Jane Austen

[Mairin]

I was curious if anybody has read any Jane Austen? In particular I started Sense and Sensibility. I'm finding it hard to get into and was wondering if anyone else thought so or if it gets better. Or perhaps I should try another of hers besides this?

[GotThatSwing]

I haven't read Sense and Sensibility but I've heard several people complaining about this one. But I found the books by her that I read rather light and pleasant to read, so maybe try some other book of hers first.
But I just read Pride and Prejudice and lately Northanger Abbey.

[Melaniep]

I was curious if anybody has read any Jane Austen? In particular I started Sense and Sensibility. I'm finding it hard to get into and was wondering if anyone else thought so or if it gets better. Or perhaps I should try another of hers besides this?

I love Jane Austen. She is my absolute favorite author. But I couldn't get into Sense and Sensibility either. I'm not sure what it was about it but, I never finished reading it. Pride and Prejudice is my favorite. Emma and Persuasion are both good ones, too!

[Mairin]

I was hoping that others had felt that way and it wasn't just me. I think I'm gonna put it back on the shelf until a later time and try another of hers. Thanks for the input.

[Anna_21]

Has anyone read "Lady Susan" by Jane Austen?

[Mairin]

I ended up finishing Sense and Sensibility anyway and it wasn't too bad once you figured out who all of the characters were and their relations to each other. I think I'm gonna read Persuasion next.

[anu_]

I have read Emma by Jane Austen and found it a bit too boring. She tends to delve on a topic for such a long time, wastes time in gossips and I found her plot just not enough to captivate me. Though, Emma as a story was not at all bad. But, I did not like her roundabout approach, and finished the book somehow.

Next, I picked up her 'Pride and Prejudice' just to be sure that I was not wrong in assessing her style as boring. But, this novel reconfirmed my first impression. Once again, I found the story was interesting, but again, her narration bored me to death and had to abandon the novel. I think, she is not just my kind of writer

[Maud Fitch]

Ditch Austen, go for the Brontë sisters.

[anu_]

Maud, I totally agree with you. I have read Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and Jane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte and found them immensely interesting. In fact, simply loved the suspense created by Emily in the first few pages of Wuthering Heights, building an intriguing aura around the entire place. And in the later pages, strong human emotions of jealousy and inferiority complex of Hathcliff were so wonderfully sketched by Emily Bronte, that her novel has become my eternal favorite.

I found Charlotte to be a true feminist with her striking portrayal of a working woman in Jane Eyre. Her novel inspires, instead of just gossiping about love and marriage a la Jane Austen.

[Fran]

Maud, I totally agree with you. I have read Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and Jane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte and found them immensely interesting. In fact, simply loved the suspense created by Emily in the first few pages of Wuthering Heights, building an intriguing aura around the entire place. And in the later pages, strong human emotions of jealousy and inferiority complex of Hathcliff were so wonderfully sketched by Emily Bronte, that her novel has become my eternal favorite.

I found Charlotte to be a true feminist with her striking portrayal of a working woman in Jane Eyre. Her novel inspires, instead of just gossiping about love and marriage a la Jane Austen.

It goes without saying that of course you are entitled to your opinion but IMHO you are overlooking the element of realism in Jane Austin's work. She is depicting the reality of life for women in her time, the lack of opportunity & indeed the limitations placed on them in terms of education, life choices and economic independence. These women were to all intents and purposes the property of their father, brother, husband or other male relative. Lady Catherine is very much the exception in having control of her own property & finances. I do agree with you that their lives must have been incredibly boring and repetitive.
It is difficult for those of us from a western culture to understand the obsession with gossip and triviality but it would be interesting to know how a women from a culture where female independence is still very constrained would respond to the work of Jane Austin .... I'm thinking of books such as 'Reading Lolita in Tehran', 'The Swallows of Kabul' or 'The Wasted Vigil'.

I'm in total agreement on the Bronte sisters!

[anu_]

Fran, I agree about Jane Austen's ability to create good realistic novels, that did portray the restricted British household in detail. But, what I can not stand in her novels is her obsession with women being just intelligent enough to lay traps to bewitch eligible bachelors or to gossip and taint a fellow woman as a gold digger. Somehow, I found her stories too limited in their horizons. I also found her books to drag at some point, with emphasis just being given on endless parties and picnics. Particularly, in Emma, she concentrated so much on single events, that I found a full chapter was devoted to Miss Fairfax taking a walk in rain. I simply think, she made her novels voluminous by giving such wide coverage to insignificant events. But,anyhow, I have nothing against Jane Austen, and found the basic plot of both Pride and Prejudice and Emma interesting. I just have a problem reading her slow round about narrative.

[bookworm1983]

I love Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I also liked Emma. My favorite part of Pride and Prejudice is when Elizabeth's father told off her mother. I'd been waiting for him to do that the whole time she was being so trivial and single minded. I like the way she portrayed Elizabeth in particular but I also enjoyed the character of Mr. Darcy and their conversations with each other were interesting.

[Fran]

I love Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I also liked Emma. My favorite part of Pride and Prejudice is when Elizabeth's father told off her mother. I'd been waiting for him to do that the whole time she was being so trivial and single minded. I like the way she portrayed Elizabeth in particular but I also enjoyed the character of Mr. Darcy and their conversations with each other were interesting.

I love the part where Elizabeth puts Lady Catherine in her place ... just love that & it was so richly deserved.

[bookworm1983]

Ah yes, that was very good. It was also what caused Darcy to hope for something he thought was out of the question before.

[Marry89]

My favorite part of Pride and Prejudice is when Elizabeth's father told off her mother.

I totally agree! I like the character of the father in this book.
I also read Sense and Sensibility and Emma. But I didn't really like Emma - it's been ok reading but not that gripping.