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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
Yes, yes...I know Fanny Price is not everyone's cup of tea, but I'm a big fan. Her steadiness, her genuine care for the Bertrams, her willingness to serve others, her kindness, and her refusal to not let others sway her when she truly knows her own mind makes her a joy to read about. Of course, she is an imperfect heroine, as Austen insists upon in her novels. And you can read more reviews to get other takes on her flaws. However, I found the examination of each character's telos to be exactly what makes MP such a rich read, and Fanny Price's silent strength and wisdom a very satisfying heroine.
And yeah, the ending is just too rushed! Jane....? But it's easy to get over.
And yeah, the ending is just too rushed! Jane....? But it's easy to get over.
I apologize if you were in any way affected by the recent tilting of the world off its axis. For the first time ever, I was disappointed by something by Jane Austen, and it threatened to destroy the basic functioning of the universe.
Mansfield Park is just...not very good.
There’s that whole romance-with-your-first-cousin thing, for one. No blame on ol’ Janie, she was merely a victim of her incestuous nineteenth-century society circumstances, but like...yuck. Gives you the heebie-jeebies all the same.
All I’m saying is it’s tough to go from the greatest love story ever told to a pair of characters with all the flamboyant personality of stale biscuits valiantly attempting to force themselves to fall in love with each other.
And yes, one, these characters are no Bennet family. Fanny, our main squeeze, is a bit, um, how to say this politely...devastatingly boring. She’s, like, nice. It’s fine. Her first cousin and major lifelong crush, Edmund or Edward or Edvard or Edmonton or one of those Ed-names, I already forget, is equally compelling. As I’m sure you can tell by the fact that I cannot remember his name and lack the energy to look it up.
There’s also just...no real love story here. About a quarter of the book is devoted to the sheer horror of a few rich kids in their mid-twenties putting on a play. (How improper! Gasp! We are on the edge of our seats waiting to find out what happened!!) Two thirds of it follows Fanny legitimately agonizing over the unwanted affections of some guy, who is, guess what, so much more interesting than the actual love interest. (Damn it, Jane.) The real romance begins and ends in seemingly the last four pages of the book.
THE LOVE STORY OF THIS LOVE STORY IS AN AFTERTHOUGHT.
It feels like the part in Jane Eyre when she lives with Sinjin and is just like “This sucks.” This book is like if the worst part of Jane Eyre was all of Jane Eyre.
Luckily, even the worst part of Jane Eyre is still beautifully written, and so is this book. The best thing that Mansfield Park has going for it is that it’s written by Jane Austen, and Jane Austen couldn’t write a one star-worthy book if she tried.
But it doesn’t have much else going for it.
Bottom line: I would like to pretend that this book is not part of the collected works of Jane Austen thank you very much!
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pre-review
jane, i'm not mad, i'm just disappointed
review to come
Mansfield Park is just...not very good.
There’s that whole romance-with-your-first-cousin thing, for one. No blame on ol’ Janie, she was merely a victim of her incestuous nineteenth-century society circumstances, but like...yuck. Gives you the heebie-jeebies all the same.
All I’m saying is it’s tough to go from the greatest love story ever told to a pair of characters with all the flamboyant personality of stale biscuits valiantly attempting to force themselves to fall in love with each other.
And yes, one, these characters are no Bennet family. Fanny, our main squeeze, is a bit, um, how to say this politely...devastatingly boring. She’s, like, nice. It’s fine. Her first cousin and major lifelong crush, Edmund or Edward or Edvard or Edmonton or one of those Ed-names, I already forget, is equally compelling. As I’m sure you can tell by the fact that I cannot remember his name and lack the energy to look it up.
There’s also just...no real love story here. About a quarter of the book is devoted to the sheer horror of a few rich kids in their mid-twenties putting on a play. (How improper! Gasp! We are on the edge of our seats waiting to find out what happened!!) Two thirds of it follows Fanny legitimately agonizing over the unwanted affections of some guy, who is, guess what, so much more interesting than the actual love interest. (Damn it, Jane.) The real romance begins and ends in seemingly the last four pages of the book.
THE LOVE STORY OF THIS LOVE STORY IS AN AFTERTHOUGHT.
It feels like the part in Jane Eyre when she lives with Sinjin and is just like “This sucks.” This book is like if the worst part of Jane Eyre was all of Jane Eyre.
Luckily, even the worst part of Jane Eyre is still beautifully written, and so is this book. The best thing that Mansfield Park has going for it is that it’s written by Jane Austen, and Jane Austen couldn’t write a one star-worthy book if she tried.
But it doesn’t have much else going for it.
Bottom line: I would like to pretend that this book is not part of the collected works of Jane Austen thank you very much!
-----------
pre-review
jane, i'm not mad, i'm just disappointed
review to come
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This may even be more like a 2.5/5 idek.
I overall really disliked these characters and this story and also this book was LONG AS HECK.
Everyone was the worst except Fanny, who was only the worst about the first 25% of the book.
What I DID like is having a girl who is perceived as weak and quiet and shy STAND UP TO A GUY SHE DIDN'T LIKE. Like ESP in a novel of this time, having this girl be like nah you're all wrong, even when it changed people's good opinion over, was just so great. And her continuing to stick to her beliefs and morals throughout the whole book was a++++
Edmund was okay except being an idiot most of the book.
Sir Thomas got much better as it went on.
Everyone else was the worst THE END.
I overall really disliked these characters and this story and also this book was LONG AS HECK.
Everyone was the worst except Fanny, who was only the worst about the first 25% of the book.
What I DID like is having a girl who is perceived as weak and quiet and shy STAND UP TO A GUY SHE DIDN'T LIKE. Like ESP in a novel of this time, having this girl be like nah you're all wrong, even when it changed people's good opinion over, was just so great. And her continuing to stick to her beliefs and morals throughout the whole book was a++++
Edmund was okay except being an idiot most of the book.
Sir Thomas got much better as it went on.
Everyone else was the worst THE END.
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Technically, I'm reading the version on Project Gutenberg, but, y'know.