Persuasion
by Jane Austen
romance
copyright 1818
read in June 2016
rated 7/10: well worth reading
I read Pride and Prejudice. Many years ago. I've read it again... and again and again. I think I may have even read Sense and Sensibility, once.
I own a volume of the complete works of Jane Austen. Based on Pride and Prejudice I class myself as a Jane Austen fan :-) Yet all I have done -- till now -- is to re-read Pride and Prejudice!
Now -- at last -- I have read another book by Jane Austen: Persuasion.
And enjoyed it.
Persuasion is "harder" than P&P. The fools and scoundrels are more clearly indicated, their follies and foibles more definitely defined. Austen is less willing to gloss over -- or to soften -- her satire.
Satire? Didn't I classify this as romance?
Austen writes simple romances -- as a satire of the attitudes and actions of the people of her own place and time. (Well, I think that's true. I'm and Austen fan, not an Austen expert.) Plenty of authors write in one genre and use their story as satire. Plenty of books have occasional stabs of satire. Where to draw the line, satire or romance? I simply ignore satire as a category for my reviews.
If anything, Persuasion is a comedy of manners. The actual romance -- the boy/girl stuff -- is central to the plot but not all-encompassing. The process of falling in love is minor. The story follows the impact of that love on the various characters.
The satire is more pointed -- than in P&P -- but the book is less gripping. I really do enjoy the central plot of P&P. Perhaps it's because there are two main characters, one male, one female. Persuasion is a bit one-sided. I like the heroine but her beau is just not dashing enough.
On a related matter... My wife began listening to Persuasion, on an audio book. She found it boring and did not finish. What?!
Really, though, I can understand. How could anyone listen to Persuasion?!
Quite often I would stop reading, wonder what on earth had just been said, re-read a paragraph or two. Persuasion is a real ramble of convoluted sentences. Not helped by the assumption that the reader already knows the mores and morals and history of the early 1800s. Confusing? Yes.
I enjoy the confusion. I learn plenty about the attitudes of the times, at least as seen by Jane Austen. I look up words. (What is a barouche?!) I read about the skin lotion... I forget its name. This all adds depth to the enjoyment of reading. (The knowledge gained is also useful for solving some crosswords.)
But I cannot imagine just listening to Persuasion. It would be very, very confusing.
My wife stopped listening to Persuasion. So I thought, is it really boring? Time to read...
I enjoyed reading. But is definitely not a book for listening, nor for quickly skimming. Not if you want to know what is really going on.
Social satire. Sweet romance. A comedy of manners and of social climbing.
A very enjoyable novel.
And -- good grief! -- it's nearly 200 years old! If I had a category for "classic", Persuasion would definitely be in it. As a classic that is actually worth reading.
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Dr Nick Lethbridge / Agamedes Consulting
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"You can learn something new every day, if you're not careful." -- per Ginger Meggs
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