Years ago I saw this movie and loved it. Loved it, loved it, loved it. It helped that I think Emma Thompson is perfection and Kate Winslet is flawless. Was Emma way too fucking old to be playing Elinor? Hell yes. Did it matter? Fuck, no. The Xmas after I saw it I received The Complete Works of Jane Austen. It is a gigantic brick of a book and I was excited but promptly set it on the shelf as something I will read... later.
Back in 2007 I tried to read the book. The first book was this one and I figured it would be the easiest since I knew the story already. Yeah. Not so much. I decided I would read this... later.
Okay, it's time to read something good for me. I struggled SO.MUCH. through this book. It was big, it was heavy, it was dense and written for another era, for another country even. In the middle of slogging through the text I discovered Project Guttenberg and downloaded a ton of free books for my e-reader. I put this book back on the shelf and picked up where I had left off digitally.
I don't know if that is what made the difference or if I finally just managed to get into the swing of the extreme language differences but I finally managed to be charmed enough by the book to say that I enjoyed it. I should have started with another Austen story just to get my feet wet with her style and language, but then again I think it might have helped that knowing the story and the characters already helped the transition and any of Austen's works might have been difficult to read.
I was amazed at how funny Jane Austen is. How irreverent and keen an observer she was of her time. I see why women of today find an affinity for her and her characters and after reading this I looked forward to meeting Elizabeth and Fanny, the other two women so well loved from her books.
What I was most surprised at after reading this book was how un-self aware I have been. For some reason after I saw this movie I related so much with Elinor. Poor reserved, restrained Elinor trying to keep her emotions in check and held back by decorum and good sense. In reading the book I realized to my horror and chagrin that I am Marianne to a T. I am the 'rush into things with my heart leading the charge damn the consequences' person. Like Marianne, I have suffered for this and I read this book while going through the dark period of the end of my Willoughby affair. It seemed to make the comparison even more odious to me.
Not that I'm likely to change anytime soon. I am who I am... a 'wear my heart on my sleeve', overemotional, silly girl. But perhaps I have gained something from Marianne's example and try to take some of Elinor's restraint to heart. Yeah... somehow I kinda doubt that. ;)
This was the first definite good for me book. It was tough to get going, but I definitely felt a sense of accomplishment when I finished it and I did eventually enjoy it. It was also the first book of the year that I tried to read in actual book format but ended up switching to digital.
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