Reviews with content warning for Death - Emma

Reviews tagging Death

Emma, by Jane Austen

11 reviews

catherinedsharp's review against another edition

funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

DISCLAIMER - I read this text as a set text for university meaning I did not pick this up for myself. It does not necessarily fit my usual reading selection so my review may be rather biased.

I have found my favourite Austen! Despite going into reading knowing the plot (I have watched the most recent film adaptation) I very much enjoyed my time reading this novel.

Characters who made me laugh out loud with their dialogue, development in personality and a lighthearted plot that ends in happiness.

I would highly recommend reading this classic of a novel, it is a fun journey that was very enjoyable.

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hannahbailey's review against another edition

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lighthearted reflective tense slow-paced

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

2.0

TW: sexism, classism and gypsy/traveller stereotypes

Jane, I'm so sorry I didn't like this. I just visited your house and loved it. You're a feminist icon! But wow, this book is long and boring. I did enjoy Pride and Prejudice though, so I'm not an Austen hater. This book just wasn't for me.

People that know me know I hate long sentences. Punctuation is free to use guys, you don't have to fill a whole page with your monologue. Taking a breath is ok. Letting someone else speak every once in a while is ok. What's not ok is saying something in five paragraphs that could be said in one line! The way this novel was written combined with the very dry subject matter made it an absolute SLOG to get through. If it wasn't a renowned and popular classic written by a woman, I would've dnf'd. I like to support women where I can 😌

I would say that some parts were enjoyable and it did feel ahead of its time. The women were often outspoken and sometimes cheeky and unafraid to turn down a marriage proposal. Most of them showed independence of thought and self, which was quite refreshing. Some of the characters were endearing and likeable, but most of them were snobby and uptight. Every new character introduced was more boring and annoying than the last. It's a surprise that I managed to get through the whole thing. Emma was especially judgemental and liked to categorise people by their class, which was always lower than her own. The Tory party would love her!

I can appreciate this was a gentle critique of marital arrangements and women's place in society at the time, but Austen could not keep me engaged nor interested in what was going on. Which, to be fair, wasn't much, given that rich people back then seemed to do nothing other than visit each other's houses and look down upon the poor. And if it was bad weather, write to each other instead. Rather similar to now I suppose.

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nkazi's review

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funny lighthearted slow-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

4.0

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idajoh's review

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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? Yes

4.5

Absolutely loved this book. I could overlook some of the dated things such as classism and misoginy, but one aspect just absolutely revolted me.

Spoiler

I hated that Mr. Knightley basically groomed Emma and that he was so much older than her. I loved their chemistry however and predicted their match from early on, but I just wished he had not seen her grow up!

I actually regretted starting this a bit, but only because I've heard this is one of Austen's best works and I don't want to be disappointed by her other books because I loved this one so much

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savannahrb's review

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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books_hello's review

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hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

I would have to say I did not thoroughly enjoy the book Emma. I have read pride and prejudice, and sense and sensibility and enjoyed both those books. I especially enjoyed sense and sensibility. But I think the main problem of this book, for me is I didn't like the character Emma. I felt I could not connect to her. I did already know some of the plot so I kept reading. But It if I did not know the plot I would not have. She was such a 'miss know it all' and I didn't like that. I know that's the point of the book, but I just found myself getting annoyed by her. I wish I liked it more :(

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lovelyannalee's review

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funny lighthearted 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? Yes

4.0

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emilyjean_xo's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

where do i start,
i went in with low expectations due to the low rated reviews but came out absolutely adoring this book. it took me just about 2 months to finish it due to commitments & my desire to take my time but it was worth every second.
Austen creates such a beautiful world, particularly in relation to Hartfield and creates humour so delicately within her characters that genuinely made me laugh & find appreciation in her ability to write it so effectively & ingrained - you never feel as though she’s forcing humour.
the characters are written superbly, Austen captures different personalities within a miriad of characters who are all linked together so seamlessly and given their own individual flaws which noticed, worked up throughout the novel & used to create depth within their characterisations.

Spoiler

emma’s development as a character is my favourite, within herself and her relationships, she sees her flaws and begins to work upon hersf / them in order to fix them. the most evident example is with harriet, during the first volume especially, emma tries to set harriet up with me elton & puts so much work into it without thinking of her friend & her feelings. by volume three you’ve watched emma develop & realise that trying to matchmake her friend simply does more harm than good & reading emma’s excitement at her friends engagement warmed my heart because her happiness not only shows harriet’s development into her individuality but also emma’s into her ability to feel happy for harriet & her decisions.
austen’s use of volumes is extremely well used, she splits the novel into three allowing for three different love arch’s to have their “centre stage”, allowing the reader to easily shift their focus from which relationships they should be focusing on.

Spoiler

overall i absolutely adored this book, i would even go as far to say it’s one of my favourite books of all time -

Spoiler

with emma & mr knightley being one of my favourite fictional relationships of all time too

Spoiler

a very very easy 5* for me:)

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