Emma

"3.5/5 A classic that has a spring feel this book is pretty funny I do really love Emma the whole thing just dragged for to much of the book It’s definitely entertaining in small doses "

"Mmm. Thoughts. I had my expectations to high for this book after reading persuasion. I don't like Emma as a protagonist all that much, she's a little bratty for me, but I liked the character development. It wasn't very fast paced, but a cute story. 3.5/5⭐"

"Mid"

"Massive disappointment after reading the masterpiece, Pride and Prejudice. I feel Austen truly only had a one hit wonder with that novel, because all the others can't even compare."

"I love <I>Emma</I> and Jane Austen. I hate these Marjolein Bastin editions<br/><br/>I bought Emma and P&P for my daughter who is a huge Austen fan. What a disappointment. There are NO, repeat ZERO illustrations of characters or scenes from the novel; instead every few pages has a few insipid drawings of flowers and birdies. That’s it. The “extras”, including Darcy’s letter to Elizabeth and maps of Highbury are simply inserted loose between random pages: no pockets to keep them in place and no list or index. The “Emma” extras consist primarily of recipes for some reason, as well as a letter to Austen’s publisher. These would have been just as useful if they had been printed on pages in the book, but most of them aren’t useful at all: there is nothing that contributes to one’s understanding or knowledge of the novels.<br/><br/>Huge waste of money. There are better illustrated and annotated editions (Barbara Heller, Belknap illustrated and annotated, or David Shapard annotated) than this overpriced piffle."

"Yes! If you are an Austen fan already, I definitely recommend. "

"I tried to read Emma one time in grade 9 after my favorite English teacher said someone gave it to her as a gift for her 14th birthday and it immediately became a favorite of hers. I dnfed it really early on, I was not vibing at all. I even did the thing where I skipped to the middle and end to try to renew my interest and was still just like thoroughly detached from whatever the heck the characters were going on about. And the 37 year old love interest, and the fact that I could barely keep straight who was who when the details of how people are related to each other were just kinda confusing sometimes, and the fact that virtually EVERYBODY IS UNLIKEABLE, and in like a long, drawn-out monologuing for entire pages about their boring opinions kind of way, was not even slightly appealing to 14-year-old me.<br/><br/>This time I didn't quite remember why I dnfed it but I brought in the reinforcements and borrowed the audiobook version from the library, and I thought surely now that I'm older and have practice reading slower or less immediately likable books, that it would be different this time. And idk - kinda? At some point, like in the second half, I really did get into it, and didn't even want to put it down. But for hours and hours? It was kind of a slog, man. There is no chance everyone in the 1800s was actually this long-winded, and I know that is the point. I understand the characters are meant to be silly and especially in the second half it did start to hit more like the comedy it's meant to be, but some characters are love to hate <spoiler>like Mrs. Elton IMO, I unironically appreciate her introduction. Her and Mr. Churchill livened up the second half with their event-orchestrating</spoiler>, but a lot of the time, the incessant dialog-heavy nothingness going on really does get you down, and the characters are just kind of tiresome. <br/><br/>BUT. I liked it. Even in the beginning I didn't want to dnf it when I still continue to dnf like 60% of the books that I try to read. And maybe because I knew the pairings in advance this time, I really did enjoy looking for clues of what's going on and how they're going to get together and laughing at how silly they are. And when it really matters, Emma does actually gain some self-awareness even as she continues to be wrong about other things. And I kind of admire the ending, how we got the engagements <spoiler>TWO! BONUS ROMANCE. Jane Fairfax is a protagonist of her own right in my heart</spoiler> but no character including Emma really seems like fundamentally a better person for all the shenanigans and we end where we started, continuing to subscribe to arbitrary yet rigid notions of who is respectable society and dining multiple times a week with people we openly dislike and living our hypocrite little lives. Except that we love and appreciate a few more of them than we used to a little bit more than we used to. And isn't that just beautiful.<br/><br/>LMAO. I think I won't be able to say for sure unless I reread it."

"I tried to read a few years ago but never finished because it was so boring. It was a bit funny at times though."

"I must say how much I love Jane Austen's writing, and how well she develops her characters! I thoroughly enjoyed this, though I will admit it took me a while to get into. However, when I did get into it I got Very into it!"

"Alright I always feel like I need to read Jane Austin to be cultured but I just can’t. I got through this book and it was entertaining in some ways but Emma is so obnoxious and I just don’t understand the hype. Please tell me if I’m missing something. Also is the point of every Jane Austin book just to reject the ways of society cause that’s all I’m getting right now. "