amikotu

** spoiler alert ** I think I've read every other Jane Austen, and all of the rest I would give five stars.....but not this one. Sorry to all you Jane Austen fanatics. I give kudos to Jane Austen for actually developing a protagonist that is slightly more scatterbrained and less independent than her usual character, but I got bogged down in the constant stream of Bathe parties and endless conversation that went completely nowhere. I know this is all underlying commentary on her view of society at this time, but it was a little much. I kept wanting the book to go somewhere and it just can kind of mulled in that same spot, over and over again. And of course, Catherine gets the guy in the end, but you get the impression, he only offers his hand in marriage after his father has sent her away and told the young man not to have anything to do with her, and he feels guilty and suddenly discovers that he might have "feelings" for her. On a lighter note, I would not suggest reading an Austen novel at the same time succumbing to secret desires and allowing yourself to read something contemporary like a Sookie Stackhouse Vampire series. The pristine, etiquette world of Austen vs the sex and fang world of Harris tends to bend the brain a bit, making Austen difficult to read, like suddenly you need the OED and a translator to get through a sentence.

2022-11-14 16:25