A Fan's Playground

I've read this book too many times to write a comprehensive review this time. So okay, the thing that struck me most on this reread is how regularly Anne is totally overpowered by her emotions. Honestly, given how often Anne is struck frozen and unable to comprehend what's happening around her because her feelings are in a turmoil, it's astonishing to me that ( cut for small spoiler )

And okay, yes, she's going through some particularly high-emotion stuff during the time period covered by the book, I gather that people who experience romantic attraction can find that their feelings on the subject are very a lot sometimes, but like, even so. Wow, Anne. Find your chill!

(I still love Anne a lot though.)

The other thing is, the narrative spends a lot of time telling the reader that Lady Russell is a good person and a good friend and worth admiring and being close with and all, but.....never actually showcases her actions in such a way as makes me feel like I should care about her one bit. It's to the point where I can't help but feel it might be deliberate, but if so I'm not quite sure what point Austen might be trying to make with this. Idk. Maybe I'm wrong and I'm just Not Appreciating Lady Russell As I Ought, but I still feel totally unmoved by her supposed qualities.

This has been an interesting experience, listening to the Persuasion audiobook instead of just rereading a paper copy for the umptillionth time. The thing about audio is that you can't skim through the bits that you aren't as fond of, so they have a lot more weight and presence than you may have previously realized.

Which is to say, I used to call Persuasion my favourite Austen but I'm no longer convinced that's the case.

I still absolutely adore the Anne/Frederick romance - my favourite Austen leading couple, for sure! And the Crofts remain THE BEST. And Austen is just generally good at writing. But one of the themes....

The frustrating thing about Persuasion is its preoccupation with rank, in multiple directions. ( Read more... )