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rilayareads's review against another edition
funny
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? Yes
3.5
Very long winded prose, maybe a longer overall novel than it needed to be, charming nonetheless.
angelica87's review against another edition
4.0
EMMA by Jane Austen is the worlds first room-com right? All the tropes that we know and love are here; friends to lovers, misplaced affections, secret engagements, matchmaking, second chances and love triangles!
.
The titular character is well meaning and slightly naive at the beginning of the story, yet through some blunders, misunderstandings and revelations, she comes to understand where her heart lies.
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It took me two months to listen to the book via @scribd and I have to say that the narrator was just marvellous! I really love Austen and I want to read all her books this year.
.
The titular character is well meaning and slightly naive at the beginning of the story, yet through some blunders, misunderstandings and revelations, she comes to understand where her heart lies.
.
It took me two months to listen to the book via @scribd and I have to say that the narrator was just marvellous! I really love Austen and I want to read all her books this year.
literallyilliterate's review against another edition
1.0
*1.5
Sigh.
Before I get into the review, I need to list some disclaimers. First, everything I say is MY OPINION. I'm not trying to hate on anyone who enjoys this book, or on Jane Austen in general. I plan on reading some of her other novels eventually. This book just wasn't for me personally. Second, I don't normally write a review this negative, so I will try to support my points as best as possible. I apologize in advance if I fail miserably. Finally, I have absolutely nothing to say regarding the social commentary of this book, because I'm not very knowledgeable on that sort of thing. So please don't ask me what I thought of that aspect, because I won't be able to give you an answer. Now that that's out of the way, let's begin.
age recommendation: 15/16+ (mainly because the language can be tricky to understand)
clean
no major content warnings to note, but there are a few instances of a certain word being used that some may find offensive
"If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more."
Emma lives a privileged, comfortable life in the village of Highbury, and is thoroughly convinced that she has the ability to influence the lives of those around her, so over the course of many months, she plays matchmaker for a number of individuals, and fails miserably.
I will say the premise of Emma intrigued me, as it's a type of story that is still being written to this day. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book at all, and it comes down to two main reasons: the characters and the writing.
The Characters:
In the first of three volumes/parts to the book, we are introduced to a myriad of characters who are all highly flawed individuals. Some are disastrously naïve, others are pretentious, but all are plain obnoxious. There is lots of infodumping right from the start about each character, which made it really hard for me to ease into the story, especially since I wasn't used to the language and flow of this kind of a book. I kept having to flip back towards the start of the book to reread the introduction to each of the characters, as I forgot who they were (this is more of a me problem). In general, I found the characters to be the most unlikeable I've ever encountered. I understand that this is supposed to be a comedic book, but I didn't find anything funny because the characters just got on my nerves too much. Notable mentions include the titular character Emma, who constantly made poor choices and never learned from them; the Eltons, who were straight up cruel; and Miss Bates, who never shut up. Every time she started talking I rolled my eyes because I knew it was going to be a page and a half long. This leads me directly into my next point.
The Writing:
I previously mentioned the infodumping at the start, but that wasn't the only issue I had with the writing. There were many instances of several paragraphs or even pages of characters discussing the same mundane topic, like apples, sending someone pork, one's letter-writing abilities, etc. I completely understand that these are things one would discuss in life at the time, but they aren't very interesting to read about in a book. In addition, the writing seemed very "heavy" to me. I can't quite explain it, but it was very hard to follow along (and again, this could just be a me problem). It didn't help that the book was really long (my copy was 495 pages, but others are much longer). It felt like things were dragging along, and I think the book could have been a good 100 pages shorter.
Finally, I need to say that although I don't mind what happens too much, Emma's revelations towards the end seemed to come out of nowhere, with no clear hints throughout the story to suggest this taking place. I felt like she had no real character development until this sudden shift, besides her considering that maybe she's wrong sometimes. I honestly just hate that I wasted a month of my time reading this book, hoping it would get better for me, but ending up strongly disliking it. This is such an unpopular opinion, but it's mine.
Sigh.
Before I get into the review, I need to list some disclaimers. First, everything I say is MY OPINION. I'm not trying to hate on anyone who enjoys this book, or on Jane Austen in general. I plan on reading some of her other novels eventually. This book just wasn't for me personally. Second, I don't normally write a review this negative, so I will try to support my points as best as possible. I apologize in advance if I fail miserably. Finally, I have absolutely nothing to say regarding the social commentary of this book, because I'm not very knowledgeable on that sort of thing. So please don't ask me what I thought of that aspect, because I won't be able to give you an answer. Now that that's out of the way, let's begin.
age recommendation: 15/16+ (mainly because the language can be tricky to understand)
clean
no major content warnings to note, but there are a few instances of a certain word being used that some may find offensive
"If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more."
Emma lives a privileged, comfortable life in the village of Highbury, and is thoroughly convinced that she has the ability to influence the lives of those around her, so over the course of many months, she plays matchmaker for a number of individuals, and fails miserably.
I will say the premise of Emma intrigued me, as it's a type of story that is still being written to this day. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book at all, and it comes down to two main reasons: the characters and the writing.
