Tuesday 25 January 2011

Book 5. Emma by Jane Austen




Finished 25th January.


This is the second 'Austen' book that I have read. My first being 'Pride and Prejudice' a few years ago. Not usually the kind of book I would read but it was actually a welcome change. This book is a very old book and was written nearly 200 years ago !

First of all I have to say how beautifully presented this Penguin book is. I adore the cover artwork and it feels and looks like a proper book.

It isn't the easiest book to read because it is written in a style and language that is essentially old fashioned. It did take me a few chapters to get into and the old fashioned style did trip me up occasionally and once or twice I had to back step and on more than one occasion I had to work out who on earth was talking and what they were talking about. But we can't blame Jane for this, it's not her fault she wrote it such a long time ago !

However at the end of the day this is a charming light hearted book that does keep its interest going and in a modern world such as ours, reading a book like this is probably as much an escape as reading a science fiction novel.

The book is essentially about a young, rich, spoiled women and her one sided take on her life and the people around her. She unsuccessfully attempts to match-make for her new friend 'Harriet' and then a new man arrives into her life, Frank Churchill and her old nemesis ' Jane Fairfax' who both turn her little society upside down. And then we have her neurotic father who absolutely loathes the idea of marriage and pities anyone who goes down that path and the hilariously talkative Miss Bates.

On the whole this isn't the kind of book that I would normally read but it is neither a bad book nor an average book. It is much more than that. It is a good book.
Just one that doesn't rock my world. Will I read another Austen ? Probably. I prefer this to 'Pride and Prejudice'.


7.5/10

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