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3.11 AVERAGE
3.11 AVERAGE
While Trollope's version of this Austen classic is very true to the original, it falls very flat with the characters. What may be quaint in the Regency era loses its charm in this modern retelling.
Marianne and Margaret come across as spoiled, selfish, immature brats and while that may be exactly what Austen wanted to convey, they were far more likable in her version than Trollope's. Elinor's martyrdom seems noble when Austen tells her story but transforms into psychosis in today's world.
I think Trollope would have done better had she not felt compelled to be quite so faithful to the original story.
Marianne and Margaret come across as spoiled, selfish, immature brats and while that may be exactly what Austen wanted to convey, they were far more likable in her version than Trollope's. Elinor's martyrdom seems noble when Austen tells her story but transforms into psychosis in today's world.
I think Trollope would have done better had she not felt compelled to be quite so faithful to the original story.
Joanna Trollope was the natural choice to kick off this new series of updated versions of Austen's novels. Her 21st-century Sense & Sensibility is a by-the-numbers adaptation that hews very closely to the original. Mobile phones, rehab centers, and asthma substitute for letters, rectories, and lovesickness, and Margaret is given rather more to do and say than in Austen's novel, but otherwise, Elinor and Marianne are much as they ever were. I was hoping for rather more wit and social satire (Helen Fielding, for all her cutesy mannerisms, does Austenian snark much better), but it's a pleasant enough opportunity to revisit dear old Barton Cottage (here a modern tract home) and indulge in the fantasy that one could -- if one tried just hard enough -- live inside an Austen novel.
Eh... The Sittenfeld book in this series was just a hair too modern for me. This was not modern enough. It was far to similar to the source material for me. On probably five or six occasions I came across a modern item and actually thought - hey, that's an anachronism - before realizing this was set in the present. It was quite startling because it was so period feeling in most place that I forgot.
Two other things, Marianne Dashwood is one of my least favorite Austen heroines (and I hesitate to use that term, but she's no Fanny either). That probably says a lot about me, but so be it. I still felt the same way about her here. Second, in the twenty first century I just wanted to scream at these women "Get a job!" In the 19th century as women of no fortune, they really were at loose ends, in the 21st they were lazy, petulant, annoying people.
Two other things, Marianne Dashwood is one of my least favorite Austen heroines (and I hesitate to use that term, but she's no Fanny either). That probably says a lot about me, but so be it. I still felt the same way about her here. Second, in the twenty first century I just wanted to scream at these women "Get a job!" In the 19th century as women of no fortune, they really were at loose ends, in the 21st they were lazy, petulant, annoying people.
The author struggled to find her voice and authenticity into Austen's world in the modern era. Trollope (not to be confused with the more famous Trollope) loads her characters with anachronistic language that reflects a parallel universal between Austen and our own. I was not clear why Trollope chose to update the classic novel except to prove that she could and that the themes had not weathered over time. Sections were sluggish and clunky, and some modern "translations" felt forced or not quite direct parallels. Other sections (particularly involving the mystery of Lucy Steele and company) were quite lovely. Overall, it was good research and pleasant beach read, but not memorable, as an adaptation or of Austen in the twenty-first century.
this was a cute remake of the original. easy reading - especially, if you have read the original.
This was bad. Really bad. I had trouble figure out if it was a modern telling or a 90s telling, or a 60s telling with the language. It was written in 2013 but feels more like 2000 or earlier. What 14 year old has an Ipod anymore?
The only thing that makes this piece modern are cars and cell phones. They still end up in a cottage, as if that is a thing nowadays, I was expected a nicer guest apartment or something. Marianne has ashtma, okay I'll take that. But Elinor works as a part time architect? Okay. And the way people talked was so unnatural to everyday language. It was like reading the original work with some fake buzz words thrown in. It was exactly the same, not really creativity at all. And its so dated, even now, 2 years later.
Bad.
The only thing that makes this piece modern are cars and cell phones. They still end up in a cottage, as if that is a thing nowadays, I was expected a nicer guest apartment or something. Marianne has ashtma, okay I'll take that. But Elinor works as a part time architect? Okay. And the way people talked was so unnatural to everyday language. It was like reading the original work with some fake buzz words thrown in. It was exactly the same, not really creativity at all. And its so dated, even now, 2 years later.
Bad.
Meh. I'm going to read all of the Austen Project books but if this what I can expect I'm dreading it...
It was fine, but could have been so much better. Seemed rote.
It was fine, but could have been so much better. Seemed rote.
lighthearted
medium-paced
I did enjoy this book, but not as much as Eligible. The methods Ms. Trollope uses to bring Austen to the 21st century seem more forced in this one. Still a really really sweet story, though, and I empathize with Elinor so strongly.
informative
fast-paced