I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I was going to start reading Jane Austen, and I did it, I did it, I said that I would do it and indeed I did. Finished Pride & Prejudice a couple of days later, but hadn't picked her up again until last night, when I started in on Sense & Sensibility. I enjoyed the P & P very much. Austen's language was very clever and understated, which perhaps was the greatest pleasure of the book for me. The character development was painted in broad strokes, but on taking a step back from the painting, I could see how subtle the overall effect was. Very pleased with it; the strongest feeling I got from it was: this would be a great book to read my kids. Pleasantly didactic.



Some Jane Austen fan will probably want to kill me for saying this, but...the A&E production of the book really was as good as the book (that is to say, it was as good a film as the book is a book). And, yeah, six hours of film were enough to cover pretty much all the events of the book. The joy of the book is in Austen's descriptions, which are long, but never tedious. She is very intriguing in her constant use of behavior and action to build character...great stuff.



I know I'm gushing disjointedly; I didn't like it that much. Well, maybe I did. It's definitely something to read to the kids, so I guess that means I think it's great.