BOOK REVIEW: SENSE AND SENSIBILITY BY JANE AUSTEN

"And after all, Marianne, after all that is bewitching in the idea of a single and constant attachment, and all that can be said of one's happiness depending entirely on any particular person, it is not meant—it is not fit—it is not possible that it should be so."

Some random thoughts: 
► I didn't hate this, but I also didn't love it. 

► For one, it was soooo lonnnnggg. My interest in the story ebbed and flowed so many times over the course of reading it.

► One of my biggest issues with this is that apart from Willoughby, all the male characters—
or love interests, I should say—weren't very defined. I felt like I knew next to nothing about Edward or Colonel Brandon, and I really wish we'd had more scenes with them to flesh out their personalities. 

► Usually, Austen will do this thing where she'll explain what a character is like as soon as they're introduced (e.g. Edward --> "He was too diffident to do justice to himself; but when his natural shyness was overcome, his behaviour gave every indication of an open, affectionate heart. His understanding was good, and his education had given it solid improvement"). I'm usually fine with this because later on, we have that character interact with others and we can see how Austen's description transfers to their behaviour. In S&S, though, I just didn't get that. All I know about Edward is that he's nice and shy and all I know about Colonel Brandon is that he's good and sometimes has trouble expressing himself...I think? Basically, I wanted MORE from these characters.

► I think one reason I didn't love this is that it's just not as much fun as—I hate to compare, but it's inevitable—Pride and Prejudice. P&P is SO dramatic, but its drama is punchy. There's always some engaging back-and-forth going on, whether it be of the intense variety or the quippy variety. In S&S, though, the drama wasn't punchy so much as it was an unceasing stream of sadness. It's not that S&S wasn't dramatic, it's that its drama just didn't have that extra umph that I wanted.

► Onto some things I liked...

► Elinor, to me, was a really interesting character. She tries so hard to keep her feelings in check, and yet a lot of the time that's at the cost of being too much in her own head.

► I love what Austen did with Marianne's character. She sets up this plotline so that you think it's gonna go one way (view spoiler), only to completely divert it and leave you with a bunch of consequences to deal with instead. (view spoiler)

► I like how messy everything in this book is. It's all about second chances and opening up yourself to learning and compromise. (That's why I included the quote that I did in this review.)

► Marianne vs. Elinor in a nutshell: "We have neither of us any thing to tell; you, because you do not communicate, and I, because I conceal nothing."

► I lowkey love Mr. Palmer tho. He just wants to read his damn newspaper and not be disturbed ok.

► Marianne and Willoughby were so extra 

► LOL at Anne Steele and her constant talk of beaux. girl is obsessed.

► Also LOL at Robert Ferrar's obsession with cottages. it's weird, but you do you my man.

(► I just watched the S&S movie and I really enjoyed it! They did a wonderful job fleshing out the male characters, and I loved Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet as Elinor and Marianne.)