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3.11 AVERAGE
3.11 AVERAGE
A modern day version - gentle read and so pleasant to read something that wasn't stress inducing
Sense & Sensibility by Joanna Trollope is a “modern retelling” of Jane Austen’s classic novel. It is part of the Austen Project, which pairs six contemporary authors with Jane Austen’s six complete works. Val McDermid reworked Northanger Abbey and Alexander McCall Smith Emma.
I read Emma first and was intrigued enough to read Sense & Sensibility. I liked reading it less than I did Emma. It felt much more modern. The author didn’t retain the decorous tone of Jane Austen’s language, and the technological touches felt much more intrusive.
This reworking did follow the book’s plot closely (although one character is gay in the reworking who is not in the original, which caused an odd hiccup in the plot). I mostly kept going because of my affection for the original. I probably would have been better off dropping the reworking and re-reading the original. This book is definitely not for the Austen purist.
Reading Joanna Trollope’s version did cause me to re-watch the Emma Thompson movie version, which is never a bad thing.
I read Emma first and was intrigued enough to read Sense & Sensibility. I liked reading it less than I did Emma. It felt much more modern. The author didn’t retain the decorous tone of Jane Austen’s language, and the technological touches felt much more intrusive.
This reworking did follow the book’s plot closely (although one character is gay in the reworking who is not in the original, which caused an odd hiccup in the plot). I mostly kept going because of my affection for the original. I probably would have been better off dropping the reworking and re-reading the original. This book is definitely not for the Austen purist.
Reading Joanna Trollope’s version did cause me to re-watch the Emma Thompson movie version, which is never a bad thing.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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
This wasn't much of a departure from the original, so I still enjoyed the relationships between the Dashwood sisters (and with their mother, who felt more fully drawn then in the original, though it has been many years since I read it). The love interests didn't translate quite as well to the modern day. . It's silly but what bothered me about the book was that I'm dubious that modern teenagers are into making the whatever sign with their hands like Margaret kept doing (and which seemed to be treated as some totally new thing kids today just started). Maybe it's a part of the 90s revival? That and Taylor Swift being the only real musician whose songs snobbishly arty Marianne plays made the youth culture references seem poorly researched (modern Marianne could totally like Taylor Swift, but the mention of her and only her felt like a lazy attempt to lure in young people).
Spoiler
Edward's commitment to Lucy Steele seems ridiculous and I wish Trollope had made Marianne older or made Brandon's love for her less superficial. At least Marianne and Brandon were barely dating at the end of the book
3.5. I liked this, which is an unpopular opinion! I thought it was cute and stayed true to the original but made its own charm.
I haven’t yet read the original Sense & Sensibility, but I sure am going to now. This was hilarious and a really grand way to put a twist on the classic.