Emma

Rating:
Summary: Quality is an illusion
Review: While cultural pundits try to convince you that some literature is better than other literature, the truth is that all art is relative to individial tastes. Thus, it doesn't make any sense to think that a novel like this one is really any better than say, Michael Crichton or Stephen King. Aesthetic standards can't be grounded.

Thus, don't listen to anyone who tries to distinguish between "serious" works of literature like this one and allegedly "lesser" novels. The distinction is entirely illusory, because no novels are "better" than any others, and the concept of a "great novel" is an intellectual hoax.

Rating:
Summary: good
Review: I also expected more, but i liked it a lot. And yes, it is for serious readers (you cant read Jane Austen if youre not one). Is funny and I liked Emma a lot. Although mr. Knightley was too old :p But is great. You must read it.

Rating:
Summary: Of lines, ranks and propriety...
Review: Nothing struck me more about this book than its pre-occupation with class boundaries, dwarfing even its other principal obsession - the question of matrimony.

Coming from a society often criticized for its rigid caste hierarchy, I cannot help wondering whether comparisons of social equations in India and England in the 18th century would yield many remarkable differences. Emma's disregard for the "insignificant" classes would do the most caste-conscious Brahmin proud.

One of the questions that stems from a first reading is the position of Ms. Austen herself. Emma's character is obviously intended to come across as more than moderately conceited. Is the opinion she, and other characters imbued with the darker shades of gray, hold, of the importance of nobility and high birth, intended to reflect the authoress' own disapproval of the social rigidity of pre-Victorian England...or is it merely the use of an existing social situation as a tool to bring into focus, the underlying moral theme of the ills of conceit and indiscretion?

Either way, it is a little disappointing to note the apparent indifference which marks the book's attitude towards the same class distinctions which it so effectively delineates. It would have been considerably more interesting for instance, if Ms. Austen's sparkling prose could have been employed to contrast the characters and social circumstances of Emma and Jane Fairfax, who is superior to the eponymous protagonist in merit but inferior in social standing, instead of restricting her role to a supporting one.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but I expected better...
Review: I must admit, I had really high hopes for this novel. However, after reading the first chapter, I put it down to go onto a different novel. A few months and a few novels passed and I again picked it up to try again. History does, indeed, repeat itself. Another chapter down, I went to another novel.

Finally, after owning the book for 8 months, I decided it was time to just do it. So, I refused to allow myself to put it down again for another novel. It took me about twelve chapters to become involved in any character besides Mr. Knightly and to enjoy the story... but it did come.

Had I reviewed this book before chapter 12, I would have said, "No way... this book is too slow and long winded!" However, after finishing it, I appreciate the author and the story more than I did before.

I will say this much, however: I have discovered that I am a reader of Charlotte Bronte, but a viewer of Jane Austin movies adapted to film.

Rating:
Summary: A book females will love
Review: I first learned of 'Emma' by watching the movie starring Gwyneth Paltrow - I was instantly captivated by the high-class style of that era, Emma's life and her relationship with Mr. Knightly. After watching the movie probably 16 times, I went and read the book and was so glad I did! It's become one of my all-time favorite books simply because I love Emma's character and get lost in her life and world every time, and come back later craving to read it again! The book expands and clarifies so much we don't get to see in the movie and gives you the original view of Emma - apart from the movie. As a woman, I love romance and tales of older times where nobility and class presided yet values were down to earth, respectable and loving. 'Emma' combines both nobility and the 'down to earthness' in Mr. Knightly. If you love romance, strong female characters and getting lost in another world of balls, dances, society - definitely read this and watch the movie with Gwyneth Paltrow! It's gorgeous and guaranteed to uplift you.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic Novel that isn't boring
Review: I will admit that when it comes to reading things that are regarding as "classics" I usually want to kill myself. I find the language and story etc. boring. Emma, is actually the exception to that.

Emma was written in the late 1800's by Austen who is known for her work Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. Emma is a young woman who prides herself on setting up her friend/governess with her new husband. Emma decides to continue her matchmaking skills by taking on a new protege. Her new protege has a crush on Mr. Martin whom Emma deems as not acceptable. Emma tries to persuade Harriet's interest to others and well it is a fisaco. The first man actually likes Emma. The second man Harriet is interested in ends up being the man that Emma herself discovers she likes. Of course all ends well with all the characters getting what they deserve.

It is an amusing read. The theme seems to be that although Emma in the beginning seems like a shallow, selfish girl, in the end she realizes that she was snobby and wrong and tries to rectify her mistakes. She doesn't want to hurt her friends and realizes that what she thought was best for them was wrong.
If you are looking for some "quality fiction" or if you have a school report to write, this is an excellent book to read. you won't be bored.

Rating:
Summary: Almost Perfect
Review: Having recently read Pride and Prejudice in under a week, I expected Emma to suck me in and spit me out just as easily. It didn't. I had to work to read Emma.

