A review by artemistics
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

3.5

throughout this book i was reminded of something i once heard in a youtube video essay: teen stories tend to deal with the realization of the interiority of the people around you. i thought about it a lot while reading about poor, naive catherine, who goes through such embarrassments due to letting her imagination get the best of her, awfully mischaracterizing the father of her new friend and her romantic prospect, that it seemed like austen kind of reveled in torturing her. even then, she's a lovable heroine, good, with strong convictions, and trying to find her place in the world (even if she has to go through fake friends, annoying guys hitting on her, patronizing crushes and rude old men in her pursuit). she loves gothic novels that are all story, no thoughts, and hates reading historical fiction because "there's no women characters in them". all in all, a diva.