Emma - 726 pages

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Emma (726 pages)

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by: Jane Austin, Deborah Forbes, Debra Grossman

Sales Rank: 2190271
Released: 2006

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Product Description

Charming, willful Emma Woodehouse amuses herself by planning other people's lives. When her interfering backfires, she learns a bitter lesson: well-intentioned busybodies are as resented as those motivated by ill will, and everyone should learn to respect the individuality of others.

Product Details

Emma (726 pages)

Hardcover: 0 pages
ISBN: 064173395X
Average Customer Review: based on 210 reviews
Sales Rank in Books: #2190271

Customer Reviews

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Summary: Terrible 2009-01-02
Comment: This is the first time that I am writing an Amazon review, and I am doing it because this novel is possibly the worst book that I have ever read. The book has no plot. It is simply a love story with some irony mixed into the plot. Jane Austen is a terrible writer who takes three pages to describe a simple idea, and clearly she does not know that run-on sentences are not appealing to readers. Some sentences even go on for pages. Please do not read this book or any of Jane Austen's books! They are all trash with no plotline and shallow characters. Yes, I do hate Jane Austen.

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Summary: Wonderful! 2008-12-30
Comment: For some reason, I always think of Emma as my least favorite Austen, but I thoroughly enjoyed re-reading it. Emma is a very imperfect heroine, but Jane Austen was wrong in supposing that no one but herself would like her. I find Emma to be refreshing as a heroine, and she stands is stark contrast to Fanny Price in Mansfield Park (my least favorite Austen heroine). There is none of Fanny's timidness or inability to stand up for herself. Emma is independent and strong, and much more modern than other female characters in classic literature. Her mistakes in pride and arrogance are such as we all make on a daily basis. She presumes to understand people's emotions and thoughts and thinks she has a right to order things as she would have them be...very type "A", in my opinion. But, as her intentions in every case are good, as she only wants those she loves to be happy and prosperous, one cannot really blame her.

The other characters in this book are also very satisfying, particularly Jane Fairfax and Mr. Knightley. Jane is the poor orphan on whom everyone in Highbury, the village in which Emma lives, dotes upon. Emma, of course, can't stand her at first, but only because of the knowledge that Jane is superior to her in many ways. How many of us have declared that we don't like someone simply because they're better at something than we are? Mr. Knightley, Emma's neighbor and long-time family friend, is her conscience, calling attention to those errors in judgment that Emma constantly seems to make. He often lectures her, but only in an attempt to set her on a better course. When faced with the prospect of losing him, Emma must confront her own feelings and question her own situation in life.

It's altogether an enjoyable read, with plenty of twists and blunders, and should appeal to any fan of Jane Austen...or just anyone who wants to read the real version of the movie "Clueless".

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Summary: Emma Woodhouse 2008-08-26
Comment: Emma complete illustrated novel by Jane Austen

Austen's witty exploration of social relationships in "Emma" is both humorous and insightful. An enjoyable read for everyone.

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Summary: Romantic Mystery 2008-07-31
Comment: Like most of Jane Austen's novels, the theme is around young women and how to obtain marriages with suitable men and be in love with them at the same time. In Emma, we have a heroine who not just sits around and speculates on who would pair up with who, but actively strives to influence and guide the matchmaking. She takes on a protege, Harriet Smith, a young woman of unknown parentage and sees into every interaction with the various gentlemen, more than is actually there. Unfortunately for poor Harriet, whose emotions get tangled around various men "who are all above her socially", Emma learns that manipulation and scheming is doing more to hurt her dear friend than to have left things alone.

The reason I read this book as a mystery, is that the reader is left to speculate (without peeking) which man would pair up with which lady. There are red herrings, where the characters other than Emma, misspeculate, to lead the reader into examining the clues to see if it were the case. Also, one of the male characters purposely set out to mislead where his affections are placed, and there is also a misunderstanding between Emma and Harriet on which gentleman she admires, with Emma giving encouragement because of mistaken identity.

The scheming finally crashes to a sequence of revelations brought about by a sequence of events. One after another, the couples pair off with a sequence of marriages, assuring the reader that the correct matches were made and happiness for the future guaranteed. Even though the middle of the book is very slow, the reader can go back and look at the clues and events after knowing the ending to see where inclinations rested and secrets lay buried.

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Summary: A Good Start To My Austen Book Craze 2008-07-30
Comment: I have always loved Emma the movie, the one with Gwyneth Paltrow in it. Her Emma is so clueless, so innocent, yet somehow loveable. I finally decided to pick up the classic novel to see if the movie missed anything and to get the full story straight from the author. The book delighted me just as much as the movie did, as I am pleased to say.
Emma Woodhouse is a young, rich woman living with her germaphobe father in the town of Highbury. Bored and eager for some sort of excitement, she decides to matchmake her new friend Harriet Smith with the local vicar Mr.Elton. Emma is convinced that her matchmaking skills are among the best, wrongly taking credit for pairing her governess Miss Taylor with their neighbor Mr.Weston. Many mishaps occur, and many hearts broken and confused, but in the end all is well, with all three of the main couples finding happiness.
It took me a little while to get in the vocabulary of the time, but once I did the book breezed by. Emma is so flawed like all of us; that is why we love her. Just because this book was written almost 200 years ago doesn't make it bad: it makes it better.

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Emma - 726 pages

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