Reviews

Emma by Jane Austen

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laurahappily's review against another edition

5.0

This is my favorite Jane Austen book. I think Emma is the funnest Austen heroine, and painfully familiar. She is funny and witty and can be so cruel without realizing it. Emma is a fun read, and the heroine keeps a smile on my face. After all, how can the book that inspired Clueless be anything but wonderful?

chsahit's review against another edition

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4.0

What a charming group of characters! I liked Mr. Woodhouse's "head empty, no thoughts" vibes, I liked Ms. Bates's excessive prattling, I liked Frank Churchill's self-aggrandizing letters and trips to London for haircuts, and I liked Harriet's guilessness. Emma's internal monologues and schemes, while not necessarily as entertaining to me as the supporting cast, were also very chuckle-inducing.

I feel obligated to admit that this book took me nearly 7 months to get through. At times, I found that the plot moved a bit slowly and there were lots of characters I had trouble keeping straight in my head. For the first 2/3 of the book, George Knightley was "the Paul Rudd guy" and John Knightley was "the Paul Rudd guy's brother". I also felt that Harriet winding up with John Martin at the end was a little bit unearned; that being said the book is called "Emma", not "Harriet", after all.

What really bumped this book up from 3 stars to 4 stars for me was the scene where Mr. Knightley confesses to Emma. I don't really have the words to describe the emotions I felt during their little stroll where Emma slowly realizes that Knightley loves her, not Harriet - but the impact of those emotions was visceral.
"I cannot make speeches Emma...If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more". Woah.

jilliand19's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted reflective relaxing 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

3.25

cassandrabee's review against another edition

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3.0

This is not my favorite Austen novel. There isn't really a single character that I liked, but it is well written. The ending is great.

saneyah's review against another edition

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5.0

people who hate emma woodhouse how does it feel to have no fun

theheartbrekker1's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

books_arts_journals's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

Re-read 'Emma' after many years and understood it better this time, for this time I read it slowly and attentively, savoring every moment. For me, its one of Jane Austen's finest novels, featuring one of her most remarkable hero and heroine. It was a perfect escape during these sad days, offering much-needed comfort and warmth. The chemistry between Emma and Mr. Knightey was so good, there was an understanding and openness between them seen with long-standing close friends. They had high regard for each other, however censured one another when necessary.

I have always admired Jane Austen's heroines; they are practical, kind, intelligent, strong and witty. Among them, Emma Woodhouse stands out as a near-perfect example. She has all this and beauty, wealth, and knows well how to take care of herself and those around her, especially her melancholy father. She is not afraid to speak her mind and is certainly no damsel in distress. Her character flaws are also quite convincing. Raised as a privileged girl and managing the household from a young age, always pampered and praised by people around her, there is bound to be some amount of vanity. Additionally, she had interest in meddling in other's romantic interests and matchmaking.

Mr. Knightley was social, friendly, kind, responsible, witty and had a good sense of humour (I may have started to like him more than Mr. Darcy). Plus, he was so romantic with his - "My dear Emma" and his iconic line - "If I loved you less, I would have been able to talk more"

The other characters were well-crafted and fit within the narrative perfectly. Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill's story was also good, could have easily been an amazing novel in itself. I particularly liked the friendship between Emma and Frank a lot, they were similar in some ways and were fun together. The character I liked the least was Harriet - she was indecisive, innocent and delusional. However, given her very young age, inexperience and nature its understandable. Also, she was heavily influenced by Emma! There is mention in the book of how Harriet is undeserving of the gentlemen, because of her family background and social status. This sadly highlights the social inequality present at that time, which unfortunately still persists today.

Maybe I'll read the book again in a few years to gain new insights. This time around, it was a pleasure to read and I gained valuable lessons. And of course, was completely swooned by the romances.