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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
For some reason I had put this book off for the longest time, likely to do with my disinterest in the premise. I think, however, that this was probably one of my favourites. Austen's writing is so fun and atmospheric that I am now craving a re-watch of all the best film adaptions of her novels. Don't be prejudiced - read this book if you enjoy a good regency era novel :)
This was a new book for me. It was very different from the other Austen novels I've read. I am a reader who loves the characters of the story. The only reason I give 4 stars instead of 5 is that I didn't feel like I got to know Fanny as well as I have gotten to know characters from Austen's other books. I didn't dislike her, like some seem to, I just don't feel like I knew her well, and what motivated her opinions and actions. That wasn't to my personal taste. I was never really rooting for Fanny & Edmund the way I rooted for Elizabeth and Darcy, or Elinor and Edward, or Marianne and Col. Brandon, etc. However, I get where Jane Austen was going with this novel, and I really did enjoy the story. My quest to read (or reread) all of Jane Austen's work continues!
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
I've been listening to Jane Austen's novels in order of publication, and this is the third installment. I had only a passing knowledge of the plot, despite the fact that I have seen two different film versions of this story. My memory of the 1999 movie version is mostly of Johnny Lee Miller, and the fact that my Gram said several important things were changed from the novel - including Fanny's characterization and constitution. The other version I have seen also miscast Fanny - the 2007 TV movie with Billie Piper. I don't remember much about that version, other than that they wanted to put on a play.
So, going in, I didn't really know a lot about the details of this story. I had read some brief summaries, citing that this is her most complex novel.
I enjoyed it, and bits and pieces of the movies I've seen came back to me as I listened. There were some times when I found it difficult to stay engaged, but that didn't last long and didn't happen that often.
I felt like I identified with Fanny more than any Austen's heroines that I've read in the previous two novels. I felt so sad for her during the course of this novel. I felt like she didn't really get the love and attention she wanted (and deserved) anywhere. She was ill-used by most people in her life. While I think it's a bit weird to be in love with your cousin, I can't really blame Fanny for being in love with Edmund. He was the only one who ever really showed her kindness and love on a consistent basis. Her aunt Bertram does not show her the love of a mother, but does care for her. I couldn't help but immediately have a distaste for Mrs. Norris - not only from her characterization, but simply from her name. I guess that's what happens to ardent Harry Potter fans.
Anyhow...I feel like there was a lot more I wanted to say, but I've forgotten. Since I usually listen in the car or at the gym, I can't easily take notes while I read to help with my reviews. But, as I said, I did enjoy this novel. I gave it 4.5 stars instead of 5 just because it was a little more dense, and complex, than the two previous novels.
I've been listening to Jane Austen's novels in order of publication, and this is the third installment. I had only a passing knowledge of the plot, despite the fact that I have seen two different film versions of this story. My memory of the 1999 movie version is mostly of Johnny Lee Miller, and the fact that my Gram said several important things were changed from the novel - including Fanny's characterization and constitution. The other version I have seen also miscast Fanny - the 2007 TV movie with Billie Piper. I don't remember much about that version, other than that they wanted to put on a play.
So, going in, I didn't really know a lot about the details of this story. I had read some brief summaries, citing that this is her most complex novel.
I enjoyed it, and bits and pieces of the movies I've seen came back to me as I listened. There were some times when I found it difficult to stay engaged, but that didn't last long and didn't happen that often.
I felt like I identified with Fanny more than any Austen's heroines that I've read in the previous two novels. I felt so sad for her during the course of this novel. I felt like she didn't really get the love and attention she wanted (and deserved) anywhere. She was ill-used by most people in her life. While I think it's a bit weird to be in love with your cousin, I can't really blame Fanny for being in love with Edmund. He was the only one who ever really showed her kindness and love on a consistent basis. Her aunt Bertram does not show her the love of a mother, but does care for her. I couldn't help but immediately have a distaste for Mrs. Norris - not only from her characterization, but simply from her name. I guess that's what happens to ardent Harry Potter fans.
Anyhow...I feel like there was a lot more I wanted to say, but I've forgotten. Since I usually listen in the car or at the gym, I can't easily take notes while I read to help with my reviews. But, as I said, I did enjoy this novel. I gave it 4.5 stars instead of 5 just because it was a little more dense, and complex, than the two previous novels.
Just finished rereading this classic. It is better then I remembered.
"Let him have all the perfections in the world, I think it ought not be set down as certain that a man must be acceptable to every woman he may happen to like himself."
One of the most metal quotes in all of Austen.... and it came from the book about the meekest, most passive, most widely derided as a wet blanket heroine, Fanny Price? Bro. Brooooooo.
