Scan barcode
soniapng's reviews
72 reviews
Persuasion by Jane Austen
4.0
the best thing about Jane Austen is that she met the 19th century version of every type of annoying person I've ever met, and we get to clown on them together when I read her books. persuasion is a great novel and the slow-burn build makes the ending really gratifying.
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
3.5
docking a half star because i could not get over a 37 YEAR OLD MAN marrying a 19 YEAR OLD (who he met when she was 17!!) and everyone was treating that like it's normal. like i know times change but truly I could not get over that one, was rooting against him for the whole novel.
otherwise Jane Austen is a great writer and very witty. the book is good on its own merits as a romance novel, but also interesting for its strong sense of place & ability to provide a window into life in the time period/setting. love how they're like "ohh we're so poor now, the only solution is to marry rich" and their idea of poor is living in a cottage with like three servants.
wonderful to see the development of Austen's style as I believe this was her first book. having only read P&P otherwise I can definitely see the development of ideas and themes that show up there as well, and I'll be interested in seeing how that fares when I finish the rest of my Austen reading list. the societal critiques are more heavy-handed than I recall from P&P but it's been a long time so I may be misremembering - but still a pleasure to read and surprisingly relatable to the modern era despite how much else has changed.
otherwise Jane Austen is a great writer and very witty. the book is good on its own merits as a romance novel, but also interesting for its strong sense of place & ability to provide a window into life in the time period/setting. love how they're like "ohh we're so poor now, the only solution is to marry rich" and their idea of poor is living in a cottage with like three servants.
wonderful to see the development of Austen's style as I believe this was her first book. having only read P&P otherwise I can definitely see the development of ideas and themes that show up there as well, and I'll be interested in seeing how that fares when I finish the rest of my Austen reading list. the societal critiques are more heavy-handed than I recall from P&P but it's been a long time so I may be misremembering - but still a pleasure to read and surprisingly relatable to the modern era despite how much else has changed.