Persuasion
Jane Austen
First published a long time ago
272 pages in my Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition
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Some random things:
1. I read this for A Classic’s Challenge (except I didn’t do any of the challenge posts this month). Originally, I was going to read Emma. But when I went to the bookstore and saw the size of Emma, I wimped out. Then I saw this adorably creepy cover of Persuasion, and I decided to read it instead. Seriously. I chose my Austen based on the best cover. Okay, and the shorter length. Hey, when you’ve failed multiple times at Pride and Prejudice, cute covers and shorter lengths become very important.
2. The cover is by Audrey Niffenegger (yes, the author who is also an illustrator). Isn’t that cool?
3. There’s also an intro by Colm Tóibín, but I skipped it. Intros to classics and I historically don’t have a good relationship.
4. My thoughts on the book itself? Well, they go something like this…hmmm, this Austen, she ain’t half bad…oooh, tension, way to go Austen!…good lord, she sure can get in her jabs at shallow women, way to go Austen!….okay, it’s kinda boring since nothing’s happening….damn, Wentworth can write a love letter, I think I’m in love, even if I know nothing else about the man…hey wait, they probably spoke five times in the whole book and suddenly they’re back together??? what’s up with that?
5. I have officially finished an Austen. Will there be more? Maybe, maybe not. Okay, probably not.
6. You know, I’ve been to Bath twice. I’m not crazy about it, either.
7. I typed Austin instead of Austen through this entire post before I thought that might not be right and I googled it and then had to go back and correct my typos. Between Bath and the typos, I think I’ve been banned from ever joining any Austen fan clubs.
Totally cool cover – amazed that Niffenegger did that!
p.s. we both did Austen today. synchronicity?
I had to read Pride and ‘snore’ at uni. That was enough Austen for me.
What’s wrong with Bath?
I am glad that you liked this one! I haven’t read it yet, but have read Emma, which is basically about a spoiled little meddler. I think you would like it.
Well, I’m pleased you’ve finally made it through an Austen, and I am choosing to read your review through rose-tinted glasses and believe that it looks like you enjoyed it on the whole! This is actually one Austen I’ve not read (along with Mansfield Park), because I like knowing that I still have a few Austen’s that I have yet to discover in all their glory. I am half-tempted to say that I think you would have enjoyed Emma more than this, because my understanding is that this one can get quite gloomy, but you’re right that Emma is long and probably not best for those who are faint of Austen heart!
Oooh, I did love Persuasion. It is worth any bit of fussiness for that ending, no? Now, Pride and Prejudice, Fizzy Jill. Try the audio. It is really really wonderful. You will learn to love the Austen thing. If you don’t, then watch Colin Firth come out of the river in his wet white puffy shirt, then you will be inspired.
That cover rocks!!!
And thank you for not falling in love with Austen. I feel blasphemous for not falling head over heels for her.
I am not a huge Austen fan either. I read P&P and that was about it… I have never felt a pressing desire to read more from her.
I think I’ve only ever read one Austen book. I do love that cover.
I had no idea Audrey Niffenegger is an artist.
I’ve read one Austen too. I chose Emma. It’s lighter and has some fun dialogue.
1. While I dislike this book and Audrey Niffenegger’s books, I do love that cover, and think it’s most appropriate for this book.
2. I think it’s most appropriate for this book because in my opinion Wentworth is a controlling bastard and she’s going to regret going back to him for the rest of her life. He’s always going to make her suffer for that one choice she made.
3. A good love letter doesn’t make up for bastardness.
4. The only two Austen books I like are P&P and Northanger Abbey, though admittedly I didn’t read NA until after seeing the movie, which is frickin’ awesome, so I recommend it more than the book.
You crack me up. Good for you. It’s very very brave to admit a non-ecstatic lukewarm-love affair with the Jane on the blogosphere. yikes. Altho, you always seem to bring out the “I’ll second that” by a surprising amount of people. What was the other book you didn’t like that everyone else said, “Me, too, neither.” that surprised me? I forget…
Gah… another one the eludes me… perhaps I will try it… maybe.
I love the cover! Did you ever see the cover of my copy of Persuasion. It soooooo UGLY! Totally distracting. I wish I owned this copy.
Oh I love this cover too! I picked my Jane Eyre read last year based on the cover because I was afraid of reading it so you are not alone!
You are hilarious.
While I am an admitted Austen fan, I had to laugh at your typos. And your reaction to PERSUASION (#4) is spot on!
You didn’t like Bath???
I love Bath, Austen, and this cover
I had no idea that Niffenegger was an illustrator – that’s cool! I’ve only read Pride and Prejudice, and I liked it, but I really have to be in the right mood because the writing can seem dry and dense until I acclimate and then sink into it. So I get why you might not be completely into Austen’s writing. I have good intentions to read Austen’s other books. What I have a hard time getting into are the Austen spinoffs.
Voice of Dissension: I kinda hate that cover. But, I don’t remember Persuasion all that well (except for the fact that I liked it) so the meaning is lost on me. I agree with Alyce that it takes a while to get into the swing of the language. I’m also wholeheartedly with Sandy on Wet Colin Firth. He certainly inspires me.
I liked Bath but didn’t love it. But, I was there with someone I didn’t know (just another engineer-wife keeping busy while the husbands conferenced) and all she wanted to do was buy expensive gifts to show off how nicely she’d inherited (at least, that’s what I was guessing — she certainly went overboard). All I bought in Bath was a 99-pence photograph from the 1920s and it’s still one of my favorite things I’ve brought home from England.
Persuasion is…not my most favorite. Maybe try Northanger Abbey? It’s short, it’s an early effort of Jane Austen, the hero’s really delightful, and it’s a gentle spoof of Gothic novels. So all those are good things about it. But if you don’t like it, you don’t have to write off Jane Austen because, hey, it’s an early effort, nobody’s awesome on their first try!
Persuasion is not my favorite either. I love P&P, S&S, and Emma though. Haven’t been to Bath, but I’ve taken a bath.
I’m not a fan of Austen (Ok, I am, but I like those Bronte chicks better), but I DO want to read this one. Unfortunately it’s the ONLY Austen I don’t own. And everytime I see the cover I see a shoe. Do you see that? her foot is the point and the chair is the heel. Surely I’m not the only one…
I’ve read 4 of Jane’s books and really liked two of them, this one and P&P. P&P has more going on, but Persuasion more grown up in some ways. And I read that letter aloud to my husband so he could see what he was up against
Love the cover. I agree with you about intros to classics. If I read them at all, it is AFTER I read the book because they usually contain spoilers!