Do you love Jane Austen or want to “dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone”? (Phrase borrowed from Mark Twain).
- Why? (for either answer)?
- Favorite and/or least favorite Austen novel?
The answer for me is a decided LOVE! I adore Jane Austen and have read all of her full novels except Northanger Abbey. I want to read it in the fall, but every year I resist, I think because I don't want to be done. I know there are plenty of spin-offs and juvenile unfinished writings, but being done with the core six novels will be saddening.
The first Jane Austen I ever read was not Pride and Prejudice like most people, but Sense and Sensibility, and it remains my favorite. I always related to Marianne (it seems many people do, from what I see in the blogosphere) -- emotional, passionate, and a pianist. :) And as a teenager I was drawn to those stories that had a hint of tragedy in them (I was too young to see the romance of Colonel Brandon -- I get it now) (somewhat).
My least favorite that I have read is Emma, and I think the only real reason for that is that I read it when I was pretty young and never went back to it. The other day I needed a mindless distraction and decided to watch Clueless while I fed my baby, and now I am thinking I need to reread Emma.
Somewhat unrelated but also sparking a desire to reread another Jane Austen: Has anyone been watching The Lizzie Bennet Diaries? MOST EXCELLENT.
Northanger Abbey is my favorite. I think you should read it with us for Austen in August this year. ;)
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the Lizzie Bennet Diaries--I'll have to look into it! Like you, Emma is my least favorite. Also like you, I love the role the piano plays in the stories. I have multiple songbooks with the music from the film adaptations so I can play Austen to my heart's content. :)
ReplyDeleteI love Northanger Abbey! I hope you enjoy it. I totally get not wanting to read it yet because you don't want to be done - I have the same thing going on with Mansfield Park. (I don't know if I'll ever read anything other than the 6 main novels... I don't want to read something half finished.)
ReplyDeleteReading Emma and then immediately watching Clueless was a lot of fun. I have new respect for Clueless and how well they did a modern reinterpretation of it.
You will never be done with Austen, because there is always the reread where you pick up on all the things you missed first time. Then as you get older and have different experiences you see events and characters with new eyes. Even all the different movie interpretations allow you to reread seeing certain events and characters from someone else's perspective. The Austen joy is lifelong :-)
ReplyDeletePersuasion is my favorite! And Northanger Abbey comes second. But seriously, Emma is a riot. I have not yet read Mansfield Park, and I'm also holding off....
ReplyDeleteThe Lizzie Bennet Diaries is my favorite thing on the internet right now!