Reviews with content warning for Death - Sense and Sensibility

Whilst not among my favourites of Austen's novels, this was a compelling and interesting read. As my reading partner put it "it's as if everyone is in a romance novel except for Elinor and Lucy, who are both in a social intrigue novel". It blends the two genres well and manages to display the merits of acting sensibly and with good judgement without coming off as haughty or moralising. Attention is given to the insipidity of the gentry, the financial troubles of women, and the importance of patience and calculation.

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lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

I picked up the Barnes & Noble Classic edition of this novel in my quest to slowly collect and read more classics.
"Sense and Sensibility" follows Marianne Dashwood and her sister, Elinor. Marianne has fallen for John Willoughby, a man who truly does not deserve her time. Elinor warns Marianne to not be impulsive, but Marianne wants to follow her heart and give him a chance. Elinor, who has always played by the book, has her own romantic disappointment, but she tries to hide it from everyone. These sisters have to learn how to balance their sense and sensibility when falling in love in a world where money and status mean everything.
The thing I really enjoyed about this novel was the discussions of money and being a woman. During this time period, it was very uncommon for a woman to be self-sufficient nor to have a major voice over the family's finances. However, in this novel, Jane Austen writes strong women who know how to manipulate the conversation with their partners in order to control where the household money goes. I think this is so powerful and is great foreshadowing to highlight that women are going to play a bigger role in their households in years to come.
This was not my favorite Jane Austen novel, but it is not terrible either. Ultimately, I struggled to become invested in this story because the plot felt denser than it needed to be. I really loved the discourse surrounding money, and I think some of the ideas of proper and smart investments are very noteworthy and translatable for today's world. Something I kept reading was this idea of not spending more than the interest you earn on the wealth you have. We do not need to go into debt, and I really loved seeing this being discussed. Unfortunately, I was more interested in this plot line than any of the romance going on.
I will, of course, read more from Jane Austen in the future, and perhaps I will give this another read at a later date to see if I enjoy it more.

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cleotheo's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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greatexpectations77's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I think I need to read the physical versions of Ms. Austen's books to get the full impact, but I love her moments when you gasp from the very depths of your soul. I also liked picturing Elinor as a meme where she is just trying to astral project to somewhere else while everyone won't shut the heck up around her. A treat, as usual.

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toffishay's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad 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

4.25

I really loved this book! Elinor and Marianne have such a fun relationship and their different approaches to love and relationships were very engaging. I loved Elinor too! She is maybe my favorite Austen character now, with Anne from Persuasion as a close second. But Elinor is so strong and funny and interesting. All of her inner dialogue and her willingness to be sharp when she needs to be, made me glad that she is who we follow. I also liked Marianne though and I think she gets shorted in the book a bit. Yes, she engages in flights of fancy but she is 17! I liked the moments where Elinor was able to be there for her though and support her; how they were really able to support each other. Like all Austen books, the end seems to wrap up a little too quickly to me and there is a point in the second volume where things really slow down. Some of the back-and-forths and misunderstandings could have been cut, especially because some are resolved so quickly that they don't impact the plot at all. But I had a good time reading this one and could see myself revisiting it before some others from Austen :)

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mindins's review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

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

3.5

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marthadude's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful lighthearted 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

I honestly don’t get the Jane Austen hype. I felt like Austen was just writing in circles and I had to turn to online chapter summaries to determine what I just read. Getting through the last 100 pages was like pulling teeth. There were fun moments here and there but overall I wasn’t the biggest fan.

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