Sensibility – Clearly I Do Not Have It
Posted 26th April 2010
Category: Miscellaneous Genres: N/A
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For the last week I have been trudging through Jane Austen’s Sense And Sensibility with all the willingness of someone who has no willingness. I was finding it incredibly dull and was under the impression, more than a third of the way through, that with Pride And Prejudice Austen was a one hit wonder (in between these two I’d read Persuasion and not enjoyed it). I even dreamed yesterday night that I was approaching the last quarter of it and on waking my heart sunk.
Maybe my dream was a premonition, because suddenly everything has changed. I feel ashamed of my thoughts previous. That shocking reversal of storyline? I’ve reached it, and I’m loving it, I’m turning pages faster than I have in weeks. I am sorry for doubting Austen so much and revelling in how everlasting her words are. I wasn’t planning to review the book, knowing that my thoughts were less than appropriate given the book’s fame, but now it’s something to be expected.
Forgive me for not writing a proper post – I do have one ready and another couple in the works, but for now reading is at the forefront of my mind. And that I’m sure you’ll understand.
April 27, 2010, 8:25 pm
Thanks for coming and commenting on my blog as it gave me a chance to discover yours! Like Iris above, Persuasion is my favorite Austen, though I’ve heard many recently who dislike it. It will be interesting to see what I feel on a re-read, which I plan to do later this year.
I’m not a huge S&S fan, either. Elinor and Mariann were too stereotyped for me.
Charlie: Hi Aarti, it was an interesting topic, and you certainly raised some good issues. So that’s three people now I’ve heard who love Persuasion the most – I think I’ve definitely got to re-read it! I’m finding Elinor hard to work out for some reason, I can see the basics but she sometimes surprises me in her responses. Marianne though – I totally understand you there, she is stereotypical.
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April 26, 2010, 7:00 pm
I have a hard time reading Sense and Sensibility too. It is slow for the most part. And I am a self-proclaimed Austen lover (not so much for Sense and Sensibility though).
I have to confess that I’m surprised you disliked Persuasion. It is my favourite Austen, next to Pride and Prejudice. And I always tell people to forget about reading all the other novels first, but to start out with P&P and continue with Persuasion.
Charlie: I think part of the reason I didn’t like Persuasion was because I had such high expectations. I’d read the thoughts of a blogger I respect, who loves it, and after having read Pride And Prejudice I guess unconsciously I thought it’d be similar. I put some of it down to Austen’s state of health at the time, but the overall story I just found… lacking. I’m planning to give it another go sometime because I reckon reading it knowing I didn’t enjoy it will help raise it in my opinion, I won’t have an expectations.