Scan barcode
argleblather's review against another edition
2.0
I should really remember that I don't tend to like stories centered around angst and romance. This felt like the novel precursor to Pretty White Kids with Problems.
amcooke's review against another edition
3.0
Makes me want to keep reading more Jane. I thoroughly enjoy that the thoughts of women a million years ago are so similar to what we think now.
Favorite exchange:
"It would not be the nature of any woman who truly loved." Captain Harville smiled, as much as to say, "Do you claim that for your sex?" and she answered the question, smiling also, "Yes. We certainly do not forget you as soon as you forget us. It is, perhaps, our fate rather than our merit. We cannot help ourselves. We live at home, quiet, confined, and our feelings prey upon us. You are forced on exertion. You have always a profession, pursuits, business of some sort or other, to take you back into the world immediately, and continual occupation and change soon weaken impressions."
Austen, Jane (2009-10-04). Persuasion (Kindle Locations 2979-2983). Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition.
Favorite exchange:
"It would not be the nature of any woman who truly loved." Captain Harville smiled, as much as to say, "Do you claim that for your sex?" and she answered the question, smiling also, "Yes. We certainly do not forget you as soon as you forget us. It is, perhaps, our fate rather than our merit. We cannot help ourselves. We live at home, quiet, confined, and our feelings prey upon us. You are forced on exertion. You have always a profession, pursuits, business of some sort or other, to take you back into the world immediately, and continual occupation and change soon weaken impressions."
Austen, Jane (2009-10-04). Persuasion (Kindle Locations 2979-2983). Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition.
melissa_k_reads's review against another edition
5.0
rereading classics! love Jane. I was amused at how little Anne stands up for herself when.she quite clearly has brains and opinions. There is much to be said for progress :)
alexandrahirons's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
bibliophilebritt's review against another edition
4.0
Jane Austen had an interesting way of presenting her characters. They definitely belonged in this time period in "Persuasion." It is also interesting to see how she presents gender of her characters and how it different it is from how gender is seen today.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°
"ONE man's ways may be as good as another's, but we all like our own best."
-Jane Austen, "Persuasion"
°°°°°°°°°°°°°
"ONE man's ways may be as good as another's, but we all like our own best."
-Jane Austen, "Persuasion"
mollyrourke's review against another edition
3.0
As always, I have so much to say about a Jane Austen Novel.
!! SPOILER ALERT !!!
Hot take: I am not a huge fan. The first 3/4 of the book were s l o w and unbearable. Don't get me wrong I LOVE Jane Austen's style of writing but there are only so many dramatically narrated dinner parties I can take. Why does every character talk to each other in a monologue? Why did victorian women keep passing out over love being confessed to them? How did Jane Austen make Anne and Captain Wentworth's brief moment of eye contact feel like a sex scene? How did Captain Wentworth not have any beef with Anne after she cut off their engagement because he "wasn't rich enough?" So many unanswered questions, and not necessarily the good ones. I did not feel like I was reading a story about Anne. I felt like I was reading a story about everyone else in her life and she was just the one whose reactions we witnessed to all this.
The plot twist where Captain Wentworth accidentally almost killed Louisa really got me. That was a much-needed side quest (though incredibly unrelated to the plot as a whole).
Side note: Anne is a badass for correcting Captain Harville over his opinion of a woman's fickleness in love being based solely off of a number of books written by men. Feminist queen. I love Jane Austin's subtle incorporations of microfeminism.
Oh how I hate Mary. What a conceited, annoying, stuck-up bitch. She contributed nothing to the book other than annoying the hell out of me.
As for the plot: It was very dry. The book only started to pick up in the last 1/4, but I feel like it shouldn't take that long for me to get into it. Some of the characters were so surface-level. I wish we had gotten to know Captain Wentworth more- after all, he is one of the main characters. I feel like I hardly knew anything about him. I appreciate the complexities in Sir Elliot's character and the plot-twist over Mr. Elliot (side note I'm glad she did not marry her cousin for reasons other than him being an asshole). The familial connections and emotional relations felt more complex here than her other books (or maybe I am just reading into it more). I do love, however, how Jane Austen's main character here differs in that she is nearly 30. She is not the "blossoming" young girl we see in her other novels.
Now for my main reason for disliking the book: IT WAS SO PREDICTABLE. I could sense the end of the story from the first chapter. Did not keep me on my toes. At all.
Favorite Quotes:
- "Surely, if there be constant attachment on each side, our hearts must understand each other ere long. We are not boy and girl, to be captiously irritable, misled by every moment’s inadvertence, and wantonly playing with our own happiness."
- "When pain is over, the remembrance of it often becomes a pleasure."
- "Family connexions were always worth preserving ; good company always worth seeking."
!! SPOILER ALERT !!!
Hot take: I am not a huge fan. The first 3/4 of the book were s l o w and unbearable. Don't get me wrong I LOVE Jane Austen's style of writing but there are only so many dramatically narrated dinner parties I can take. Why does every character talk to each other in a monologue? Why did victorian women keep passing out over love being confessed to them? How did Jane Austen make Anne and Captain Wentworth's brief moment of eye contact feel like a sex scene? How did Captain Wentworth not have any beef with Anne after she cut off their engagement because he "wasn't rich enough?" So many unanswered questions, and not necessarily the good ones. I did not feel like I was reading a story about Anne. I felt like I was reading a story about everyone else in her life and she was just the one whose reactions we witnessed to all this.
The plot twist where Captain Wentworth accidentally almost killed Louisa really got me. That was a much-needed side quest (though incredibly unrelated to the plot as a whole).
Side note: Anne is a badass for correcting Captain Harville over his opinion of a woman's fickleness in love being based solely off of a number of books written by men. Feminist queen. I love Jane Austin's subtle incorporations of microfeminism.
Oh how I hate Mary. What a conceited, annoying, stuck-up bitch. She contributed nothing to the book other than annoying the hell out of me.
As for the plot: It was very dry. The book only started to pick up in the last 1/4, but I feel like it shouldn't take that long for me to get into it. Some of the characters were so surface-level. I wish we had gotten to know Captain Wentworth more- after all, he is one of the main characters. I feel like I hardly knew anything about him. I appreciate the complexities in Sir Elliot's character and the plot-twist over Mr. Elliot (side note I'm glad she did not marry her cousin for reasons other than him being an asshole). The familial connections and emotional relations felt more complex here than her other books (or maybe I am just reading into it more). I do love, however, how Jane Austen's main character here differs in that she is nearly 30. She is not the "blossoming" young girl we see in her other novels.
Now for my main reason for disliking the book: IT WAS SO PREDICTABLE. I could sense the end of the story from the first chapter. Did not keep me on my toes. At all.
Favorite Quotes:
- "Surely, if there be constant attachment on each side, our hearts must understand each other ere long. We are not boy and girl, to be captiously irritable, misled by every moment’s inadvertence, and wantonly playing with our own happiness."
- "When pain is over, the remembrance of it often becomes a pleasure."
- "Family connexions were always worth preserving ; good company always worth seeking."
brynnma's review against another edition
5.0
The unfortunate thing about the Modern Library editions is that they combine the best cover design with the crappiest scholarship. The essay that opens this edition is a half-assed biography and a couple paragraphs ruminating on the title. Why do I keep buying the ML edition? Vapid, clearly. Regardless, the novel is wonderful. Not her best work, she was well into her slow decline by the time she finished it but the last twenty pages manage to be a hundred times more edge of your seat thrilling than anything Stephen King ever wrote.