Sense and Sensibility (Adaptation) (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

What can I say, a great classic (my favourite!) and it looks and feels amazing with the new cover.

This book was chosen for my reading group and I had mixed feelings before starting it. I did not enjoy Pride and Prejudice at school, probably because of the way it was taught; I hated Emma (she must be the most irritating heroine ever!); and although I quite enjoyed Mansfield Park I wouldn't say it was one of my all-time favourite reads.

Sense and Sensibility to me is in a different class. For a start it is quite a page-turner in that you really want to know what happens next. Yes, it is a story of thwarted love, but it is much more a comedy of manners. Austen's subtle wit and observation of her characters is masterly. Her depiction of the cruelty of Lucy's "friendship" towards Elinor is perfect, so that when she Elinor is to leave for London, Austen writes "she was pleased to be free herself from the persecution of Lucy's friendship". What a wonderfully expressive way to describe it.

Of the nine members in my group, six of us loved the book and the other three were less enthusiastic, partly through having been put off the classics at school. We also watched the Emma Thompson film and all enjoyed that, even those who didn't care for the book. In my opinion, though, the film lacks the subtle nuances and deliciously acid wit that comes across so well in the book.

One criticism that was widely shared - some of the sentences are immensely long so that you lose the thread by time you get to the end. This, I think, is simply an aspect of 18th/19th century literature and it just means you have to give the book your full concentration. I also made a note of the various characters names as I went along as there are quite a number and it can get confusing.

Most people who have read Jane Austen will have read Pride and Prejudice. With a title like Sense and Sensibility, most readers will assume that the two books can be interpreted and enjoyed in the same way. Other than having three word titles that employ alliteration in the first and third words, the two novels are more different than similar.

While Pride and Prejudice is primarily about miscommunication, Sense and Sensibility is about the maturation of two sisters as they find themselves confronted by adversity. The former topic allows Ms. Austen more room to roam, but within the later topic she has plenty of opportunities to display her story telling and comic talents. While maturation is an important sub theme in Pride and Prejudice, you see maturation better developed in Sense and Sensibility.

When their father dies, Elinor, Marianne and Margaret find themselves in exile from their family home with their mother. The family estate had been left to their half brother whom their father exhorted to take care of them. But that promise is soon diluted into doing almost nothing through the selfishness of his wife and his vacillation. A relative kindly offers them a country cottage near his home and takes obvious pleasure in their company.

At this modest new home, Elinor found herself entertaining the welcome attentions of Edward Ferrars. Elinor's younger sister, Marianne, is all aflutter over John Willoughby who seems to be committed to her. In fact, everyone assumes that there will soon be wedding bells for Marianne and Willoughby.

All of these pleasant connections are, however, soon disrupted. Willoughby leaves and ignores Marianne. Elinor finds out an unexpected secret about Ferrars that puts her on her caution in pursuing their relationship. As these complications develop, Marianne soon finds herself distraught despite having attracted another suitor, the reliable, but older, Colonel Brandon. Elinor steps into the breach to try to help her sister regain her equilibrium. Both learn what a broken heart can feel like and adjust in their own separate ways.

In vintage Jane Austen style, all bets are off near the end of the book as characters take unexpected steps that open up new possibilities. There's no one quite like Jane Austen for pulling great twists in her romantic comedies. These twists will cause your jaw to drop.

Try not to compare this book to Pride and Prejudice. It's clearly a lesser work, but one that can certainly be enjoyed in its own right.