Emma in Around the Year in 52 Books

May 11, 2021 Heather L rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, group-read, 2021

Finally made it through this one! While EMMA remains my least favorite Austen, there are some good lines found within its covers, and it is rather satisfying to finally be done with it (and it only took four tries! 😐).

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Nov 03, 2013 Christine rated it liked it

It's among Jane's longest novels, and I confess I felt the wordcount. I found most of it delightful, but sometimes a fun element (silly hypochondria, planning a ball) gets too repetitive or drawn out, and it loses momentum. This is entertaining and it's interesting to have an Austen hero who's rich and socially dominant - this is well worth reading! I just don't think it's in my "read every 1-2 years" pile. ...more

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Feb 01, 2010 Anne rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, classics, borrowed

Emma is one of those books that many people assume I've already read. I was an English Literature major, after all, and for many people that means a large knowledge of all the works in the past 200 years. Truth is, I hadn't read it at all -- my direct experience of Jane Austen was limited to Pride and Prejudice and . I'm happy I got to Emma at last.

I found Emma herself to be a difficult character to relate to over the course of the novel. Generally, I want to sympathize with the main character, Emma is one of those books that many people assume I've already read. I was an English Literature major, after all, and for many people that means a large knowledge of all the works in the past 200 years. Truth is, I hadn't read it at all -- my direct experience of Jane Austen was limited to Pride and Prejudice and . I'm happy I got to Emma at last.

I found Emma herself to be a difficult character to relate to over the course of the novel. Generally, I want to sympathize with the main character, and many times I slapped myself on the forehead as Emma chased another harebrained scheme. Her naivete isn't charming, and it causes problems for other characters and embarrassment for Emma. She's very insistent on observing her place in society, and has a horribly conceited attitude toward those in a lesser situation. She's been spoiled rotten and indulged, and fails to understand the complexities of someone's character AND their "place" in society.

Yet, at the same time I was slapping myself on the forehead, I was doing so with affection. I found her difficulties to be amusing. Austen drew a caricature of romantic ideals and attention to status that was very funny to read. Emma also changes over the course of the novel, deepening her own understanding of her faults. She makes efforts to change, and the novel shows her becoming less and less a caricature and more a thoughtful, sensitive young woman, who, although still prone to flights of fancy, has learned to control herself better and think about possible ramifications of her actions.

Emma was a more challenging read than Pride and Prejudice: sentence structure, length, and complexity of the characters are all more difficult than P&P. (I love Pride and Prejudice, don't get me wrong, but it's not really a difficult book.) I found myself occasionally struggling through Austen's long sentences and sometimes needing to go through a sentence or paragraph again to work it all out! Hmmm... perhaps my reading isn't challenging enough. :)

I definitely recommend Emma. I enjoyed reading it, and procrastinated other work to keep reading. It's not the typical Austen romance. ...more

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Feb 12, 2020 Stephanie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: adult-fiction, e-books, audiobooks, classics, on-my-bookcase

I listened to the Audible Originals production of this book and highly enjoyed it. The full ensemble cast brings this classic to life, infusing humor and happiness, sarcasm and wit, into each of the characters. The audiobook production overall is stellar though at times the special effects (birds chirping, wind, or chattering background noise) felt overpowering and distracting occasionally to my listening ears. However if you are looming for an audiobook adaptation of Emma, I do recommend giving ...more

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