Persuasion by Jane Austen is my third Austen novel, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this one! I have previously read Pride and Prejudice and Emma with my friend and college roommate for our classics book club, and we both were left wondering how these books hold so much gravity in the world of literature because we found them lacking, slow-paced, and just boring. Persuasion, however, was a different story for me.
Persuasion is primarily about Anne Elliott and her long-lost love for Captain Frederick Wentworth. Eight years before the time in the novel, Anne and Captain Wentworth were engaged and in love, but Anne's mom's friend, Lady Russell, who took Anne under her wing after Anne's mom died when she was 14 years old, convinced that Captain Wentworth was not good enough for Anne, which led Anne to break off her engagement.
The book starts with Anne's father, Sir Walter Scott, has been spending more money than he has, and he is recommended to leave Kellynch Hall and live in Bath. He is also recommend to lease Kellynch Hall to a tenant, and he chooses the Admiral, who is related to Captain Wentworth. Eventually, Anne and Captain Wentworth cross paths again at her sister Mary's house with her husband and two boys, and the tension continues to build until they confess their love to each other.
I think what really helped me enjoy Persuasion more than the other Austen books I've read is that the length was considerably shorter. My edition was around 260 pages, which included an alternate Chapter X in Volume 2. The editions of Pride and Prejudice and Emma I read are closer to 350 and 400 pages in length, respectively, and sometimes, I found the writing to be dragging. There were some parts I felt this way with this book too, but it wasn't nearly as much as previous Austen novels I have read.
I also watched the Netflix adaptation before reading Persuasion, and I think that also solidified my like for this book. I thought that with the movie, I was able to understand what was happening without fearing that I was missing it from the sometimes convoluted writing. I also highly recommend the movie on Netflix! I liked how it was narrated by Anne and how they allowed her to break the fourth wall so it felt like she was talking to the viewer. She also had more sarcasm and a wittiness that wasn't in the book, but I really enjoyed that.
I sometimes feel like I come across books at a time when they resonate more with me, and this is not an exception. I have had a lot of people leave or have stopped contact with within the past year and a half, and it's sometimes difficult to feel how much of a change and adjustment that has been for me. I feel like Persuasion has reminded me that these changes in the people we have in our lives are never permanent if I don't want them to be.
Have you read Persuasion or another Jane Austen novel? Tell me about it the comments! I can't wait to hear from you!
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