A while ago, I made myself a list. I promised that I would read all 6 Jane Austen novels. "Emma" was number two on my list. Like all old favourites, this book has been televised on numerous ocassions, (my favourite one is the film with Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeremy Northam, although the new one with Romola Garai and Jonny Lee Miller is really good too.)
The story is basically this; rich, spoilt, snooty Emma Woodhouse has a taste for matchmaking- but sadly no talent for it. She manages to mess up various relationships, and tries to create some where no attraction exists. Surprise, surprise, she ends up falling for someone herself! I'm sure you would have guessed that already though...
This isn't as easy to read as "Pride and Prejudice", but it holds its own charm. The story is fairly uneventful, and there are a few chapters with not a lot happening at all, but there is some humour, and the characters are clearly defined, and easy to imagine.
My second favourite Jane Austen novel, this is more realistic than the others, and trust me, Mr Knightly could definitely give Mr Darcy a run for his money!
Sunday 16 May 2010
Sunday 9 May 2010
"The complete poems" by Emily Bronte
Another short excerpt on poetry, this time from someone you wouldn't expect. Everyone knows about the bronte sisters, but not everyone knows that Emily Bronte wrote volumes enough of poetry to equal her book "Wuthering Heights."
The poems reveal a brooding, and perhaps unhappy person, who wrote to express, rather than with a wish to see them published. I'll include a couple of my favourite verses, as there is a whole book-full! (due to space, these are not necessarily in order)
Today, I will seek not the shadowy region;
Its unsustaining vastness waxes drear;
And visions rising legion after legion,
Bring the unreal world too strangely near.
What have those lonely mountains worth revealing?
More glory and more grief than I can tell,
The earth that wakes one human heart to feeling,
Can centre both the worlds of heaven and hell.
Vain are the thousand creeds
That move men's hearts, unutterably vain,
Worthless as withered weeds
Or idlest froth amid the boundless main.
There is not room for death
Nor atom that his might could render void
Thou, Thou art being and breath
And what thou art may never be destroyed.
These poems/verses give you the impression that they were extremely private, and not composed for the public appetite, which I think makes them all the more sincere and profound.
The poems reveal a brooding, and perhaps unhappy person, who wrote to express, rather than with a wish to see them published. I'll include a couple of my favourite verses, as there is a whole book-full! (due to space, these are not necessarily in order)
Today, I will seek not the shadowy region;
Its unsustaining vastness waxes drear;
And visions rising legion after legion,
Bring the unreal world too strangely near.
What have those lonely mountains worth revealing?
More glory and more grief than I can tell,
The earth that wakes one human heart to feeling,
Can centre both the worlds of heaven and hell.
Vain are the thousand creeds
That move men's hearts, unutterably vain,
Worthless as withered weeds
Or idlest froth amid the boundless main.
There is not room for death
Nor atom that his might could render void
Thou, Thou art being and breath
And what thou art may never be destroyed.
These poems/verses give you the impression that they were extremely private, and not composed for the public appetite, which I think makes them all the more sincere and profound.
Sunday 2 May 2010
"Villette" by Charlotte Bronte
Charlotte Bronte's second most famous book, I read this after reading "Jane Eyre" (which I loved-a review will probably follow at some point!) I was in all-out Bronte mode, and wanted to get my hands on anything else written by them, which is how I came across this.
To be honest, I was confused! The story is centered around Lucy Snowe, who moves to Brussels to become a teacher. Hardly anything is told about Lucy's past, her appearance, her character...I get the feeling that this book was more like a public diary for Charlotte Bronte herself. I didn't even realise when one of the characters was supposed to be in love with another! That's how vague it was.
The story line is a bit depressing i.e. lots of bad weather, solitary walks, and unrequited love etc etc. The characters are neither likable nor dislikable- they just don't seem real, and even the end was a disapointment: even more vague, and open-ended than the rest of it. This book is only for hard core Bronte fans, but even they must not expect too much
(p.s the frequent use of french gets on your nerves too!)
To be honest, I was confused! The story is centered around Lucy Snowe, who moves to Brussels to become a teacher. Hardly anything is told about Lucy's past, her appearance, her character...I get the feeling that this book was more like a public diary for Charlotte Bronte herself. I didn't even realise when one of the characters was supposed to be in love with another! That's how vague it was.
The story line is a bit depressing i.e. lots of bad weather, solitary walks, and unrequited love etc etc. The characters are neither likable nor dislikable- they just don't seem real, and even the end was a disapointment: even more vague, and open-ended than the rest of it. This book is only for hard core Bronte fans, but even they must not expect too much
(p.s the frequent use of french gets on your nerves too!)
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