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Ruby Granger's Reviews > Sense and Sensibility
Sense and Sensibility
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I'm not a fan of Jane Austen. I've given her many chances, and do really want to like her work, but am always let down -- until now, that is! I enjoyed Sense and Sensibility so much more than I was expecting to! I still wouldn't rank it on the same level as the Bronte sisters, but the story is sardonically funny, clever and surprisingly gripping for one with such a slow pace!
I thought the characters were really believable. Those characters who seemed more 2D at the beginning, grew out of later-revealed back-stories which made them more complex and complicated any notion of good and evil in the book. I particularly loved Marianne as a character, and how she transgresses what is expected of proper, upper-class ladies. Instead of talking in the drawing room, she will take up a book or stare out of the window or go on a long walk outside. She is strong and fiery and a new favourite of mine.
I would definitely recommend this to you -- even if you didn't like Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion and Mansfield Park (all of which I will now be giving another go!).
I thought the characters were really believable. Those characters who seemed more 2D at the beginning, grew out of later-revealed back-stories which made them more complex and complicated any notion of good and evil in the book. I particularly loved Marianne as a character, and how she transgresses what is expected of proper, upper-class ladies. Instead of talking in the drawing room, she will take up a book or stare out of the window or go on a long walk outside. She is strong and fiery and a new favourite of mine.
I would definitely recommend this to you -- even if you didn't like Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion and Mansfield Park (all of which I will now be giving another go!).
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Reading Progress
January 24, 2021
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Started Reading
January 29, 2021
– Shelved
January 29, 2021
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Finished Reading
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Emily
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rated it 5 stars
Jan 29, 2021 12:02PM
I am the same! I don’t really like any other of Jane Austen’s works but I loved sense and sensibility!! The characters are so well developed
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I’ve only read pride and prejudice and didn’t like it but I’d really like to read northanger abbey because it sounds quite similar to the brontës, whom I also LOVE. You could maybe give that one a shot next seeing as you like the brontes too? ❤️
I totally agree! Sense and Sensibility is my favourite!
Highly recommend Northanger Abbey and Emma! Mansfield Park is the only Austen not worth the time imo x
University made me hate Austen because they cram her books into every single English lit module because she is an "icon".
Northanger Abbey and Emma are where it’s at with Jane Austen!! Please read them!
I personally don't think you should be compelled to like a certain author just because he/she is famous. Surely you can't love every single accomplished author. It's a very subjective thing.
I'm exactly the same with Austen! I feel so much like I ought to like her, based on all my other tastes and interests, but I always just find her works ok... nothing like the way I feel about the Brontës' books! I'm giving Austen another go at the moment with Persuasion and enjoying it more than I anticipated I would.
I totally agree with you Rae, while I don't mind Austen, the Brontës are my real heart and soul!
I have never heard the Brontës. I want to give that a go now.
Hmm, for someone who doesn't like Austen, it's odd that you liked this one better. Well IDK... to me it wasnt one of her bests
We put this on stage exactly a year ago with our English speaking theatre group at my German university and I loved it. It was my first time acting and I was able to find a new passion of mine (acting) through Sense and Sensibility. 😊
Now you have to read Emma haha
I completely agree! However, I don't really see why we have to compare Austen with the Brontes. Their novelistic purposes and influences were poles apart and they came from very different literary cultures and even historical periods. It's a comparison I see people making often, perhaps it's school that naturalised it, but I'm not sure if it is natural, I think it's just because they're women writers.
Yes definitely read Emma! It’s absolutely fine not to be a huge fan of a massive author, no one can please everyone. Though I would be biased towards Pride and Prejudice as I grew up loving it. I only discovered Emma this year and it’s fantastic x
These comments are encouraging, as I have Emma on my list of classics I want to read in 2021.
This book is sitting on my bookshelf. I recently bought it but can't find the time to read because of my upcoming exams. But after reading this I want to read it now!
I really don't think it's smart to compare any of the Brontes to Austen. Their influences, time period, and interpretations of the world around them were all wildly different. It isn't fair to any of the Bronte sisters to compare them to Austen (and vice versa). I understand that they both exist in this realm of social commentary, but they both go at it in very different methods. Austen looks for the sharp, witty, and more humorous take on the human condition of her time, while the Brontes - overall - tend to exist in a more grounded sense of realism combined with philosophical undertones.I'm glad you enjoyed Sense and Sensibility as it's my favorite of Austen; I just can't agree with comparing Austen to the Brontes since that comparison has existed unfairly in too many literary criticisms.
Completely agree, this work was also published a year or two before pride and prejudice yet I found this easier to read
how to open the book to read ughh?
Loved Sense and sensibility!!! Moving in to pride and prejudice or maybe Emma? Not sure which
I loved this book as well! I agree is slow paced, but I was hooked from the moment I started reading. I don’t know what it is about this book, but I really enjoyed all of it. I saw the movie, which was really good, but I really like reading the book more. There are just more details that the movie missed, but both are still good. I feel like Elinor is relatable for older siblings. She is always trying to keep Marianne out of trouble or looking out for her best interests. Marianne is definitely relatable to most of us when it comes to romance. She is a hopeless romantic, but I’m glad there is a good man for her. I love how we are thrown back into their time period. Things were so different back then. I am going to move on to reading Mansfield Park and I have high hopes for it. I do want to explore some of the Bronte sister’s works as well.
„I particularly loved Marianne as a character, and how she transgresses what is expected of proper, upper-class ladies.��
I thought in some public scenes she was rude, self-obsessed and immature indeed.
Have you tried Emma? It is the wittiest and most well developed in my opinion.
And as for Mansfield Park: love Jane Austen but that book (and more specifically the falling action) was such a disappointment.
This review feels like it’s written by me
