Reviews - Sense and Sensibility

12.6k reviews for:

Sense and Sensibility

Jane Austen

3.96 AVERAGE

el_bateman's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny hopeful relaxing medium-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

elenorpillips's review against another edition

5.0

It seems that the more I read Jane Austen's work the more in awe I am of her. This is by far my favorite book so far, dethroning Emma. This book is surprisingly fast paced, of course it is the second shortest of the four I've read, but not by a huge margin. Pride and Prejudice was only about 40 pages longer but took me so long to read even though I adore the story more than anything. This book was simply chalk full of drama and miscommunication with complex characters and surprisingly modern concepts.

Each chapter continued to surprise me and draw me further into the book. I had seen the movie before reading this and yet I was almost convinced the story might end differently because it took a lot of different routes to arrive at the ending. The fact it was able to make me nervous and held that tension even when I knew what would happen was incredible.

The characters were all so amazing. I loved how Elinor was the primary perspective and much more of a main character than Marianne even though Marianne is my favorite. Marianne has most of the typical qualities of a Jane Austen main character; she reads, she's opinionated, she's bold, and she's slightly unlikable. I would say Elinor was a lot more reminiscent of Anne from Persuasion than Emma or Elizabeth, but Elinor also felt very fresh. She was so real! Her and Marianne's relationship really moved me, they loved and cared for each other so much no matter what. When Marianne was going through it and may have seemed overdramatic, Elinor was right there next to her without judgement, pushing aside her own turmoil to help and support her sister. And when Elinor's own struggles were revealed to Marianne, she burst into tears over the fact Elinor had been suppressing it to help her.

One of my favorite scenes was when Elinor's painting was slighted by Mrs Ferras and the other ladies around and Marianne instantly defended Elinor even if it made the situation uncomfortable. Neither of the girls felt like their only purpose was to end up married in the end even though that's, of course, where the story was headed. They both had such distinct personalities and cared for each other so much. I also truly love how Austen doesn't really villainize any of the other women in her stories. Of course, there is always the annoying lady used to demonstrate the main characters restraint or highlight other qualities better than them, but Austen never blames a women for the conflicts that usually arise from their interference. She always adds an explanation, and not just for the women.

Slight spoiler for a 200 year old book (JEEZ) but the way she even explained Willoughby's reasoning, making him sympathetic but yet keeping him accountable for his actions! The scene where Elinor explains everything to Marianne is amazing and has so much to take away from it. Every time I read one of her novels I am blown away by how relevant something written so long ago could still be today. Goodness, I love this book.