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A review by elerireads
Persuasion by Jane Austen
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
So I read this last when I was 10 and basically had no memory of it whatsoever and was looking forward to reading it as if for the first time. I now think my having forgotten everything about it may have less to do with having read it 15 years ago when I was probably too young to understand it all properly, and more to do with it being quite an underwhelming book. Since the premise is that Anne & Captain Wentworth were previously engaged, they already know each other so there's none of the getting to know the love interest part of most novels. So really I didn't get much sense of why Anne even liked him - as far as I could tell from their interactions in the book he was a petty git. I didn't even get all that much of who Anne was either - she's better than everyone else but her family are jerks to her, but why? It all just felt a bit manufactured and inorganic.
What I usually enjoy in Austen novels is the dialogue, which is often witty and entertaining and very good at demonstrating the relationships between characters, but that was quite lacking in this one too. There was a lot of 'she gave him to understand that...' etc.
All of this contributed to making it quite a short book. Despite the letter Austen had written saying it was ready for publication, I did wonder whether she might have fleshed out some of it if she hadn't died when she did.
All that said, obviously it was still Austen and characteristically well-written, readable and gripping enough to keep to you reading, with some interesting reflections on character flaws, compatibility and how much of a role circumstances play in determining your fate.
What I usually enjoy in Austen novels is the dialogue, which is often witty and entertaining and very good at demonstrating the relationships between characters, but that was quite lacking in this one too. There was a lot of 'she gave him to understand that...' etc.
All of this contributed to making it quite a short book. Despite the letter Austen had written saying it was ready for publication, I did wonder whether she might have fleshed out some of it if she hadn't died when she did.
All that said, obviously it was still Austen and characteristically well-written, readable and gripping enough to keep to you reading, with some interesting reflections on character flaws, compatibility and how much of a role circumstances play in determining your fate.