Persuasion by Jane Austen Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Persuasion
Book Review: "I am half hope, half agony."
Summary: 5 Stars
It being my 27th year of spinsterhood (the same age of our heroine Anne Elliot), and being Austen-inclined, I picked up (and consequently couldn't put down) my beloved, aged Complete Works of Jane Austen in order to reread Persuasion, a close third favorite (only just after her masterpiece P&P and the profound S&S). Oh, Jane, how I love you, my most favorite author. So funny; I was cackling with laughter at your comedic timing, your witty and ironic eye, and your amazing attention to detail in human psychology, character, and behavior. Not just moved to laughter, but even to tears (Captain Wentworth's final love letter still gives me collywobbles). Falling into Jane's books is like falling into a vat of literary chocolate. Oh, yes, there is the beautiful love story (one of her absolute best, by far her most mature, perhaps her most moving and emotional) between the broken-hearted and angry Captain Wentworth and the spinster, past-her-prime Anne Elliot, torn asunder years before because she was persuaded that he was unworthy of her, now reunited, yet distant. (How Jane so perfectly and honestly describes the pining, unrequited heart!) But--as with all of Jane's works--the love story is really only a vehicle for her greater messages and observations about society, reality, human psychology--messages that are still profoundly pertinent. It's not only that her characters and situations could be walking around onto on our concrete streets. It's that Jane knew humanity down to its core two hundred years ago. When her incredibly real and troubled characters find romance, it is a meeting of internal discovery. Persuasion, needless to say, is about the necessity of finding the balance between yielding to outside forces (i.e. advice) and staying true to your own desires and conscience. What human being hadn't had to contend with that? This book is perfection itself. Still powerful, meaningful, humorous, moving, and utterly delightful. Grade: A+Book Review: A second chance at love
Summary: 5 Stars
In Jane Austen's time, young women were taught that it was practically their duty to "marry well" -- someone of at least equal social/financial standing.
But if a woman turned down a suitor for being poor, she ran the risk of losing the man she loved. That's the problem for Anne Elliott, the heroine of Jane Austen's final novel "Persuasion" -- a delicate romance that takes place AFTER the romance, rejection and heartrending sorrow. There's some slight roughness around the edges, but the story and the characters are simply brilliant.
Eight years ago, Anne Elliott was engaged to the handsome, intelligent and impoverished sailor Frederick Wentworth, but was persuaded to dump him by the family friend Lady Russell.
Now she's twenty-seven (ancient by the time's standards), and her vain father Sir Walter is facing financial ruin. So he decides to relocate to Bath and rent out the vast family estate -- and it turns out that the new tenant is Frederick's brother-in-law. Of course, Anne still loves Frederick, but he doesn't seem to feel the same, especially since he's rumored to be interested in some younger, flirtier girls.
And Anne's worries increase when she joins her family in Bath, where her father is attempting to live the lifestyle he feels he deserves (since he's a baronet). His heir, William Elliott, recently reestablished contact with his relatives -- and he seems very interested in Anne. But Anne suspects that he has ulterior motives... even if she doesn't realize how Frederick truly feels about her.
It's pretty obvious that Jane Austen wrote "Persuasion" late in her life -- not only is Anne Elliott older than her other heroines, but she seems to have been more sympathetic to women who bowed to society's "persuasions." This was the last book that Austen wrote before her untimely death, and it was only published posthumously.
As a result, the book can be a little rough and the story is rather simple. But Austen's writing is still intense and powerfully vivid. Her prose is elegant and smooth, and her dialogue is full of hidden facets. The half-hidden love story of Anne and Frederick is among Austen's most skillful writing ("I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever"), and it's virtually impossible not to be moved by it.
And Austen went out of her way to praise the self-made man, who got ahead through merit instead of birth (something that bugs Sir Walter). She also pokes holes in social climbers, vain aristocrats ("Few women could think more of their personal appearance than he did"), nasty family and false friends.
Anne herself is a very rare heroine, both then and now -- she's past her designated "marriage" years and would have been considered a lost cause. But she remains remains kind, thoughtful, quiet, intelligent, and as time goes on she starts to appreciate her own judgement instead of being "persuaded." And Captain Wentworth is a vibrant portrayal of a strong man who worked his way to the top, but had to do so without the woman he loved.
Jane Austen's last finished novel is a little rough in places, but the exquisite beauty of Frederick and Anne's love story is simply staggering. Truly a masterpiece.
Book Review: Boring, like all other Austin novels
Summary: 1 Stars
I must say Jane Austen is incredibly boring and all her novels are stories of women's aspirations to marry wealthy and noble men to support them. Most great literature is so wonderful because of its timelessness, touching on universal feelings and ideas. While it may have been groundbreaking in its time, it is so dull now. We women have already established our desires of equality in culture and have already acknowledged at least an inkling of what feminine independence is but this novel is a back step. Also, it is so predictable. Of course all of the characters will end up married, and most likely to their man of choice. This book is dull and predictable and is restricted by its time period. If you want to delve into the past then maybe pick it up, but otherwise, it's unexciting, and it still feeds on social classes and marriage as a woman's reliance on a man for social and fiscal support.Book Review: Don't overlook this Austen classic
Summary: 4 Stars
Although also a romance like Austen's better known novels, Emma and Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion is a subtle one, with a theme not of whirlwind passion but of constancy and devotion. The main character, Anne Elliott, was very much in love with Captain Wentworth as a young girl, but was persuaded by friends and family to reject him as a husband. Broken-hearted, Wentworth went to sea, and the novel actually begins when he re-enters Anne's life eight years later, having made his career and his money.
Anne is a character to whom the reader can easily relate: introspective, analyzing everything and flawed, able to make make mistakes and recover from them. She narrowly averts an unhappy life by not letting her friends and family persuade her again to marry her cousin, who has money and manners but turns out to be quite despicable. And while Captain Wentworth does not have the dash or charm of a Mr. Darcy, he is Anne's one true love, as prone to the follies of a broken heart as she is subject to the strong influence of those around her.
The underlying theme is about choices and following one's heart. If Anne had only listened to her own feelings instead of allowing others to sway her, she would have found happiness sooner. Despite what seems like an afterthought of a speech at the end of the novel, when Anne justifies her earlier behavior, this seems to be a strongly feminist novel, advocating the rights of women to choose their own way in life and their own partners for life, rather than be guided solely by considerations of fortune and class.
This is also one of Austen's funnier novels, particularly the scenes featuring Anne's sisters and father, who are incredibly self-absorbed. Their dialogue--constantly misreading the situation in their own favor or stating something when the opposite is true--brings a welcome lightheartedness to the story.
Book Review: Good book!
Summary: 4 Stars
I liked this book more then i thought i would but its slow for a while, i like it more as a book then i think a movie,I LOVE (Pride and Prejudice) as a movie,better then the book. so all n all a good read!!!!!...;)