Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Persuasion

I haven't read very much Jane Austen, but I think Persuasion would be at the top of my list. I really like Anne and Wentworth. It's a very interior book and you learn a lot of Anne, how she thinks and what she feels. I also like how strong Anne is in her convictions and she sees things that others don't see because they are obsessed with rank or money. I also thought that this book was pretty funny, particularly due to Anne's family who are so snarky and mean, but so funny! As with so many romance books, Anne and Wentworth don't get together until the very end, but it makes a lot of sense with the plot of a prior estrangement and being unsure of the feelings of the other. Wentworth's letter is so romantic and they talk about their feelings at the end!

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moonieness12's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.5

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annamania99's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-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

5.0

Pride and Prejudice was the first Austen book I read, the first I watched as films, and the first I really loved. Reading Persuasion is not like reading Pride and Prejudice. They have similarities, in that the books focus on the flaws of the main characters, but the approach Austen takes in Persuasion is much different. The tone is much more melancholy, much less "bright and sparkling" as Austen described Pride and Prejudice. Anne, the book's heroine, is not witty and self-confident like Elizabeth, but she has a sureness in knowing herself that Elizabeth lacks. She is older than Elizabeth and has faced a great deal more in terms of loss and disappointment. Mainly, I think, Anne is isolated in a way Elizabeth is not. While Elizabeth has Jane, Charlotte, her father, and her aunt Gardiner to support her, Anne only has a pseudo-aunt in the form of her late mother's friend, and this changes how she interacts with the world a great deal.
Persuasion was the last book Austen wrote before she died, and was published by her sister after her death, making the themes of loss, regret, and lost time even more poignant.
This book doesn't hold the same place in my heart as Pride and Prejudice, but then it is for a very different mood. I think Anne's belief in and integrity to her own morals and her determination to find joy in small things during some of the most depressing times of her life make her an incredibly strong character; though, like in the book, I don't think these are things many people might notice.

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