Review: Emma by Jane Austen

Emma was the first full length classic that I read as an e-book via Kindle for PC.  About three weeks have passed and I thought I would, air some thoughts on it.  

Does a classic need reviews?

I have just listened to Adele at Persnickety Snark vlog about how she write reviews, so my approach to this review is going to be different (she's got me thinking).  I am reviewing a classic which, one would assume, has been read and reviewed by millions. If you don't know the story of Emma, you could look at the wikipedia page, but in the interests of supporting  reading of the classics I suggest that you read it instead.

The short of it


Emma is  a comedy/drama about the perils of sticking you nose into the romantic affairs of others - a job that the heroine Emma Woodhouse excels at (being nosy).

Romance ... bluurgh!

I think for any male readers the idea that Emma is just chick lit. needs to be challenged.  You might be forgiven for thinking its all heaving bosoms and wistful looks.  In reality it is a drama and one that has a happy ending.  There's a modicum of action with Mr Churchill  rescuing Harriet Smith from some vagabond trampers(gypsies?) but this is handled in two paragraphs.

No the action in this book is via the dialogue.  Characters are revealed and mischaracterized( by Emma) through the dialogue. The story might focus on Emma's attempts at match making, the protagonist might be female but the the larger picture is of course human interaction and this is part of what I found interesting.  As interesting as say any modern drama like channel 10's drama Offspring.

What do I take away from this classic?


Emma is a window on history. A look into  recent western culture. The more I read the more the various attitudes/social strictures made sense.  I did also have my copy of What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew... which was invaluable.  But I do feel I gained an appreciation of the period that you perhaps don't get from watching BBC Bonnet Drama's.

The other thing I have taken away is  Jane Austen's skill at creating character and story through dialogue - I wrote a couple of short narrative pieces while reading Emma and found, that without really intending to I had written two pages of dialogue heavy story.

I think for any writer experiencing trouble writing dialogue, Austen's worth reading.

Slow down your reading

Below is a snippet of a talk given by Francine Prose, posibly my favourite writer on the subject of writing.  I suspect that we might share some political leanings as well.

When asked what one piece of advice he could give to readers it was to slow down.

Enjoy.

Book Beginnings on Friday- 27 August

Book Beginnings on Friday is a meme hosted by Becky at Page Turners. Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading. If you like, share with everyone why you do, or do not, like the sentence.

This week, one of the books I am reading is John Marsden's Tomorrow when the War began.  Below is the first sentence:

It's only half an hour since someone - Robyn I think - said we should write everything down, and it's only twenty-nine minutes since I got chosen, and for those twenty-nine minutes I've had everyone crowded around me gazing at the blank page and yelling ideas and advice.

I was ever so slightly put off with this first sentence, but then I think Marsden is doing a good job of trying to give us the voice of a teenager –it’s unsure, the thinking is a little chaotic.
Regardless, I am hoping to find some time to really dig into this book, I suspect I will like it, given the praise it’s received from certain members of my family.