Persuasion

2018 update: still yes to all of the below. Although the last paragraph is a pretty weird, ambivalent way to end the story, everything that leads up to it is masterful. Wentworth>Darcy 4EVA.

**I avoid sappy romance, but my heart would skip a beat when Captain Wentworth betrayed a possible remnant of affection for Anne.I'm a liberal, egalitarian, modern American woman, but somehow I can sympathize with Austen's shock at “unsuitable” marriages below one's station (never mind *gasp premarital sex!).

I'm probably more like sister Mary than I'd like to admit, but I can laugh at her hypochondria and negativity.

I'm naturally sarcastic and impatient with stupidity and . . . well, yeah, there I'm in perfect alignment with Jane.

I can never decide if Persuasion or Pride & Prejudice is my favorite Austen novel. Her wit is so sharp, and her characters so delightful, she's always a joy to read. This story of love, rejection, grief, and second chances is amusing, thrilling, and heart-warming.

This time around, I listened to Juliet Stevenson's reading, and she does an amazing job of bringing the story to life. I look forward to revisiting Persuasion again and again.

Persuasion could be my favorite Austen (more investigation required to know for sure). BUT this was not the novel; this was the DRAMATIZATION, which I despise because prose is nixed in favor of inauthentic feeling dialogue and foley work. I also listened explicitly for Florence Pugh and she was JUST the narrator. WHY would you get Florence Pugh and then essentially bar her from delivering any of the meaningful, emotive dialogue that arguably gives Austen's novels their substance?

For a long time, I considered Persuasion my 3rd favourite Austen. It was Pride and Prejudice first (obviously), then Emma, before Persuasion. However, upon this reread I may have to change my ranking. But to truly ascertain in Persuasion has moved up in my Austen favourites, I have to read the other two. And that can never be a bad thing :).

I really loved this novel. Anne's character shone through and was so intricately woven into the story that I feel as if she were real. All her quiet composure and silent grief for the love lost was understated and made me ache for her. I loved the autumnal setting and various places the story takes place in. And the letter. Definitely one of my favourite classic novels.