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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
Northanger Abbey is my fifth Austen, so to read her earliest work having been so familiar with her developed style was really interesting. In all of her works, Austen's own (often very comedic) voice is always present, but in Northanger Abbey she inserts it much more overtly, which to begin with I found slightly jarring but came to appreciate, and I particularly liked her final line.
Though in comparison to her later works I did find it slightly less nuanced and somewhat oddly structured, I still found it as amazingly witty and clever as ever and it's incredible to imagine how young she was when she wrote it.
Though in comparison to her later works I did find it slightly less nuanced and somewhat oddly structured, I still found it as amazingly witty and clever as ever and it's incredible to imagine how young she was when she wrote it.
uni time crunch again, also why did i get past halfway and still no word was spoken about this supposed abbey
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Listened to the audiobook because of all the narrators. They were all sublime! Northanger is not one of my favorite Austen stories but I enjoyed a re-read.
EDIT (after finishing): I was inspired to give this book another chance after enjoying Claudia Grey’s Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney murder mystery series (which is fantastic!). I also chose to listen to Juliet Stevenson’s audiobook performance of it, which was definitely the right move—I knew which character was speaking just by the sound of her voice, and she’s an incredibly engaging narrator.
This book is really quite charming, full of fourth wall-breaking asides to the reader. Catherine is an heroine who feels incredibly naive but whose earnest integrity grows on you, and her good-natured love interest, Henry Tilney, has a strong tendency to snarkily man-splain his way through courtship. Every character is flawed in an indearing way, and I thoroughly enjoyed the hilarity of Catherine’s disappointed imagination regarding Northanger Abbey (Jane Austen’s parody of the gothic novel).
But, more than anything, I was enraptured by the sheer insincerity and AUDACITY of Isabella and John Thorpe. My jaw dropped pretty much every time they said anything. Like Catherine, I still struggle to believe that there are people who are really so fickle and petty. Austen is so good at portraying subtle social indiscretions and cruelties through her most despicable characters.
Original review: Abandoned at 68%. I just figure if I haven't finished it over a year since I first started it, I'm probably not going to finish it any time soon. Not a horrible book, but not enough to keep my interest at this point in my life, unfortunately.
This book is really quite charming, full of fourth wall-breaking asides to the reader. Catherine is an heroine who feels incredibly naive but whose earnest integrity grows on you, and her good-natured love interest, Henry Tilney, has a strong tendency to snarkily man-splain his way through courtship. Every character is flawed in an indearing way, and I thoroughly enjoyed the hilarity of Catherine’s disappointed imagination regarding Northanger Abbey (Jane Austen’s parody of the gothic novel).
But, more than anything, I was enraptured by the sheer insincerity and AUDACITY of Isabella and John Thorpe. My jaw dropped pretty much every time they said anything. Like Catherine, I still struggle to believe that there are people who are really so fickle and petty. Austen is so good at portraying subtle social indiscretions and cruelties through her most despicable characters.
Original review: Abandoned at 68%. I just figure if I haven't finished it over a year since I first started it, I'm probably not going to finish it any time soon. Not a horrible book, but not enough to keep my interest at this point in my life, unfortunately.
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
challenging
emotional
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wanted to finish this during jane-austen-july challenge but let’s be real, every month is a jane austen month.
This marks 4/6 of her novels that i’ve read and i must admit it is my least favourite so far. This is probably due to the fact that this was her first novel, which is quite noticeable. The plot and the characters are a bit wonky but it still has that quintessential austen charm that i love. I just adore classics because it gives me an opportunity to hate on John Thorpe and General Tilney 208 years after they have been written. I think Jane would be proud.
This marks 4/6 of her novels that i’ve read and i must admit it is my least favourite so far. This is probably due to the fact that this was her first novel, which is quite noticeable. The plot and the characters are a bit wonky but it still has that quintessential austen charm that i love. I just adore classics because it gives me an opportunity to hate on John Thorpe and General Tilney 208 years after they have been written. I think Jane would be proud.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
rip catherine morland you would have loved roleplaying on discord