"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
That's the opening line of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice". I read it for fun in early university and loved it from the moment I read that sentence. Her satire and wit took me by surprise. Classics can often be epic, beautiful, important, well crafted and worth reading, but a lot of them are far from being entertaining and cheeky.
I think I read P&P as a follow up to the dry, uneventful and humourless Robinson Crusoe (I'm sorry, I know that I am supposed to love it and respect it, but I just can't. Maybe resepct, but never love). That book is the equivalent of talking to the most boring person I have ever met. Boys always seem to like it though, so...sorry guys for bashing your favourite novel.
After reading P&P I went on to watch a lot of the Jane Austen movies, old and new, and we had a good thing going for a while. Lots of watching the multi-hour epic BBC version of P&P, loving Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, having a short-lived crush on a boy I met in Michigan who QUOTED THE FIRST LINE OF PRIDE AND PREJUDICE TO ME when I told him I had read it recently, etc. etc. etc. You nerds know what I am talking about.
But then all of a sudden I lost my groove. Her novels sit unread in my "to read" pile, and this is the second time I have tried to read Sense and Sensibility. It's going ok, but definitely not great. What happened? I am bummed out.
Read Persuasion - I loved it. It's not nearly as light as Pride and Prejudice, but I think it's lovely.
ReplyDeleteMy university english copy of Robinson Crusoe was actually a children's version instead of the bookstore approved version. Mine was way cheaper and the only difference was that all of the funky old english had been replaced with modern letters, making it way easier to read.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kerry, I will try Persuasion. I wonder if I own it...
ReplyDeleteJoel, I feel doubtful that the old english was the only barrier to me loving Robinson Crusoe, but maybe, just maybe, it would have improved the situation.
ugh. i have never, ever liked jane austen. maybe you're just coming to your senses?
ReplyDeletejust kidding.
but only kind of.