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Jun 11, 2018Kayleb_Miekell_avarn10n rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
It took me a while to get into this book (partly because I had to get re-used to Jane Austen's writing style), but by the end I was definitely enjoying it. I was feeling a little claustrophobic stuck in that tiny cottage for most of Volume I, where Elinor's passivity didn't lend itself to much happening and Marianne's opinions and personality annoyed me very much, while their mother had a good portion of Mrs. Bennet's obliviousness without any of her hilariousness, Margaret barely existed, and the neighborly invasions got old very quickly. At least the Palmers were sometimes around to be funny. When the Dashwood sisters went to town, events became more interesting and Mrs. Jennings became very tolerable, but I couldn't really admire the character of any of the male characters, and I thought Willoughby's in particular did too many violent flip-flops. I do enjoy Austen's barbed wit, as always, as well as her decided support of her day's equivalent of homeschooling. There is also an emotional depth to her work that makes me enjoy her happy endings. Overall, not bad, but I would definitely rather reread Pride and Prejudice or Persuasion, the other two Austen works I've finished, than this one.