A review by ktrecs
Mansfield Park: A Novel. in Three Volumes; Volume 3 by Jane Austen

challenging slow-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

You know that feeling where everything seems to be wrapping up nicely in a book and then you look at you still have like a hundred pages left to read? The abject terror? Jane Austen here manages the exact opposite. Just when things were finally starting to get interesting, I realize I have only 20 pages left? 

Austen's usual wit and humour are present in this book, after a fashion; Mrs. Norris, Lady Bertram and Mrs. Price in particular formsuch a clever and compelling contrast. And while I waffled for a while over whether I found Fanny endearing or unbearable, she was at her best when denying Mr. Crawford. There was such potential in her use as critique of classism and propriety, of womanly duty - her protests to Mr. Crawford being written off as mere modesty and respect for her benefactor rather than any sort of will of her own - but her ultimate fate and that of those around her undermine this strength and many more of the narrative's others, and the method in which it was told undermines the careful prose that comes before it. 

My least favourite Austen so far, but it remains more readable and more enjoyable than many of its contemporaries. 

2 stars. 
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