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mayajoelle's review against another edition
4.0
Delightful audiobook on Hoopla.
I'm not sure about this one. I really did want to love it, and I'd heard so many good things about it in the years since I first read it, but the strongest emotion which Anne raised in me was frustration. My mother pointed out that I ought not to dislike characters simply because they are not like me; I think perhaps the problem is that she is too much like me. I do not want to cling to my nineteen-year-old crushes when I am twenty-seven; I hope I do not. Anne makes me fear I will. And Wentworth's seemingly unchanged love for her felt unrealistic and hollow.
Maybe I'm just a pessimist. But I didn't particularly like any of the characters, thought Anne ought to have married Benwick, and ultimately didn't find the romances believable. However, I will say that Wentworth's letter and the ensuing conversations were a delightful contrast to Austen's usual lack of such things. All her other novels end with "and then, as I am sure you can imagine, in due time, they got married, and everything was great, and I'm not going to tell you about their heartfelt conversations or the proposal or anything because I'm sure you can imagine it." I don't want to imagine it, and here, I didn't have to.
Four stars, because it was good, and the ending made up for a lot of its flaws.
I'm not sure about this one. I really did want to love it, and I'd heard so many good things about it in the years since I first read it, but the strongest emotion which Anne raised in me was frustration. My mother pointed out that I ought not to dislike characters simply because they are not like me; I think perhaps the problem is that she is too much like me. I do not want to cling to my nineteen-year-old crushes when I am twenty-seven; I hope I do not. Anne makes me fear I will. And Wentworth's seemingly unchanged love for her felt unrealistic and hollow.
Maybe I'm just a pessimist. But I didn't particularly like any of the characters, thought Anne ought to have married Benwick, and ultimately didn't find the romances believable. However, I will say that Wentworth's letter and the ensuing conversations were a delightful contrast to Austen's usual lack of such things. All her other novels end with "and then, as I am sure you can imagine, in due time, they got married, and everything was great, and I'm not going to tell you about their heartfelt conversations or the proposal or anything because I'm sure you can imagine it." I don't want to imagine it, and here, I didn't have to.
Four stars, because it was good, and the ending made up for a lot of its flaws.
lizzycatslibrary's review against another edition
3.0
Oh Jane Austen! I do love her, so my opinion is going to be slightly biased. Persuasion is really a classic Jane Austen novel, with all of the emotional turmoil as well as the humorous perspectives of life at that time. Her critique of the society is especially interesting, in a way could even be deemed as a feminist lense at that time. I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves Austen.
rpam115's review against another edition
5.0
The best way to enter Austen's world is to read Austen. Less sparkling than some of the other books, Persuasion is the story of the price paid by a woman persuaded by her dutiful upbringing not to follow her heart.
wslockard's review against another edition
5.0
A lonely book! Jane Austen's protagonist, Anne Elliot, is possibly the loneliest of Austen's protagonists. Throughout the plot, she has no confidante nor friend who truly cares for her wellness. All her family members and acquaintances write her off as a spinster, so they keep her at the periphery of all their activities, but they seldom notice her.
However, there is not much to notice about Anne! She keeps all her emotions sealed tight. I read an essay at the beginning of my copy, which described a common thread throughout Jane Austen novels: a sense of claustrophobia created by a small, close-knit society. A phrase used was "hemmed in by all sides." In a village or town where your closest neighbor is 3 miles away, social interaction can be both rare and highly charged whenever it occurs.
Another element of claustrophobia appears in Anne's female lifestyle. By default, because she is a woman, she does not often do things; in life, things are destined to happen TO her, and she is supposed to acquiesce or dodge, depending on the circumstances. For instance, it is an absolutely shocking moment when, once, Anne decides to cross a room halfway (!!!) in order to speak to a friend, who happens to be an unmarried man. This one occurrence in the book is intended to make readers quiver. However, this is her one bold move. Later in the day, when a different man sits beside her, Anne can only wish him to go away, but she is unable to act. Decorum prevents it.
Literary theorists have posited that Jane Austen was full of rage. It was a helpless rage, channeled through books, in response to women's lack of rights. Here's an example of something rage-worthy:
Property rights. If a man owned property, he could not pass the property to female relatives. It was accepted as "the way things have always been." Never mind that your widow and daughters become homeless when you die.
This is the twist of agony in Persuasion... Anne has no home, and most likely she will have no husband. A supposed SAVIOR arrives in the form of her cousin Mr. Elliot who is the family member intended to inherit Anne's father's estate. AND Mr. Elliot seems interested in marrying Anne. His proposal gives her the incredibly tempting option of "never changing her name." Wow, she is allowed to keep her surname! And she can keep her family home! (But only if she marries her icky first cousin.) Wouldn't this make anyone at least a little angry?!
