50 Books: Emma by Jane Austen
I struggled with this one. I was more than halfway through when it finally became worth reading for itself instead of the name, Austen. But...I'm glad I did it.
I can't say I'm a huge fan - of the character, the writing, or the story. I found Emma to be selfish and unsympathetic. I have a really hard time rooting for characters that have absolutely no sense of their weaknesses, and so through most of the book I was completely uninterested in her story.
About 70% of the way through, she started becoming human and I started reading because I wanted to know what happened next, rather than because I wanted to say I'd finished a book by Jane Austen. After that, it was fun, but still not riveting.
The writing wasn't really to my taste. I think the descriptive nature of it (having five three page conversations in order to show how very boring and long-winded one of the characters is seemed like overkill to me) was probably due in part to the style of the time. But there were a few things I found very interesting about it, some good, some bad.
First, there was a really amazing sense of experiencing things the way Emma saw them (with her absolute conviction), and that was rarely broken. The close third person is sometimes limiting, especially with a character with blinders, like Emma. But, somehow, while you were looking at things from Emma's point of view, you still had a perfectly clear sense that her interpretation of people's actions were wrong. This is something I would love to learn - to stay completely in character, and still be able to show the reader things that the character doesn't realize.
However, I found it very jarring when, for about six paragraphs, we slipped into another character's head. Only once, and for a very short time when you consider the length of the book. I understood the necessity, but felt it was a very jarring transition to and from, and I think the information gotten there should have been provided in another way.
All that being said, it was worth reading. Mainly because it's a classic, and because the sense of character beyond Emma was so deftly done. But I can't say I'm dying to read another. I'll probably give Pride and Prejudice a try to see if it's the character that I had such trouble with, or if I truly don't appreciate Austen.
Time will tell!
My next book, which I've started already and am pretty excited about, is The Omnivore's Dilemma!
I can't say I'm a huge fan - of the character, the writing, or the story. I found Emma to be selfish and unsympathetic. I have a really hard time rooting for characters that have absolutely no sense of their weaknesses, and so through most of the book I was completely uninterested in her story.
About 70% of the way through, she started becoming human and I started reading because I wanted to know what happened next, rather than because I wanted to say I'd finished a book by Jane Austen. After that, it was fun, but still not riveting.
The writing wasn't really to my taste. I think the descriptive nature of it (having five three page conversations in order to show how very boring and long-winded one of the characters is seemed like overkill to me) was probably due in part to the style of the time. But there were a few things I found very interesting about it, some good, some bad.
First, there was a really amazing sense of experiencing things the way Emma saw them (with her absolute conviction), and that was rarely broken. The close third person is sometimes limiting, especially with a character with blinders, like Emma. But, somehow, while you were looking at things from Emma's point of view, you still had a perfectly clear sense that her interpretation of people's actions were wrong. This is something I would love to learn - to stay completely in character, and still be able to show the reader things that the character doesn't realize.
However, I found it very jarring when, for about six paragraphs, we slipped into another character's head. Only once, and for a very short time when you consider the length of the book. I understood the necessity, but felt it was a very jarring transition to and from, and I think the information gotten there should have been provided in another way.
All that being said, it was worth reading. Mainly because it's a classic, and because the sense of character beyond Emma was so deftly done. But I can't say I'm dying to read another. I'll probably give Pride and Prejudice a try to see if it's the character that I had such trouble with, or if I truly don't appreciate Austen.
Time will tell!
My next book, which I've started already and am pretty excited about, is The Omnivore's Dilemma!