Persuasion

Rating:
Summary: Best Book EVER!
Review: I know a lot of teens who, when I tell them I am reading Jane Austen, say, "What are you thinking?" because they have read Sense and Sensibility first, before trying any of her easier works. Persuasion is the easiest book of Austen's to get into, to follow, and to love. She makes the characters real by explaining them in many situations. When I read this book, I instantly became friends with Anne Elliot, the family outcast, because she was an outcast. Then she became even more my friend when she became the beloved and desired friend and love of Captain Wentworth. I loved seeing Anne go through the difficulties of dealing with her past actions, and instead of wanting to go back and change the past, she wanted to go forward and decide the future. Austen masterfully portrays all of her characters, and I would love to go to Lyme and see where Anne met her cousin, and to Bath to see where she and Captain Wentworth decided their future together. Persuasion is my favorite book of Austen's, and if you read it, it will be yours, too.

Rating:
Summary: Austen's last gift to the English-speaking world
Review: "Persuasion" was Jane Austen's last novel, and the more sober and pensive quality of the book, as compared to some of her earlier works, most notably "Pride and Prejudice", reflects her maturity both in age and as a writer; no one in their early 20's could have written this book. The heroine of "Persuasion" is Anne Elliot, seven years after she rejected, at her family's insistence, the young man she had fallen in love with at 19, when he was just starting a naval career and was too poor, in the eyes of her pretentious relatives, to be considered acceptable marriage material. Now he has returned, financially secure and promoted to captain, and she finds herself still in love with him. Without giving away the rest of the plot, the book gives a powerful argument for following one's heart instead of the prejudices and snobbisms of society. Anne does not have the same appeal to many modern readers as Elizabeth Bennet; she is more shy, retiring and reflective. But as the book progresses and she finds the strength to act on her feelings, she grows in personality and character. This final work by one of the greatest writers (and my personal favorite) in the English language is a lasting testimony to her incredible talents as a novelist.

Rating:
Summary: Another one from the master
Review: I first read Jane Austen as a freshman in college, reading PRIDE AND PREJUDICE in one fabulous day, a singular feat for me. I can only add my voice to those praising her works, which are deceptively unpretentious and straighforward. This one, late in her career, is a bit complicated at first with a myriad of relatives and relationships. But at its core it is a mature portrait of social pressures on women, focused on an intelligent and wise and loving woman who finds a man equal to her. It is not merely a good story, not merely proto-feminist, not merely a satire... it is all of those, and a lovely read.

Rating:
Summary: Persuasion
Review: Persuasion was the last book Jane Austen wrote and in many ways it is the most complete example of the style that endears her as much to modern readers as it did to readers from the nineteenth century.

Persuasion's plot is based around the possibility of the rekindling of a romance which burned brightly when the protagonists were younger and which was thwarted because the forces of familiar persuasion made Anne Elliott reject her love for Captain Wentworth. All of Austen's plots are romantic staples revolving around the constant impediments placed between the heroine and her ideal man but unlike the plots of many novels contemporaneous to Austen's these impediments are not Gothic in nature - they are merely the frustrating minutiae of everyday life. To be sure, the denouements are invariably happy but when we think about what would happen (if these people were real) afterwards, we can foresee myriad problems and further barriers to happiness. (For example, in Pride and Prejudice, how is Lizzie going to cope with Darcy's family and in Persuasion, how is Anne, happily ensconced with her paramour, going to cope with her own disfunctional family?) No matter, Jane has done her job and brought the two lovers together.

One of the most entertaining aspects of Austen's technique is her ironic narrative asides. We, as readers, are given access to the feelings of the main protagonists before they reveal them to the world (in Pride and Prejudice we know that Darcy is besotted with Lizzie well before he declares his amour, and in Persuasion we know that Captain Wentworth still carries a torch for Anne Elliott while she is still assuming that all hope of a rekindled romance has been dashed because of her earlier propensity to be persuaded against her emotions).

One of the most curious aspects of Austen's wonderful assortment of characters is the strangely brutal way she portrays families. There is always at least one member of the principle family who is deeply flawed - both Lizzie's parents in Pride and Prejudice, Marianne and Elinor's weak brother and vile sister-in-law in Sense and Sensibility, and Emma's neurasthenic father (a mild critique compared to the sharpness of the other characterizations). Nowhere is this "critique of the family" more keenly delineated than in Persuasion. Anne Elliot's father is a complete fool obsessed with physical appearances above all else, and it is clear that Anne has little respect for him or her own sisters. Austen invested all her idealization of character in her main protagonists - in this case Anne and Captain Wentworth. While not always physically attractive, Austen's heroines are always morally complete (except for the ever-so-slightly capricious Emma) - and Anne Elliot, the heroine of Persuasion, is surely more a portrait of Jane Austen than any of her other heroines. She is no longer young, has lost the full bloom of youthful beauty, and has been disappointed in love because she heeded the wishes of others, and not of her heart and her mind.

