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3.11 AVERAGE
3.11 AVERAGE
I've just been reading all the reviews of this book with some amusement. Lots of people hate this book! I didn't, and maybe it's because I entered into it with low expectations. How can you "update" Sense and Sensibility? You can't. Though people may marry for money now, or stay married for money when they're not in love, I don't think it's the overwhelming concern it would have been during Jane Austen's time. I don't know...maybe the British upper class is different, I have no way of knowing.
With that in mind, all I can say is that this book has some genuinely annoying bits, and some genuinely unlikable characters (as the original did), but it also has some quite funny bits, & if you're looking for light reading that doesn't insult your intelligence, you could do a lot worse. I read it in the spirit with which it was offered - with playfulness and a light heart. It delivered what I expected. (Sadly, it did not deliver Alan Rickman per the Emma Thompson/Kate Winslet film version - nor his voice.)
Can be fun, if you're in the mood for this type of thing!
With that in mind, all I can say is that this book has some genuinely annoying bits, and some genuinely unlikable characters (as the original did), but it also has some quite funny bits, & if you're looking for light reading that doesn't insult your intelligence, you could do a lot worse. I read it in the spirit with which it was offered - with playfulness and a light heart. It delivered what I expected. (Sadly, it did not deliver Alan Rickman per the Emma Thompson/Kate Winslet film version - nor his voice.)
Can be fun, if you're in the mood for this type of thing!
A interesting modern spin on a old classic. I am not sure what Miss Austen would have thought of this edition, but I suspect she may not have liked it.
I suspect that Austen purists would not be big fans, but I found it a good book.
I suspect that Austen purists would not be big fans, but I found it a good book.
It is possibly true to say that I was never going to read Joanna Trollope's Sense and Sensibility with a totally clear mind. It annoys me that, rather than encouraging people to read and appreciate the wit, the beautiful prose, of Austen's novels, and to learn of and understand the social mores that existed, and which still influence some prejudices these days, it has been considered appropriate to dumb down the classics to the status of chick lit.
And dumbing down is certainly what Trollope has done, with this book apparently aimed at viewers of scripted reality shows like Made In Chelsea and The Only Way is Essex. The Dashwood family sneer at a part-time, Devon-based salary of £18k, they think an Alfa Romeo Spyder Mark 4 is a typical engagement gift.
But these are not the important elements of a book. For me to enjoy a book, it must have a good story, and good characters. Austen had both of these in abundance. Trollope has taken the basic plot, but left out the wit and social commentary that help to make Austen' work a classic, while, to quote The Guradian's John Crace "Joanna Trollope has achieved the near impossible by making every Jane Austen character appear shallow and unlikable".
Trollope has given more airtime to the characters of "Belle" (Austen's Mrs Dashwood) and Margaret. Perhaps an admirable undertaking, given how little Austen required of them. But perhaps there was reason for that. Austen called upon them only when necessary for the plot; Trollope reels them out unnecessarily several times, but I can see no benefit, they add nothing. Trollope's Margaret's only purpose seems to be to remind us that this is a 'modern' version, by constant references to social media and other modern phenomena.
Meanwhile, Edward, never a character I could really take to, is here made a complete wishy-washy wimp, with no purpose or aim until his potential in charity work is picked up by Brandon. Austen's Edward made it difficult for me to understand what Elinor saw in him. Trollope's left me totally unable to understand.
The worst crime, however, is left to Trollope's interpretation of Marianne. Austen's Marianne is a girl who can appear rude, not for the sake of being rude, but to break through the social mores and the hypocrisy of the time in which she lives. She suffers a deep depression, and knows that it is only her own sensibiliy that lead the illness that almost took her life; as she says "had I died, it would have been sef-destruction". In Trollope's novel, Marianne becomes M, a horrible, whiny creature, rude for rudeness sake, with no redeeming features. How anyone could fall in love with M is beyond me. Worse, by making asthma to blame for her near-death, Trollope totally removes the function of depression and self-harm in Marianne's condition. Ultimatlely, M is nothing but a pretty face, an airhead, whereas "the least interesting thing about Marianne is her beauty; what matters are her sense (intelligence), her sensitivity (sensibility) and her brooding intensity"
If the aim of this book was to demonstrate that Austen is relevant in the modern world, it has failed miserably. Reading this would make people think the exact opposite. But Austen's themes are relevant. Unfortunately, Trollope chose the wrong elements to update, and completely overlooked the key messages.
