Emma (Highbridge Classics)

Rating:
Summary: My first Austen book! :)
Review: My mom got this book from the library not long after we saw the movie with Gwyneth Paltrow. She found out in the movie credits that it was based on a book (we caught the movie on TV by chance) and found out it was by Jane Austen. Since her favorite book is Pride and Prejudice (which she had tried to get me to read for years without success) she read the book, as I did soon after. It's funny that even though Emma is one of Austen's longer books, it took only one movie to render it perfectly, whereas the much shorter Pride and Prejudice needed seven videos altogether!

However, this is a review about the book, not the movie. Ahem. The book was great, and like all Austen's books never loses your interest. It is a bit drawn out and your mind may wander a bit during the course of the story, but it was a great story. Emma, the character Austen said no one would like, is much more likeable to me than the pathetic sop that is Fanny of Mansfield Park. She is much different than all other Austen characters; she is rich and has a thirty thousand pound dowry (at least I think so, I forget exactly; I read the book a while ago) which is a lot compared to the other penniless heroines who have at the most a thousand pounds. She is twenty-one, handsome, and though her snobbery is a turn off at the start of the book, you can't help but fall for her charms. She is, as the reviews say, irresistible. And Mr. Knightly is just like most other Austen heroes; a real dreamy guy -sigh- I'm so jealous of these girls. He's not romantic though, and unlike other books, the romance is a minimum, with barely an, "I love you" in sight.

The situations are original and entertaining, and the mismatches of Emma the would-be matchmaker (with no sight in mind of marriage for herself) are very amusing. I would recommend this book to any Austen fan, but for beginners I would recommend Pride and Prejudice or Northanger Abbey, as they are shorter and much lighter, funnier stories. Emma is a bit more quaint. My only complaint is the speeches of that girl who talks too much, what's-her-name; she talks for pages on end, interrupts herself and is in general much more boring than amusing. Highly recommended, buy it now!!!


Rating:
Summary: Worth the effort
Review: The divison of opinion on this page is interesting but probably not surprising. Emma is a book for serious readers and if you go in expecting an easy-to-read page turner, then stick to Danielle Steele. (It is beyond depressing that two people who wrote reviews were somehow of the amazingly ignorant opinion that Jane Austen ripped off Alicia Silverstone's Clueless.....Rather difficult seeing as she was alive in the early 1800's .....hmmm.) Emma takes patience but it's a rewarding read, with all the complications, misunderstandings andbanality of your average soap opera yet shining with Austen's trademark subtle wit and mordant intelligence which has made this novel a classic.Books do require a little more time, effort and thinking than sitting mindlessly in front of Alicia Silverstone, but what you take away from the experience is a much wider understanding.

Rating:
Summary: Emma
Review: This is a book about Emma, a rich girl's mischievous struggle in her own little fantacy world. This book is a bit boring and dry in the sense that everything is just always so beautifully fitting. Even in the worst moment when Emma's ill judgement turned into chaotic love triangle, the story went on and worked everyone's fate for the best. Since I don't read much of Jane Austen's works, I guess her style tends to be light and comic. So, if you are looking for a book with lots of heart throbbing drama, this is definitely not the one.

Rating:
Summary: Too bland...
Review: This novel takes forever to get to the point of the story. I couldn't even finish it! Try PRIDE AND PREJUDICE instead - at least it has a plot. Speaking of which, I couldn't understand the plot of EMMA, if there even was one. Try another Austen book.

Rating:
Summary: Charming characters make Emma a classic!
Review: When I first tried to read this book (almost ten years ago, when I was around 13), I found it incredibly dull because there is little action. I finally decided to reread Emma and realized that the appeal of this book (in addition to Jane Austen's writing style) is in its characters. Emma's setting is a small town full of an assortment of delightful personalities.

At the center of the story is Emma Woodhouse, an intelligent and wealthy young woman, who believes that she knows what is best for everyone around her. Emma takes the orphaned Harriet Smith, a pretty but simple-minded girl, under her wing. The consequences are disatrous for all. I found it pleasant to watch Emma grow throughout the book and learn about the way the world works.

The other characters include the loquacious Miss Bates (and her silent, elderly mother), the constantly distraught Mr. Woodhouse, and the handsome and affluent Mr. Knightley. There are also Jane Fairfax (who the movie portrays a little bit more negatively than the book) and Frank Churchill who show up later on in the book to make life a little more interesting.

These people and many others add to the richness of Austen's narrative. The best part about them is that all are real people who have both good and bad points, and make mistakes. I found that a lot of them are similar to people that I know today in the 21st century.

The second time I read through this book, I found myself aching for more. I felt delighted every time I find one of Jane Austen's little witticisms (and there are a lot!). These little gems are enough to make her my all time favorite author.