Persuasion (Penguin Classics)

I'm not a romantic type of person. I don't read romance novels, swooning and clutching my bosom and wishing for Prince Charming. Which is why I never really read Jane Austen. Life isn't a happily-ever-after and I don't enjoy reading that it is.

I gave Pride and Prejudice a try a year or so ago and it was ok. Austen IS a good writer and her characters do have some serious flaws, even the characters you are supposed to be rooting for/swooning over. ...read more

Persuasion is my favorite Jane Austen novel. I love it...especially the charm of getting a second chance with a love you once let go. The book has some of Austen's best lines in it as well - such as the letter that the captain writes. Beautiful stuff!

Austen continues to impress and comment on European society to this day with her equally fun romances. I enjoyed that this was an account of someone's day-to-day life and opinions that happen to include a great romance, but that isn't for everybody and it would be difficult to recreate without losing her energy to it that only she seems to write with.

Anne and Captain Wentworth provide a different love story than the other Austen novels because they fell in love out of sight of the reader 8 years before the story begins. They also broke up 8 years ago. So the story hinges on the question of whether they will- both being single- get back together. It's perfectly written- with no plot holes or boring parts. The only shortcoming for me is that they just don't spend that much time interacting in t...read more

I'm surprised to say that I've enjoyed this book far more than Pride and prejudice. I liked Anne and I found myself relating to her in some ways