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sccubed's review against another edition
3.0
I can't stand Emma. I really can never stand her. Or any of these characters. But I guess that's the point. And by the end I was glad that we'd all grown a little bit and changed a little bit and blah blah blah. It was a fun adaptation.
mizpurplest's review against another edition
4.0
I don't usually let myself be drawn into retellings of Jane Austen, but something about this one called to me. I enjoyed the modern setting and flippant tone, but had a harder time with the fluffier character of Emma. In the end, I enjoyed the slight twists and the lightly moral lesson left a smile. Worth the quick read.
tobyyy's review against another edition
1.0
Did not finish at 60% (approximately)
I feel somewhat guilty rating a book by McCall Smith so low, because typically I adore his writing. However, what I did read of Emma was boring, clunky, extraordinarily long-winded, and overall a far worse retelling than I never expected was possible.
Emma is a horrible character and I can’t stand her. Miss Taylor - the governess - is okay but a cross between Nanny McPhee and Mary Poppins, so she seems a bit stereotypical and unrealistic. I liked Mr. Woodhouse, Emma’s father, but he also seemed to be sadly comedic, which I disliked.
I tried to make myself finish it but although it’s half as long as Austen’s novel of the same name, it feels six times as long and much more tedious. It doesn’t help that McCall Smith also tends to be long-winded and at times repetitive, and I feel like he used the concept of rewriting an Austen novel as a free fall into long-winded, frothy prose that is difficult to navigate.
Do not recommend. Blech!!!
I feel somewhat guilty rating a book by McCall Smith so low, because typically I adore his writing. However, what I did read of Emma was boring, clunky, extraordinarily long-winded, and overall a far worse retelling than I never expected was possible.
Emma is a horrible character and I can’t stand her. Miss Taylor - the governess - is okay but a cross between Nanny McPhee and Mary Poppins, so she seems a bit stereotypical and unrealistic. I liked Mr. Woodhouse, Emma’s father, but he also seemed to be sadly comedic, which I disliked.
I tried to make myself finish it but although it’s half as long as Austen’s novel of the same name, it feels six times as long and much more tedious. It doesn’t help that McCall Smith also tends to be long-winded and at times repetitive, and I feel like he used the concept of rewriting an Austen novel as a free fall into long-winded, frothy prose that is difficult to navigate.
Do not recommend. Blech!!!
lindseysparks's review against another edition
2.0
I'm not a huge fan of retellings, although oddly, I do tend to like them more on screen (The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Clueless). Maybe it's because on screen there's usually more modernization while authors tend to end up mimicking the original author more and it's more obvious on paper. I adore Alexander McCall Smith though and felt like his take on Emma could be quite funny.
Spoiler alert: it wasn't. His Emma is just plain mean and all of the characters except Mr. Woodhouse come off much worse than in the original. The writing was very good and there was enough to keep me reading but I can't really say I enjoyed it. I kept forgetting it was supposed to be modern. If you took away the cars and mentions of women going to university it really wasn't modernized at all. Trying to picture the characters saying some of the things they said in 2014 instead of 1814 was just absurd.
It has such a lovely cover that I'm tempted to keep it just for that but should probably pass it along.
Spoiler alert: it wasn't. His Emma is just plain mean and all of the characters except Mr. Woodhouse come off much worse than in the original. The writing was very good and there was enough to keep me reading but I can't really say I enjoyed it. I kept forgetting it was supposed to be modern. If you took away the cars and mentions of women going to university it really wasn't modernized at all. Trying to picture the characters saying some of the things they said in 2014 instead of 1814 was just absurd.
It has such a lovely cover that I'm tempted to keep it just for that but should probably pass it along.
susani_'s review against another edition
1.0
No. Just no. God lord no.
Let’s just leave the storytelling to Jane Austen.
Let’s just leave the storytelling to Jane Austen.
lisanussd's review
4.0
Delightful. I really enjoyed the updated Pride and Prejudice by Curtis Sittenfield and happy to find out that there were other works like Emma. It is like returning to a favorite housecoat to read Austen’s stories. McCall Smith made the story like a cozy romance with some astute observations of human nature blended in.
lolo007's review against another edition
2.0
This book was... Ok I guess. I'm a big fan of Jane Austen and I know lots of die-hard fans don't like retellings but that isn't my issue here. It's just that for most of the book none of the characters are really very likeable.
And all of the relationships in the book seem very forced and superficial. Maybe that was done on purpose to make a point? I don't know, this whole story didn't really work for me.
And all of the relationships in the book seem very forced and superficial. Maybe that was done on purpose to make a point? I don't know, this whole story didn't really work for me.
egould1's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. It was enjoyable to be in Emma’s world, but it wasn’t as much of a new retelling as I’d hoped.
sardine164's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars
Although this is a light and easy read, I didn't like the first half of this book. I softened as the story progressed, maybe in the same way that Emma does.
I wonder if it is necessary to re-write Austen? I wouldn't have thought so, but I'm going to use this as an excuse to re-read the original Emma ;)
Although this is a light and easy read, I didn't like the first half of this book. I softened as the story progressed, maybe in the same way that Emma does.
I wonder if it is necessary to re-write Austen? I wouldn't have thought so, but I'm going to use this as an excuse to re-read the original Emma ;)
melissadegraffbooks's review against another edition
The characters were completely unlikeable and one-dimensional. I gave up half way through. I love the author's other books, but this one really didn't work for me.
If you're looking for a great modernization of Emma, check out Emma Approved on YouTube.
If you're looking for a great modernization of Emma, check out Emma Approved on YouTube.