Persuasion

Persuasion
by Jane Austen

First published in Great Britain in 1818.

I'll start with a confession.  As much as I love reading, before Persuasion I had only read Austen's Pride & Prejudice.  I always liked the idea of reading Austen, but I always seemed to have a book on the go already.  However I bought Persuasion after a recommendation from a certain Miss Sandra Bullock (well, her character in 'The Lakehouse') and put it at the top of my 'to-read' list.

The story follows twenty-seven year old Anne Elliot, who broke off her engagement to Frederick Wentworth eight years earlier.  Set in the fashionable societies of Lyme and Bath, we meet many different family members and friends who all have opinions on the gossip of the day, particularly which eligible bachelor will choose which girl.  When Anne suddenly meets Wentworth again after all this time, it is tinged with the heartache of the missed opportunity.  The story is full of morning calls, theatre trips, visits to the seaside and other such social events.  As the story progresses it is tinged with the love that Anne still feels for Wentworth and there is an overriding wonder of 'will they, won't they?'

I liked Anne - she is funny and doesn't give in to the whole society aspect of life as much as the rest of the characters, which gives her a great independent streak.  I felt for her and the heartache she felt.  I could not imagine being persuaded to break an engagement and then have to spend time with the man years later, and Austen's writing was sad at times but hopefully optimistic.

Wentworth was a quiet character for most of the story, as it is told from Anne's point of view, and so we are never sure how he feels until the second to last chapter.  He comes across as a bit aloof but if you know Austen you'll quickly see that this is the usual 'he's actually deeply in love with her' style.

The main issue I have with the writing here is that is it long-winded.  I appreciate classic language, and don't mind flicking to the notes at the end to find meanings, but I find that it stops me from getting as emotionanally involved in the story.  At the end of this book, I felt like I should have been crying, but the fact was that it had taken me so long to read and understand the sentences full of commas that my heart wasn't properly engaged.  Perhaps this was because it was the first reading, but I hate to skip over words or phrases that are new to me.  On the other hand, the writing being so detailed makes it easy to imagine the clothes, houses and atmosphere and I did feel like I was in another time.

This isn't a book for everyone, and you definitely have to be in the right frame of mind to read it, but if you're settled in with chocolate and hope in your heart, it is pretty wonderful.