Sense and Sensibility

The words "classic literature" brings to mind many different things: dusty old books a hand length wide, the charming English countryside, demure ladies and dashing men, and language so flowery that you can almost smell it. Many people are daunted by classic literature; they claim it would be too hard to read the works so why bother at all. This is a real shame because among the ranks of classic literature there are some brilliant works that everyone should eventually read. But there are also some very bad classic books that aren't worth the read. There is a good kind of classic and a bad kind; something like Wuthering Heights is an example of good. Unfortunately, this is a book review about a bad classic.

Sense and Sensibility is a product of its time. Considered  a romantic comedy, this book is not very romantic or funny. The story follows the daily lives of the Dashwood sisters, confident, levelheaded Elinor who spends her time in polite society and lovesick pianist and daydreamer, Marianne who would rather spend her days roaming over the green hills and little rivers around her home. Together these sisters navigate the perils of English society, endure tea time with notorious gossips, and spend their time conquering the height of 1790s drama. On top of all that, there's love and betrayal to navigate and the sensitive issue of over-staying their welcome at a friend's house. Gasp!

I didn't like this book at all. While I normally love the classics and all their idiosyncrasies, I found Sense and Sensibility quite hard to read. The language is so embellished that the small story line there is gets lost between overly polite banter and senseless phrases. The story began well enough, but was focused on only one problem; once that issue came to head in chapter five, the rest of the book dragged, with characters eloquently reiterating the problem every other page. Finally, while Sense and Sensibility was written in 1811, so the characters are characteristic of that time era, I can't stand the wilting flower attitude of every woman in the story. Their tendency to faint into nearby furniture upon hearing something slightly inconvenient or constantly complaining of their delicate constitutions makes the characters very unlikable and had me screaming at the page for them to man up. 

Read Sense and Sensibility only if you have to or, instead, spend your time reading Wuthering Heights or Dracula. 

*****

RJ

Photo Credit: Amazon UK