And dumbing down is certainly what Trollope has done, with this book apparently aimed at viewers of scripted reality shows like Made In Chelsea and The Only Way is Essex. The Dashwood family sneer at a part-time, Devon-based salary of £18k, they think an Alfa Romeo Spyder Mark 4 is a typical engagement gift.
But these are not the important elements of a book. For me to enjoy a book, it must have a good story, and good characters. Austen had both of these in abundance. Trollope has taken the basic plot, but left out the wit and social commentary that help to make Austen' work a classic, while, to quote The Guradian's John Crace "Joanna Trollope has achieved the near impossible by making every Jane Austen character appear shallow and unlikable".
Trollope has given more airtime to the characters of "Belle" (Austen's Mrs Dashwood) and Margaret. Perhaps an admirable undertaking, given how little Austen required of them. But perhaps there was reason for that. Austen called upon them only when necessary for the plot; Trollope reels them out unnecessarily several times, but I can see no benefit, they add nothing. Trollope's Margaret's only purpose seems to be to remind us that this is a 'modern' version, by constant references to social media and other modern phenomena.
Meanwhile, Edward, never a character I could really take to, is here made a complete wishy-washy wimp, with no purpose or aim until his potential in charity work is picked up by Brandon. Austen's Edward made it difficult for me to understand what Elinor saw in him. Trollope's left me totally unable to understand.
The worst crime, however, is left to Trollope's interpretation of Marianne. Austen's Marianne is a girl who can appear rude, not for the sake of being rude, but to break through the social mores and the hypocrisy of the time in which she lives. She suffers a deep depression, and knows that it is only her own sensibiliy that lead the illness that almost took her life; as she says "had I died, it would have been sef-destruction". In Trollope's novel, Marianne becomes M, a horrible, whiny creature, rude for rudeness sake, with no redeeming features. How anyone could fall in love with M is beyond me. Worse, by making asthma to blame for her near-death, Trollope totally removes the function of depression and self-harm in Marianne's condition. Ultimatlely, M is nothing but a pretty face, an airhead, whereas "the least interesting thing about Marianne is her beauty; what matters are her sense (intelligence), her sensitivity (sensibility) and her brooding intensity"
If the aim of this book was to demonstrate that Austen is relevant in the modern world, it has failed miserably. Reading this would make people think the exact opposite. But Austen's themes are relevant. Unfortunately, Trollope chose the wrong elements to update, and completely overlooked the key messages.
A modern retelling of Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility?" Yes, please! Joanna Trollope does an excellent job of bringing the Dashwood girls' plight and ultimate triumph into the world of Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The villains are just as dastardly, the houses just as grand and the women just as obsessed with marriage and money as ever. It's light and frothy and fun, just as the original must have been a hundred years ago. This book is part of a project to update all of Austen's novels, and I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of "Emma" as retold by Alexander McCall Smith this fall.
Clever and fun. These modernizations have been quite well done, I think. Well, so far I've just read P&P and S&S, but they have both been good.
S&S has never been my favorite Austen novel (my favorite wavers between [b:Persuasion|31693|Persuasion|Jane Austen|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1362222581s/31693.jpg|2534720], [b:Emma|6969|Emma|Jane Austen|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1373627931s/6969.jpg|3360164], and [b:Pride and Prejudice|1886|Pride and Prejudice|Jane Austen|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1371223196s/1886.jpg|3060926] depending on my mood), so I was hesitant about this modern day retelling. I think Trollope did a fantastic job of staying true to the Austen novel, but maybe a little TOO true to the source. I felt at times that the only thing that changed was the mention of an iPad to remind me that this was in "modern times" (I mean, I imagined it going a little deeper than that you know? Is that the point of The Austen Project and I missed it?).
Despite that, I would still recommend this to any Austen fan.
Despite that, I would still recommend this to any Austen fan.
It gets one star just because it got published, which is something I have never done, so hooray for you. But this was just a complete pile of crap. Just don't touch Jane Austen, go stick a fork in an outlet next time you have the urge.
This modern adaptation didn't bring anything new to the story, and frankly the characters are far more annoying in a current setting.
Meh! It was an OK read; I didn’t hate it. Ultimately the main problem is that the story is not updated sufficiently to be a true contemporary adaptation. It’s the same plot, much of the same dialogue, with references to automobiles and iPods thrown in.
I didn't hugely enjoy the original, and this was adding nothing to that. Changing the setting to a modern one actually made the mother and sisters more infuriating.