Review: Sense and Sensibility

Sense And Sensibility by Jane Austen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Jane Austen is one of my long-time favorite authors, and this is one of my favorites of her books, but I’ve read it so many times in the past (and not for a long time), and I’ve seen the movie adaptations so many times that I fear there are details I gloss over or misremember, and this excellent audio narration by Rosamund Pike allowed me to slow down and hear everything anew. I saw things I hadn’t never, and reveled in both the humor and pathos of this story of love lost, love unrequited, and love found.

My favorite relationship in this book is that between Elinor and Marianne, though for many years I held Marianne in much less regard. I sympathized with Elinor’s tendency to hide her affections, and found Marianne’s high spirits and lack of care immature and obnoxious. Maybe it was Emma Thompson heart wrenching portrayal of Elinor in the 1995 adaption forever imprinted in my brain, but when she says to Marianne, “What do you know of my heart? What do you know of anything but your own suffering? …Believe me, Marianne, had I not been bound to silence I could have provided proof enough of a broken heart, even for you,” my heart broke for her and raged at Marianne for being so heartless and thoughtless.

The thing is, though, Marianne is SO young. It’s easy to forget that she’s 16-17 years old, with all the talk of marriage, and though her personality already lent itself to throwing oneself wholeheartedly into everything, she also had the confidence of youth to assume you know everything and that your opinion will never change. Take her opinion early on that one can only really fall in love once, and if that love is lost, you’re destined to be alone forever - clearly that’s not true, and though I don’t wish upon Marianne the heartbreak she goes through with Willoughby, it was certainly a growth experience, as was her sickness and time of recuperation. And seeing everything Elinor went through with Edward, everything Marianne had missed with her own emotional preoccupation, really opened her eyes to the trials of those around her. She’s much more sympathetic and supportive to Elinor, once she knows the truth of the situation, than I recall. There is much miscommunication and misplaced assumptions in this book, but between the sisters, it’s more a case of the two having very different personalities and misunderstanding one another’s meaning of word and action.

If anything, I found Elinor to be a little self-righteous at times, especially about Marianne and Willoughby’s relationship, and later how much Colonel Brandon “deserved” Marianne for his incredible kindness and good nature. Elinor, women are not property! You should know better! I’m not even going to touch on the age difference; I think it’s enough to say it was a different time, and there were different expectations for who an appropriate marriage partner was back then. I’m satisfied that Colonel Brandon was eventually Marianne’s whole-hearted choice, and she wasn’t coerced or forced into that position.

As for the men in this story, they ranged from ridiculous to insipid to enraging at various times. I know the ladies eventually forgive Willoughby a bit, but I think he got less than what he deserved: a sad life full of regret instead of jail time. I’m still a little surprised that Colonel Brandon was just going to stand by while Willoughby married Marianne, even after knowing what he did to his ward, Beth. Surely you could have made that a little more common knowledge? As for Edward, he was much too oblivious and noble for his own good - it took him way too long to realize his feelings for Elinor, and he really should have broken off his engagement to Lucy when he did realize them. Also, I’m with the Jane Austen Society on this one - Hugh Grant was way too attractive to play Edward Ferrars.

On the positive side, at least most of these men finally followed their feelings. The second he heard of his broken engagement, Edward went to Elinor to confess and propose. Colonel Brandon did everything he could to help the Dashwoods, not only because he was in love with Marianne, but because he genuinely cared for Elinor and Mrs. Dashwood and wanted to ease their lives and bring them happiness. Willoughby…. I find it hard to say positive things about him, but at least he came clean about his initial intentions and eventual feelings towards Marianne. I think that knowledge helped Marianne feel vindicated in her read of their relationship, even though it didn’t change that it he as over. And his greed helped Marianne dodge a huge bullet, because I agree with Elinor - had he and Marianne married, he would have found something else to regret or be discontented by.

I’m looking forward to continuing my rereads of all Jane Austen’s books this year, as well as reading various adaptations!

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Review: The Full Moon Coffee Shop

The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki
My rating: 3.75 of 5 stars

3.75 stars

A thoughtful, cozy story about finding what makes you happy, surrounding yourself with love, (both people and things that bring you joy), and making your home a refuge of comfort. I loved the way the character’s lives intertwined with each another, and seeing the impact of their kind actions on the rest of their lives. And you have to love a cat cafe where the servers are literal cats, bringing you life advice and the perfect snack based on your unique star chart.

I will admit to finding some of the astrology stuff confusing, most specifically the age of Pisces/age of Aquarius stuff and the periods of life things. But I did like how the charts and astrology prompted the characters examine their lives and their choices, and self-reflect on what makes them the most happy and fulfilled.

“Understand yourself, and you’ll be able to care for yourself. As long as you do that, you’ll shine like the star that you are.”

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Review: The Jane Austen Society

The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A lovely, thoughtful story about found family, mutual support through grief and loss, and how one can truly care for others. Interwoven with the stories of these people all drawn to one another in the small English town of Chawton are meaningful analyses of Jane Austen’s writing and characters, digging deep into why her work has enthralled people for so much time. Whether it’s her humor, sharp social observations, or realistic characters and relationships, there’s something about Austen’s work that continues to draw people in and soothe them, especially during their most challenging times.

I’ve been an Austen fan since I was a child - the first book I remember purchasing with my own money was Pride and Prejudice at age 12 - and am still finding new things to love in her work with every reading. This book has made me want to read them all again right now, and find people to talk about them with as Benjamin and Adelaide, Adam and Mimi, and all the others of the Jane Austen society do. I also love how much focus was given to the importance of maintaining Austen’s literary legacy in one place, in England, but also how that wasn’t as important as the emotional and physical well-being of one of their friends.

