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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
challenging
funny
hopeful
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
I really like Jane Austen so I decided to read this novel and now I understand why some people say that it is different to the other ones, maybe more mature. The plot is not centered in a young woman anymore, and that offers Austen the possibility of exploring new realities and problematics. As usual, the novel is very well written, in her characteristic style. I missed the use of really witty and smart dialogues (a style mark that give this author recognition), since in this novel she favours descriptions and the narrative over the dialogues, or at least that’s the impression I got. Anne is a lovely character, but she didn’t struck me in the way that, for example, Elizabeth Bennet did since the beginning, but that may be a case of who I relate more with. At times I found the plot a bit predictable, but with all, I still found the book interesting and I have to admit that at some parts I couldn’t fight a smile or a gasp.
slow-paced
emotional
hopeful
reflective
funny
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
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:
No
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I picked this up after reading a currently-popular New York Times bestseller. I just wanted something that felt more classy and enjoyable than the popular books of modernity and their smutty sections that I grit my teeth through to get to the plot I really signed up for. This was a very sharply felt contrast in book type, but I loved it.
I do confess to having a hard time parsing Austen's books sometimes. She doesn't use enough speaker tags for me, and with similar names (or actually identical last names and quite similar first names, like in Persuasion) I often find myself lost as to who is speaking or who is being talked about - especially at the beginning when everyone is being introduced. I made it to chapter nine of Persuasion listening to an audio version read very dispassionately by some woman on Spotify before I started over at the beginning again, this time with the Audible version, where the reader does voices for different characters and reads with much more feeling. My experience improved significantly by the switch, whether because the chapters laying all the ground work of the story had now been covered twice for me or because the second reader was really that much better than the first.
Austen has a lovely way of writing about even the mundane in a way that makes it feel like a striking event. Even offhand remarks in Persuasion seemed to perfectly describe something about the human condition. The first time I realized this was in the description (near the beginning of the book) of how odd it feels to realize that those things which we imagine to be of such great importance in our small circles are not always even very much considered by those outside of our little group. Throughout the book, there are continually more. Anyone who has ever had a crush can identify with so much of this book that it almost pains you to think about it - the tiny things you observe and read into, or do your best to dismiss, and the way you're kicking yourself the whole time for even noticing in the first place. Just the way Austen expresses these kinds of tiny, familiar occurrences makes me feel a warmth and kinship with the rest of humanity.
In short, I loved this story. It was exactly as predictable as I wanted it to be, and exactly as appropriate. I didn't expect it to be so relatable, but that was a sweet surprise. If you're looking for a thrilling story that keeps you guessing and has many twists and turns and events driving the plot, this probably isn't it. I also found the ending to be abrupt, not in the way the story came together, but in the actual final few sentences that didn't feel like parting words to me. Still, I'd read it again, and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys relaxing reads that express emotions and relationships at length. I enjoyed it!
I do confess to having a hard time parsing Austen's books sometimes. She doesn't use enough speaker tags for me, and with similar names (or actually identical last names and quite similar first names, like in Persuasion) I often find myself lost as to who is speaking or who is being talked about - especially at the beginning when everyone is being introduced. I made it to chapter nine of Persuasion listening to an audio version read very dispassionately by some woman on Spotify before I started over at the beginning again, this time with the Audible version, where the reader does voices for different characters and reads with much more feeling. My experience improved significantly by the switch, whether because the chapters laying all the ground work of the story had now been covered twice for me or because the second reader was really that much better than the first.
Austen has a lovely way of writing about even the mundane in a way that makes it feel like a striking event. Even offhand remarks in Persuasion seemed to perfectly describe something about the human condition. The first time I realized this was in the description (near the beginning of the book) of how odd it feels to realize that those things which we imagine to be of such great importance in our small circles are not always even very much considered by those outside of our little group. Throughout the book, there are continually more. Anyone who has ever had a crush can identify with so much of this book that it almost pains you to think about it - the tiny things you observe and read into, or do your best to dismiss, and the way you're kicking yourself the whole time for even noticing in the first place. Just the way Austen expresses these kinds of tiny, familiar occurrences makes me feel a warmth and kinship with the rest of humanity.
In short, I loved this story. It was exactly as predictable as I wanted it to be, and exactly as appropriate. I didn't expect it to be so relatable, but that was a sweet surprise. If you're looking for a thrilling story that keeps you guessing and has many twists and turns and events driving the plot, this probably isn't it. I also found the ending to be abrupt, not in the way the story came together, but in the actual final few sentences that didn't feel like parting words to me. Still, I'd read it again, and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys relaxing reads that express emotions and relationships at length. I enjoyed it!