I'll admit in the first half I was a little exasperated with her and the dragging plot in general, but when Henry Crawford really comes into play and Fanny
Spoiler
trusted her instincts and refused himSpoiler
cousin EdmundSo I could have been perfectly content without that final chapter, but hey.
Well, I liked this enough to re-read it within a year, so that says something. And it's not a short book.
I love books that throw you into the deep end and expect you to swim. Several of William Gibson's books, but especially The Peripheral; Susanna Clarke's Piranesi. They start telling the story from the characters' point of view and leave you to figure out what's going on in the world.
Mansfield Park is not an unfamiliar setting (for the intended audience at the time), but it is an intensely social milieu, and Austen doesn't pull any punches. Within the first two pages, we're introduced to: Miss Maria Ward, Sir Thomas Bertram, Miss Ward, Miss Frances, Rev. Mr. Norris, Mrs. Norris, an unnamed Lieutenant of Marines, Lady Bertram, Mrs. Price, and Fanny. You need to be paying enough attention to infer that Miss Maria Ward and Lady Bertram are the same person, as are Miss Ward and Mrs. Norris, as well as Miss Frances, Mrs. Price, and Fanny. You should also have caught that Miss Ward (Mrs. Norris) is designated by that name as the eldest of the three sisters, and that the unnamed Lieutenant must be Mr. Price. Buckle up, here comes page three.
For someone who grew up on what are in essence boys' adventure stories of various stripes and levels of maturity, this is a very different experience, and it's frankly quite challenging. This is not the complexity of murder mysteries or political intrigues or heist stories. It's the complexity of social relations between a dozen or so people varying in age, social status, fortune and prospects, beauty and talent, availability, desirability, maturity, and character flaws, who are bound together by family relationships or thrown together by circumstance. It's all about social skills and character and life choices.
Part of what is fascinating is that it is so ordinary. The climactic drama is a social scandal. There are no fight scenes or chases, no countdown on a ticking bomb. There are four young ladies and a similar number of young gentlemen, and it will be interesting to see who ends up with whom.
[Still working on this. There's a lot to think about...]
(This copy, the one I read first, is my mum's. It's part of a full set of Jane Austen's novels from Oxford University Press, printed in 1946. I re-read the Project Gutenberg version on my Kindle, which while convenient is an altogether less emotionally resonant experience.)
I love books that throw you into the deep end and expect you to swim. Several of William Gibson's books, but especially The Peripheral; Susanna Clarke's Piranesi. They start telling the story from the characters' point of view and leave you to figure out what's going on in the world.
Mansfield Park is not an unfamiliar setting (for the intended audience at the time), but it is an intensely social milieu, and Austen doesn't pull any punches. Within the first two pages, we're introduced to: Miss Maria Ward, Sir Thomas Bertram, Miss Ward, Miss Frances, Rev. Mr. Norris, Mrs. Norris, an unnamed Lieutenant of Marines, Lady Bertram, Mrs. Price, and Fanny. You need to be paying enough attention to infer that Miss Maria Ward and Lady Bertram are the same person, as are Miss Ward and Mrs. Norris, as well as Miss Frances, Mrs. Price, and Fanny. You should also have caught that Miss Ward (Mrs. Norris) is designated by that name as the eldest of the three sisters, and that the unnamed Lieutenant must be Mr. Price. Buckle up, here comes page three.
For someone who grew up on what are in essence boys' adventure stories of various stripes and levels of maturity, this is a very different experience, and it's frankly quite challenging. This is not the complexity of murder mysteries or political intrigues or heist stories. It's the complexity of social relations between a dozen or so people varying in age, social status, fortune and prospects, beauty and talent, availability, desirability, maturity, and character flaws, who are bound together by family relationships or thrown together by circumstance. It's all about social skills and character and life choices.
Part of what is fascinating is that it is so ordinary. The climactic drama is a social scandal. There are no fight scenes or chases, no countdown on a ticking bomb. There are four young ladies and a similar number of young gentlemen, and it will be interesting to see who ends up with whom.
[Still working on this. There's a lot to think about...]
(This copy, the one I read first, is my mum's. It's part of a full set of Jane Austen's novels from Oxford University Press, printed in 1946. I re-read the Project Gutenberg version on my Kindle, which while convenient is an altogether less emotionally resonant experience.)
This was my first time reading Mansfield Park unabridged. I really feel like this work of Jane Austen doesn't get as much credit as it deserves. Some of the things that occur in the book can boggle the mind if you only look at it through a modern lens, but if viewed with the societal norms and practices of the day, that can make the responses, choices, and certain practices a bit clearer. Fanny Price, in my estimation had virtues that most of us should attempt to emulate.
5 Times Fanny Quietly Showed Love For Others
5 Times Fanny Quietly Showed Love For Others
