragon of womanly virtue at the time of publication, but it's hard to read without feeling the injustice of it.
It is interesting to view this as a prototype of women's literature. Jane Austen's novels, which came a few decades later, show society as still a mix of posh and crass, but with more of an insistence that there is a middle ground, and her heroines, while still polite, are less afraid to express their thoughts in conversation. She has also nicely pared down her dialogue and descriptions, so that they are not nearly as high-flown as Mrs. Burney's.
erinalbion's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely delightful. I only regret I let this charming novel languish unread on my shelves for so many years. If you are a Jane Austen fan, this novel is a must read.
aclassicalmess's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
arash's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
pikaharlow98's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
jesforeverlostinbooks's review against another edition
funny
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Ok so this classic is a bit long & overly dramatic but it had me giggling throughout. It might have been because of the narration… which was fantastic! The audio I listened to was read by Orson Scott Card, Emily Rankin, Stefan Rudnicki & Gabrielle de Cuir. This classic was a favorite of Jane Austen’s… it’s crazy to think that I’ve now read a book that Jane Austen read & loved. This is an epistolary novel & is mostly told from Evelina’s perspective. Evelina is the unacknowledged but legitimate daughter of an English aristocrat but she is basically an orphan when her mother dies at her birth she has been raised by Reverend Arthur Villars… he made sure she was educated & loved. She is beautiful but she is timid, naive & somewhat clueless about the world. As she enters society she makes one blunder after another trying to find her footing. I loved watching her grow in confidence in her own abilities & discernment So many of these characters are crazy, dramatic & so over the top you can’t help but laugh. At times I got frustrated with all the miscommunication but it has a satisfying ending and if you like classics it’s worth the read.
ninjamuse's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia, Bullying, Misogyny, and Classism
Minor: Death of parent, Abandonment, Infidelity, and Blood
rachel__anne's review against another edition
emotional
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5