However, there is not much to notice about Anne! She keeps all her emotions sealed tight. I read an essay at the beginning of my copy, which described a common thread throughout Jane Austen novels: a sense of claustrophobia created by a small, close-knit society. A phrase used was "hemmed in by all sides." In a village or town where your closest neighbor is 3 miles away, social interaction can be both rare and highly charged whenever it occurs.
Another element of claustrophobia appears in Anne's female lifestyle. By default, because she is a woman, she does not often do things; in life, things are destined to happen TO her, and she is supposed to acquiesce or dodge, depending on the circumstances. For instance, it is an absolutely shocking moment when, once, Anne decides to cross a room halfway (!!!) in order to speak to a friend, who happens to be an unmarried man. This one occurrence in the book is intended to make readers quiver. However, this is her one bold move. Later in the day, when a different man sits beside her, Anne can only wish him to go away, but she is unable to act. Decorum prevents it.
Literary theorists have posited that Jane Austen was full of rage. It was a helpless rage, channeled through books, in response to women's lack of rights. Here's an example of something rage-worthy:
Property rights. If a man owned property, he could not pass the property to female relatives. It was accepted as "the way things have always been." Never mind that your widow and daughters become homeless when you die.
This is the twist of agony in Persuasion... Anne has no home, and most likely she will have no husband. A supposed SAVIOR arrives in the form of her cousin Mr. Elliot who is the family member intended to inherit Anne's father's estate. AND Mr. Elliot seems interested in marrying Anne. His proposal gives her the incredibly tempting option of "never changing her name." Wow, she is allowed to keep her surname! And she can keep her family home! (But only if she marries her icky first cousin.) Wouldn't this make anyone at least a little angry?!
holly2kidsandtired's review against another edition
4.0
Anne Elliot is one of my favorite Austen heroines, and Captain Wentworth is just divine. It's not easy reading, but it's a good novel.
Anne is the spinster sister, the solid one on whom everyone depends. She is intelligent and witty, thoughtful and compassionate. She follows the advice of others and is persuaded to not marry the man she loves. Her life then, does not take the turn she thought it would and she remains unmarried.
Her family is nuts. They are truly horrific in their treatment of not only her, but all others. They are self-centered and egotistical. Anne, alone, remains a truly graceful, refined woman. She has resigned herself to spinsterhood, but when she is reunited with Captain Wentworth 10 years after they parted, their romance is rekindled.
The film with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds is an excellent adaptation. Their characterizations are dead on.
Anne is the spinster sister, the solid one on whom everyone depends. She is intelligent and witty, thoughtful and compassionate. She follows the advice of others and is persuaded to not marry the man she loves. Her life then, does not take the turn she thought it would and she remains unmarried.
Her family is nuts. They are truly horrific in their treatment of not only her, but all others. They are self-centered and egotistical. Anne, alone, remains a truly graceful, refined woman. She has resigned herself to spinsterhood, but when she is reunited with Captain Wentworth 10 years after they parted, their romance is rekindled.
The film with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds is an excellent adaptation. Their characterizations are dead on.
cait_s's review against another edition
4.0
A quiet story, about regret over lost love. An inability to budget forces the Elliot family to move, and unsettles Anne Elliot's life greatly, bringing the man she refused to marry, but still loves, back into her company. It's been eight years, so many things have changed--the question she must know the answer to: is his heart one of those things?
A lot of rather silly, ungrateful, or selfish people, and Anne has the patience of a saint to put up with them. Not too much happens for much of the story, other than a great deal of pining. But the end is full of romance, and an often quoted confession of love. And it's popular for a reason--it's quite touching.
A lot of rather silly, ungrateful, or selfish people, and Anne has the patience of a saint to put up with them. Not too much happens for much of the story, other than a great deal of pining. But the end is full of romance, and an often quoted confession of love. And it's popular for a reason--it's quite touching.
anthroart19's review against another edition
3.0
I read this after having seen the BBC movie with Ciaran Hinds. Austen can be quite silly, but I am a sucker for the romance. And the silliness.
abigailblake's review against another edition
3.0
It’s a classic. Could it have stirred a lil bit more emotion for me? Yeah. Did it take a few chapters to get the dialogue understood? Yeah. But at the end of the book I had a smile on my face and was thinking about the cute ending for hours. I recommend so you can see what this book has done for pop culture for the last 200 years.
danielamehmeti's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
lar_iiious's review against another edition
5.0
I'm all team Persuasion. Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, they are all great. But Persuasion is IT for me. Love, love, love.
Anne is an amazing, mature heroine and that romance had me swooning. There's not a lot left to say other than; yes, this is a great novel and in my opinion Jane Austen's best one.
Anne is an amazing, mature heroine and that romance had me swooning. There's not a lot left to say other than; yes, this is a great novel and in my opinion Jane Austen's best one.