Reviews

I'm a bit ashamed to admit but this is the first Jane Austen book I ever picked up and that's mainly because classics were rarely on my radar before which I'm determined to change.

I enjoyed this very much and right from the start I could tell what a witty and intelligent writer she was. The book largely deals with people's views on money, marriage and manners and I often found it to be a very interesting critique of the society of that time (at least that's how I took it).

I loved Elinor right from the star. I'm gonna assume her attitude probably annoys some people but I admire her strength to keep it together no matter what happened. I just wished more time was actually dedicated to *her* rather than her being there to help her sister through her troubles and as a helpful ear to other people's problems. It took some time to warm up to Marianne but her character development was *chef's kiss*. There's also a variety of side character whose simultaneous decency and awfulness were endlessly entertaining.

The story is very slow-paced but despite that, I couldn't put the book down, mostly because I was extremely curious where it's gonna go. I'm definitely gonna be reading more of Jane Austen's books cause I loved this a lot.

vic_bun's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

mudder17's review against another edition

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5.0

I loved this book! It was written two years before Austen's arguably most famous book, Pride and Prejudice, which I have read several times, but I never got around to reading this book and I think I missed out. I believe the title refers both to Elinor and Marianne as Sense and Sensibility, but also to society with regards to where it was (neoclassicism) and where it was headed (romanticism). Elinor represents the more cerebral, rational, logical, considerate sister, while Marianne represents the passionate, dramatic, emotional sister and even though they are like night and day, the affection they obviously have for each other makes me like them both (although I am more drawn to Elinor). While this is in part a romance, it's also a commentary about the limitations society at that time put on people (both men and women) and how that could really affect one's choice of a spouse, whether or not there was genuine affection between the two. But I loved that this book was also about the two sisters and how much they cared for each other, but also about how they were able to learn from each other. And as is usual in Austen's books, I love her dry wit and how she pokes fun at different characters. There were moments when Austen's descriptions or the dialog had me laughing out loud! I have not seen the movie, but I think I will have to do so now!

afkaplan's review against another edition

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2.0

I really don't know how to review this. I haven't read a classic in about a decade, so it's possible I'm just very rusty and unable to appreciate fine literature. But I know I couldn't wait for this book to end and almost threw in the towel multiple times. Austen's long (long, long) sentences and love for pronouns left me continually confused and sometimes unable to decipher which "she" she was talking about. The story also got tiring and was altogether boring; perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if it was a couple hundred pages shorter.

grace_liz9's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted sad slow-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

britreadsalot's review against another edition

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I loved this book so much. At times it was a little slow, but for the most part very enjoyable.

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