For starters, I didn't like Emma, the character, very much in the beginning. She came off as stuck on herself and very know-it-all. But, I was determined to give her a chance b/c a friend of mine named her daughter Emma for this book. So, I trudged on, and did begin to like the girl. I also read the commentary on the book and constantly compared it to scenes from Clueless (since Clueless is a modern-day Emma).

The story dragged on a lot longer than I normally would be comfortable with, but once I got into a good pace for reading, that was fine. More than anything, I just wanted to know what was going on with Jane Fairfax. The outcome was very welcome, and I enjoyed Emma's love-life conclusion.

It was a very enjoyable book, though I wouldn't call it "the most perfect of Jane Austen's perfect novels," as was written on the inside flap of the book.

Rating:
Summary: Complex Herione
Review: It is difficult to imagine how a book written in 1816 can still be relevant and emotionally viable, after so much change in literature. And while female gender roles have evolved and broadened (causing certain things to become irrelevant- like the drastic choice between marriage or condemnation), Emma remains one of the most complex and ambivalent characters in literature. Perhaps because Austen's major theme- pride- is a rather timeless attribute in humans.

Austen was quoted as wanting to create a character "no one but [her]self will much like," and Emma certainly answers that promise. Emma is a talented, highly intelligent woman who carries so much pride, that she deems every man an ill-suitor for her, while an under-adjusted adolescent side of her secretly resents such men for being turned off by her harsh arrogance, smugness, and severity. She acts as a match-maker for her less fortunate common friends, bringing them together with men whom she despises; thus ridding herself of her own ingrown desires while condescendingly 'helping' her girl-friends meet men who share their mediocrity. As difficult as it is to like Emma, readers will find her mysteriously compelling, perhaps because there are moments of confused kindness, where our heroine is able to transcend her vanity and truly feel happy for the couples she brings together.

Enter Mr. Knightley, who after a tiresome handful of preceding men, is able to gain Emma's respect and affection simply by not buying into her mind games and calling her on her actions. Austen's genius is most manifest in her witty dialog, and the dynamic between Emma and Mr. Knightley- in their bantering flirtations veiled under intellectual stimulation- are testament to that.

This novel is about self-image, and for a woman in 19th century patriarchal society that is all she has. Emma owns her self-importance until the men notice, until it becomes real (and despite early feminist tendencies, this only re-confirms female's subordination to men in that social context). Regardless of how readers feel about Emma, the novel is superbly written with wit, irony, and an almost ruthless emotional verity. If an author's goal is to gain her reader's empathy, Austen set out for herself a highly ambitious goal, one that was improbably executed with grace.

Rating:
Summary: "Handsome, rich, and clever"
Review: Lovable Emma Woodhouse, Pretty, bright, and rich, not to mention a little mischievious. Since she has lived nearly twenty-one years with very little to distress or vex her, carefree Emma spends her time match-making for her friends. But when she undertakes the office of matching pretty, but not very bright Harriet Smith with the local Vicar she gets more than she bargains for.

The characters are rich and consistent, and Austen again gives us, the ridiculous; mr. woodhouse, Miss Bates. The scoundrel who pretends to be an angel of light;Frank Churchill. The concerned friends; Mrs. Weston, Mr. knightly. Then there is Emma, who belongs in a class of her own. She is the most fortunate, yet the most flawed Austen heroine, which flaws only endear her all the more. And in the end they pay off, when she falls in love with someone as imperfect as herself.

The language and diolouge are as shining, bright, and charming as the characters themselves. Overall this novel can do nothing but please, just as Austen's novels before and after Emma show. A must-read for Austen fans.

Rating:
Summary: A good read!
Review: After reading Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, then Sense and Sensibility, I could not help but read another one of Austen books. The merits of the book lie mostly in character development. Emma, a girl of 21, is altogether too absorbed in the dangers of matchmaking, which result in several devastating consequences for her friend Harriet and her own continual blindness to the true feelings of the men around her. The reader encounters various characters of interest that form a better "tangle" of plot than Pride & P/Sense & S has to offer. I admit that the first 2/3 of the book left me questioning Jane Austen's work. I could not admire Emma Woodhouse (whom I thought to be at first a silly girl who misinterprets everything) as much as the other "heroines" in Austen's other books, but she proves to be sweet and naive, but clever at the same time, and she always has the best intentions at heart, especially for her loved ones like Mr. Woodhouse. It appears that Jane Austen always saves the best for last--I found the last 1/3 of the book delightful. Throughout the whole book however, Austen's talents and satire shines in various characters, particularly Mrs. Elton, who represents society's perpetual desire to be upper-class. Austen also sheds light on the social stress of class, power, connectinos, etc, without overwhelming the reader.
I highly recommend reading this masterpiece.