The Characters:
In the first of three volumes/parts to the book, we are introduced to a myriad of characters who are all highly flawed individuals. Some are disastrously naïve, others are pretentious, but all are plain obnoxious. There is lots of infodumping right from the start about each character, which made it really hard for me to ease into the story, especially since I wasn't used to the language and flow of this kind of a book. I kept having to flip back towards the start of the book to reread the introduction to each of the characters, as I forgot who they were (this is more of a me problem). In general, I found the characters to be the most unlikeable I've ever encountered. I understand that this is supposed to be a comedic book, but I didn't find anything funny because the characters just got on my nerves too much. Notable mentions include the titular character Emma, who constantly made poor choices and never learned from them; the Eltons, who were straight up cruel; and Miss Bates, who never shut up. Every time she started talking I rolled my eyes because I knew it was going to be a page and a half long. This leads me directly into my next point.
The Writing:
I previously mentioned the infodumping at the start, but that wasn't the only issue I had with the writing. There were many instances of several paragraphs or even pages of characters discussing the same mundane topic, like apples, sending someone pork, one's letter-writing abilities, etc. I completely understand that these are things one would discuss in life at the time, but they aren't very interesting to read about in a book. In addition, the writing seemed very "heavy" to me. I can't quite explain it, but it was very hard to follow along (and again, this could just be a me problem). It didn't help that the book was really long (my copy was 495 pages, but others are much longer). It felt like things were dragging along, and I think the book could have been a good 100 pages shorter.
Finally, I need to say that although I don't mind what happens too much, Emma's revelations towards the end seemed to come out of nowhere, with no clear hints throughout the story to suggest this taking place. I felt like she had no real character development until this sudden shift, besides her considering that maybe she's wrong sometimes. I honestly just hate that I wasted a month of my time reading this book, hoping it would get better for me, but ending up strongly disliking it. This is such an unpopular opinion, but it's mine.
alfiereads's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.5
readingwithvic's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kokenyreka's review against another edition
4.0
this was a delightful comedy but an extremely long one. i adore Austen’s characters, even though some of them are so irritating that reading about them made me want to pull my hair out. i’ll say, however, the 16-year age difference between Emma and Mr Knightley was bizarre, especially the way he talked about it sometimes (“i have loved you since you were 13” sir what) and i know that those were different times but still.
zhra's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
m_h_dahl's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
5.0
Jane Austen, the Queen of sassy and witty dialogue 😍 I never get bored with being a fly on the wall when the independent and sharp-tongued women in her books converse.
Emma might be the most challenging character to like because she expects so much from the world and those around her, but still, she is truly the most interesting character I've read from Austen, and has therefore become my favorite.
Emma is sassy, insufferable, manipulative, and vain, it's true. I get it. And Emma's goodness isn’t immediately obvious to everyone; She often puts others first emotionally and sincerely repents when she realizes she's wrong. In contrast, Lizzie Bennet from 'Pride and Prejudice' may not show as much overt goodness, but her delightful and sparkling personality makes her universally loved. Emma, being more of an everyday character without Lizzie’s joyful impertinence, requires readers to dig deeper to find her goodness, I suspect.
Also, Emma undergoes significant character development in the book. To me, she's even more interesting because she has such a strong personality. It's fascinating to see how Austen handles this unpolished diamond.
Many of the other characters in 'Emma' aren’t immediately endearing either. Mrs. Bates is sweet but annoying, Harriet is vague and wispy, Jane is cold (even if she has her reasons), Frank is duplicitous, and the Eltons are outright cruel. But I adore Emma. I love that the novel is so dialogue-heavy, allowing us as readers to form opinions about the characters based on their conversations rather than the narrator’s descriptions.
Understanding the Regency hierarchy, I don’t fault Emma for her class distinctions. I find her desperation to get an invitation to the Cole’s party amusing. Even though not much happens, watching Emma slowly realize her love for Mr. Knightley and confront her misconceptions is thoroughly enjoyable.
Emma might be the most challenging character to like because she expects so much from the world and those around her, but still, she is truly the most interesting character I've read from Austen, and has therefore become my favorite.
Emma is sassy, insufferable, manipulative, and vain, it's true. I get it. And Emma's goodness isn’t immediately obvious to everyone; She often puts others first emotionally and sincerely repents when she realizes she's wrong. In contrast, Lizzie Bennet from 'Pride and Prejudice' may not show as much overt goodness, but her delightful and sparkling personality makes her universally loved. Emma, being more of an everyday character without Lizzie’s joyful impertinence, requires readers to dig deeper to find her goodness, I suspect.
Also, Emma undergoes significant character development in the book. To me, she's even more interesting because she has such a strong personality. It's fascinating to see how Austen handles this unpolished diamond.
Many of the other characters in 'Emma' aren’t immediately endearing either. Mrs. Bates is sweet but annoying, Harriet is vague and wispy, Jane is cold (even if she has her reasons), Frank is duplicitous, and the Eltons are outright cruel. But I adore Emma. I love that the novel is so dialogue-heavy, allowing us as readers to form opinions about the characters based on their conversations rather than the narrator’s descriptions.
Understanding the Regency hierarchy, I don’t fault Emma for her class distinctions. I find her desperation to get an invitation to the Cole’s party amusing. Even though not much happens, watching Emma slowly realize her love for Mr. Knightley and confront her misconceptions is thoroughly enjoyable.
karmyi's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
purr21's review against another edition
4.0
So this book took me well over an year to complete, I'm not sure whether it was because of the edition I had or because towards the beginning the story seemed a bit drawn out and slow paced. It probably didn't help that I still struggle with the language in classic books