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A review by naomiatwater49
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
2.0
Ack. As much as I wanted to love this book as much as Emma, Pride and Prejudice, Sanditon, or Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park didn’t measure up. I was so bored and skimmed through the second half just to finish up and find out what happened. Even with skimming, the plot still took FOREVER.
Here’s my rating system for this book:
1. Is the writing style professional, understandable, and entertaining? Definitely not my preference. Jane Austen tends to have long, wordy sentences that take far too long to get through and I feel like I’m stumbling over them when I read them in my brain. I get that this partially has to do with the era she lived in and language then, but for me, getting through it was a S T R U G G L E.
2. Are the characters relatable, round, deep, and interesting? Yes, Jane Austin often does a good job at interesting and deep characters. I really like how Fanny’s backstory basically involves her trying to stay out of the way and be sweet and good for her aunt and uncle because she really wants everyone’s approval and to not be a burden. This manifests itself later in life when Fanny feels the need to base all of her decisions off of others and assumes herself to be the least important in the room. That’s why it’s such a critical moment for her when she refuses to marry Mr. Crawford even against the will of her uncle Sir Thomas.
3. Are there important and interesting themes, motifs, subtext, and lessons learned, whether obvious or subtle?
Yes. I’m sure I didn’t even pick up on half of them (since I skimmed A LOT) but I love how Jane Austin incorporates the culture she lived in, flawed and humorous as it was, to give us a peak at what life was like. What has society learned from this time period and what mistakes do we keep repeating? The classism really gets me in her novels. It’s really funny yet also fascinating how people can divide themselves up so easily based on their class, and base all of their critical opinions of others on these factors.
4. Is the plot creative, interesting, well-developed, and unpredictable? Disappointingly, no. Wayyy too many chapters covering unimportant events (how many covered the silly little play in the beginning again?) stretched on forever. When something interesting did happen, it was anticlimactic and easily foreseeable. I know the adultery in the end was supposed to be shocking and dramatic, but the way it was written just felt bland.
5. Is this a book I would want to own or read again? Sadly, I don’t think I’d read this book again.
Here’s my rating system for this book:
1. Is the writing style professional, understandable, and entertaining? Definitely not my preference. Jane Austen tends to have long, wordy sentences that take far too long to get through and I feel like I’m stumbling over them when I read them in my brain. I get that this partially has to do with the era she lived in and language then, but for me, getting through it was a S T R U G G L E.
2. Are the characters relatable, round, deep, and interesting? Yes, Jane Austin often does a good job at interesting and deep characters. I really like how Fanny’s backstory basically involves her trying to stay out of the way and be sweet and good for her aunt and uncle because she really wants everyone’s approval and to not be a burden. This manifests itself later in life when Fanny feels the need to base all of her decisions off of others and assumes herself to be the least important in the room. That’s why it’s such a critical moment for her when she refuses to marry Mr. Crawford even against the will of her uncle Sir Thomas.
3. Are there important and interesting themes, motifs, subtext, and lessons learned, whether obvious or subtle?
Yes. I’m sure I didn’t even pick up on half of them (since I skimmed A LOT) but I love how Jane Austin incorporates the culture she lived in, flawed and humorous as it was, to give us a peak at what life was like. What has society learned from this time period and what mistakes do we keep repeating? The classism really gets me in her novels. It’s really funny yet also fascinating how people can divide themselves up so easily based on their class, and base all of their critical opinions of others on these factors.
4. Is the plot creative, interesting, well-developed, and unpredictable? Disappointingly, no. Wayyy too many chapters covering unimportant events (how many covered the silly little play in the beginning again?) stretched on forever. When something interesting did happen, it was anticlimactic and easily foreseeable. I know the adultery in the end was supposed to be shocking and dramatic, but the way it was written just felt bland.
5. Is this a book I would want to own or read again? Sadly, I don’t think I’d read this book again.