Persuading Annie

Rating:
Summary: Some Friendly Persuasion
Review: "Persuading Annie" is Melissa Nathan's reworking of Jane Austen's classic "Persuasion". It follows the fate of the Markham family - owners of a once prestigious PR firm that is fast losing money and sending the family into possible bankruptcy. Nathan has reworked Austen's central characters (Anne, her loopy father and sisters, and Captain Wentworth) into believable, vulnerable and often hilarious modern persons.

The story beings in 1994 when the youngest of the Markham daughters, Annie, believes herself to be pregnant at the age of nineteen. She is prepared to elope with her boyfriend Jake, when she discovers that she was only late, not pregnant. Jake doesn't stick around long enough to hear the truth of the matter and leaves Annie heartbroken and bitter before her years. Skip ahead seven years, when Jake re-enters Annie's life, as the only possible savior to her family's impending doom. He is hired on as a marketing consultant who can resurrect Markham's PR, but must contend with the perceivably bitchy Annie and his own feelings about what transpired between the two of them. And little did either Jake or Annie suspect that they would have to confront their emotions towards the other.

Melissa Nathan's prose is quick-paced, light-hearted and witty. Her characters come to life as their stories intertwine to follow the plotline of Austen's "Persuasion". At times there seem to be an overabundance of characters, but their fates are so intertwined with those of the main characters and every subplot is completed by the novel's end. "Persuading Annie" is a quick, enjoyable read; especially for Austen fans who wish there were more original Jane Austen material to read. Melissa Nathan's novels are a worthy substitute.

Rating:
Summary: Some Friendly Persuasion
Review: "Persuading Annie" is Melissa Nathan's reworking of Jane Austen's classic "Persuasion". It follows the fate of the Markham family - owners of a once prestigious PR firm that is fast losing money and sending the family into possible bankruptcy. Nathan has reworked Austen's central characters (Anne, her loopy father and sisters, and Captain Wentworth) into believable, vulnerable and often hilarious modern persons.

The story beings in 1994 when the youngest of the Markham daughters, Annie, believes herself to be pregnant at the age of nineteen. She is prepared to elope with her boyfriend Jake, when she discovers that she was only late, not pregnant. Jake doesn't stick around long enough to hear the truth of the matter and leaves Annie heartbroken and bitter before her years. Skip ahead seven years, when Jake re-enters Annie's life, as the only possible savior to her family's impending doom. He is hired on as a marketing consultant who can resurrect Markham's PR, but must contend with the perceivably bitchy Annie and his own feelings about what transpired between the two of them. And little did either Jake or Annie suspect that they would have to confront their emotions towards the other.

Melissa Nathan's prose is quick-paced, light-hearted and witty. Her characters come to life as their stories intertwine to follow the plotline of Austen's "Persuasion". At times there seem to be an overabundance of characters, but their fates are so intertwined with those of the main characters and every subplot is completed by the novel's end. "Persuading Annie" is a quick, enjoyable read; especially for Austen fans who wish there were more original Jane Austen material to read. Melissa Nathan's novels are a worthy substitute.

Rating:
Summary: fine contemporary chick lit romance
Review: For someone more accurate than a Swiss watch, when she missed her monthly period, Annie Markham assumes she is pregnant. She tells her boyfriend of two months nineteen years old Jake Mead, who reacts by asking her who the father is before collapsing at her feet. Annie and Jake argue even after she learns she is not pregnant over his reaction. They end their relationship although neither truly wants too. Annie figures that her wise godmother Susannah was right about the fickleness and unreliability of men.---

Seven years later, the family business is in trouble. Jake, considered the best consultant in London, is hired to save the firm from bankruptcy. He never got over Annie and how she dumped him; she never got over Jake and how he walked out on her. Annie hides their past from her parents and two sisters, but worries that Jake will use the teetering business to enact revenge. As each parades a potential significant other in front of the other, their love of seven years ago remains strong, but neither wants to risk admitting the truth.---

This fine contemporary chick lit romance moves Jane Austen's PERSUASION into a modern relationship. The story line is character driven as Annie and Jake, supported by a strong secondary cast, battle for "supremacy" the second time around even as denial is their weapon of choice. Jake acts like two people as he conveniently fits Susannah's worthless male stereotype too easily, but also at other times shows he is a responsible person. PERSUADING ANNIE is a wonderful tribute to Ms. Austen as is Melissa Nathan's previous homage to the great author (see PRIDE, PREJUDICE AND JASMIN FIELD).---

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: A modern-day version of the Jane Austin classic
Review: In Persuading Annie, author Melissa Nathan has paid homage to Jane Austen's classic novel Persuasion with not only her title but also her cast of characters. Annie, a young, motherless college student from a wealthy family, is persuaded to reconsider her plans to elope with her college sweetheart, Jake, by her interfering stepmother. Seven years later, Annie is still unhappily single, and the family business is rapidly going downhill. Re-enter Jake, a business consultant, to not only save the family but possibly Annie as well.

Although Nathan mirrors Austen's style of using chance encounters, misunderstandings, and various group outings to futher the plot, her writing lacks Austen's wit as well as its unique charm. This leaves the reader with a very average, somewhat amusing boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back story which ultimately fails to live up to the classic novel which inspired it.

Rating:
Summary: A modern reworking of Jane Austen's Persuasion
Review: Melissa Nathan, who previously wrote a modern version of Pride and Prejudice, take a stab at updating Persuasion in Persuading Annie.

Overall, Persuading Annie is a good chick-lit book. I found both Annie and Jake to be likable characters with a believable relationship, although the supporting characters can get a bit campy at times. Some of the adaptations Nathan makes to Persuasion (the Markhams own a large company rather than an estate, how Jake returns to Annie's life, the alley scene) were great, while others seemed to be a bit of a stretch. But the book is still funny and well paced.

Persuading Annie is an enjoyable book, although I prefer Pride, Prejudice, and Jasmin Field. Austen fans will get a kick out of seeing Persuasion's characters in a modern setting.

Rating:
Summary: A modern reworking of Jane Austen's Persuasion
Review: Melissa Nathan, who previously wrote a modern version of Pride and Prejudice, take a stab at updating Persuasion in Persuading Annie.

Overall, Persuading Annie is a good chick-lit book. I found both Annie and Jake to be likable characters with a believable relationship, although the supporting characters can get a bit campy at times. Some of the adaptations Nathan makes to Persuasion (the Markhams own a large company rather than an estate, how Jake returns to Annie's life, the alley scene) were great, while others seemed to be a bit of a stretch. But the book is still funny and well paced.

Persuading Annie is an enjoyable book, although I prefer Pride, Prejudice, and Jasmin Field. Austen fans will get a kick out of seeing Persuasion's characters in a modern setting.