We know by reading any of Jane Austen's books of her fierce intelligence, biting wit and brilliant observational powers of familiar human behavior. And she could be deliciously bitchy, as this example from Persuasion shows: "(Anne and Captain Wentworth) were actually on the same sofa, for Mrs Musgrove had most readily made room for him - they were divided only by Mrs Musgrove. It was no insignificant barrier indeed. Mrs Musgrove was of a comfortable substantial size, infinitely more fitted by nature to express good cheer and good humour than tenderness and sentiment; and while the agitations of Anne's slender form, and pensive face, may be considered as very completely screened, Captain Wentworth should be allowed some credit for the self-command with which he attended to her large fat sighings over the destiny of a son, whom alive nobody had cared for."

Anne Elliott is certainly less ironic than the voice of the narration (Austen herself), but she seems to be a manifestation of what Jane Austen thought of herself, or at least, how she would like to be - intelligent, kind, sensitive to other's feelings, and most importantly, someone who is valued for these qualities rather than for beauty and money. Persuasion is a good read - it's not as cheeky as Emma or as involved as Pride and Prejudice, but there are plenty of the great Austen ironic (and even sarcastic) flourishes. And the intelligence of her writing is a delight.

Rating:
Summary: An unexpected heroine
Review: What a surprise to find a character like Anne Elliot hiding between the pages of Persuasion. If you met Anne Elliot today, chances are you probably wouldn't remember her - but she would remember you -- so unused are we to being observed quietly and subtly. She is not a typical heroine, by modern standards, who speaks her mind freely and is a person of action. Elizabeth Bennet in Pride & Prejudice comes to mind when I think of modern heroines -- outspoken and clever.

What makes Anne Elliot a peculiar heroine is her ability to listen and observe -- two qualities most of us would consider rather passive. I find it interesting that at the opening of the book, Anne Elliot is described as a woman who is past the first bloom of youth and you get the sense that life is passing her by. But these qualities give Jane Austen the opportunity to capture the subtle inner workings of Anne Elliot's heart. Anne does not have beauty as a means of getting her way; the idea of having her own way to get would be unthinkable to her. So we are left to focus on her thoughts and feelings.

So much in the book is left unsaid which in turn speaks volumes. It is quite delightful to find a character who is defined not only by the things they say but by the things they don't say; by what they do and the things they don't do.

Rating:
Summary: A love story to remember
Review: This is the last novel that Jane Austen finished before she died. Had she lived longer, it might have been a longer book. But It is a piece of jewel that I enjoyed very much.

Our heroine Anne,when she was nineteen years old was persuaded to give up the only man she ever loved because he had no money and could only offer her an uncertain future as a sailor's wife. Captain Wentworth comes back eight yers later, successful and rich looking for a wife. Jane Austen weaves her magin threads and the story unfolds with unforgettable characters and final union of two people who had loved each other all these years inspite of social prejudice and class difference.

Of all leading men in her books, Captain Wentworth is the most dashing man with his good looks, intelligence and fearlessness of a strong man who knows his own value inspite of social injustice.

This is the kind of book to read over and over again. and every time you read, Jane Austen will take you to the charming regency time in Bath.

Rating:
Summary: Austen's Best!
Review: This was my favorite of all of Jane Austen's novels! I loved it from start to finish! Captain Wentworth is her greatest hero; surpassing even Mr. Darcy. It's wonderful, witty and romantic.

Rating:
Summary: not one of her better works
Review: after reading P&P and Northanger, i just couldn't slog my way through another of her books. but this one looked more interesting than any of her other works, so i thought, "why not, i'll give it a try." big mistake. by far her worst (that i've read, but i still have emma and s&s to go, and no plans on ever reading mansfield park). but i think it is safe to say i am not a fan of austen's. she's dull, and she turned an interesting idea into a dull book. i only gave her two stars instead of one because the premise behind the book was such a good one.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect read for a rainy day.
Review: This was the first Jane Austen book that I have read, and I loved it dearly. So much so that I devoured it in two sittings, two days! Seeing the 1995 BBC movie version made me go out and purchase the book. The book and movie are excellent if you are an incurable romantic such as myself. The writing is brilliant, the characters well-crafted. Anne is a heroine of today, thoroughly modern in every way! Amanda Root and Cirian Hinds do a remarkable job in the movie. Please do yourself a favor and read the book though first.

Rating:
Summary: must read
Review: This book is one of Austen's best i read this book for my senior english class it is the only book that i have ever taken to. Hard to understand at first but once you get into it you can't put it down.