This was a delightful book that I happily recommend, especially to those who enjoy Jane Austen’s work or World War 2 era historical fiction.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

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Review: Djeliya

Djeliya: A West African Fantasy Epic by Juni Ba
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

A graphically striking and thoughtful reworking of West African myths and stories to tell a story of power and community responsibility, innovation and tradition, greed and humility, all circling around the importance of storytelling itself. Awa might be the advisor to the prince, but sure OSS the heart of this story, and the one who connects everyone and everything, for better or worse. I especially loved seeing the stories from her childhood with the djinnie, before things got bad.

The powerful the art style and coloring m in this book is especially appealing - the dynamism really helps draw you into the story. I can definitely see many of these pages as frame-able art. I also really appreciated how layered things were, like the different symbols that you could track throughout the story. Speaking of those, I really appreciated the index of symbols and stories the author included in the back. It gave me a lot more context to the story and also more things to look for on a reread.

The one issue I had is that the art was so chaotic at times that I had a hard time following what was going on. Sometimes I couldn’t tell the characters apart, and the action was so frequent I couldn’t always keep track of who was doing what. I actually read through a few sections twice because I was getting lost. I don’t think that’s a sufficient reason not to read this one, but figured I’d mention it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review purposes.

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Review: It's Elementary

It's Elementary by Elise Bryant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A fun and engaging mystery featuring some clever and endearing (if improbably bad at being sneaky) adults as they try to figure out the Mystery of the Missing Principal, collect some sweet reward money, flirt a little, and try not to drown in their busy lives. Oh and not get killed by anyone nefarious. Mavis is incredibly relatable, both her longing to have someone to rely on and her frustration as always being seen as someone dependable but unimportant. Her relationships with everyone around her felt deeply real: there’s her supportive (and occasionally combative) bestie Jasmine; her new snarky mom-friend, Corinne; her new romantic prospect, the dreamy and sweet Jack; her first-love and ex-husband, Corey; and her adorable roomie, her dad.

As for the mystery in this one, I suspected who was behind it all pretty much from the start, but I really enjoyed all the twists we took to get there. It was also great to see someone of the overbearing and gossipy white moms get their due, and to watch Mavis connect with other parents on a more human level. And like Mavis, I sympathize with the “villain’s” situation and reasoning. It’s can be hard to be angry at someone who is doing the wrong things for the right reasons.

I’ve read most of Elise Bryant’s YA fiction previously, and really enjoyed her foray into adult genre fiction - I really hope she keeps writing more mysteries, and that we see more of Mavis in the future! Hopefully, she’ll have kicked that annoying job to the curb and can start focusing on the things she really wants to do - once she figures that out.

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Review: Chef's Kiss

Chef's Kiss by Jarrett Melendez
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So cute and sweet and swoon-worthy. I’m sure many of us can relate to Ben’s predicament - you’ve just graduated from college and you’re looking for a job, and NO one is hiring. And on top of that, you’re not even sure what you want to do in life. Ben found Le Cochon Doré at the perfect time - not only did he meet some fantastic people who encouraged him and built up his confidence, but he found something he was already pretty talented at and also working hard to learn and perfect.

I don’t blame Ben for hiding his new job from his parents, based on the way they react when they find him at the restaurant. That kind of familial pressure is hard to live up to, especially if you’ve been dealing with it your own life. Ben might love writing, but he’s also been forced to focus on it by his driven parents. Learning that he’s actually talented enough to be a real chef instead of just cooking at home, and making friends with Liam and the others, is exactly what he needed. Also, I’m so glad Ben took the time to self-reflect, without the influence of others, on what might make him the most happy. And super glad that he was honest with Liam about his feelings (even if it took a drunken confession he forgot to clue Liam in at first).

In addition to the great story and delicious-looking food, I loved the style and colors of this art! Everyone had so much personality, especially Watson the pig, haha. I hope we get to see more of Ben, Liam, Watson, and the others in the future!

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Review: Stephen Fry's Odyssey

Odyssey by Stephen Fry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A fantastically funny and at times heartbreaking retelling of the aftermath of the Trojan war and the journeys home of each of the major players. The primary character is, of course, Odysseus, who takes the longest to make it home, has the most adventures, misses his wife and son the most, and somehow also fathers the most children along the way. But we also hear how other major players faired, from rapist Ajax and daughter-sacrificing Agamemnon to triumphant Menelaus with his Helen and Roman-founding Aeneas.

The gods, of course, are still interfering in frustrating ways, shaping the course of each person’s life (and death) as they see fit and arguing amongst themselves, but for some reason, I am less angered by them in this book. Maybe that’s because I feel like everyone who dies deserves it (other than all the oarsmen and slaves who had no decision making powers and were just along for their labor). Maybe it’s also because the gods themselves discuss how they are become less and less important in the lives of humans, now that there are so many of them, and perhaps it’s time they truly rule themselves.

Either way, I enjoyed this book immensely - Stephen Fry does a great job distilling what could be a confusing mess of storylines into a cohesive, interconnected narrative, drawing from Homer’s Odyssey, of course, but also other ancient sources. Relationships, conversations, and actions are clear, both in their practical and emotional impact and in what they would have meant to people at the time. And as always, I appreciate the frequent footnotes, reminding us of people we’ve met in previous books, as well as the maps in the front and cast of characters in back.

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