The trouble with Emma was that I've seen "Clueless" far too many times. (Some might argue that once is too many times, but I love the movie myself.) This created two difficulties. First, the majority of the plot twists were unsurprising as they'd been revealed in the movie. Second, I could not stop myself from comparing and contrasting Clueless--the movie and Emma--the book which almost certainly detracted from any real connection or absorption that would have normally been possible while reading Emma.
In case you live under a rock and have never seen Clueless or even the movie adaptation of Emma (curiously I don't remember nearly as much about the latter), Emma is a young single girl in mid 19th century England who has passions for a) caring for her father b) remaining single and c) matchmaking.
I felt that this book was filled with horribly mundane details, cliches (although some of these cliches may originate here), and typical love stories. Please feel free to comment on what you believe to be the merits of this story which I have so clearly missed.
Favorite Quote: "How often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation!"
If this book were a movie, I’d rate it: PG for adult themes.
Overall Grade: D
Would I recommend this book to my friends? Nope, not so much.
I guess the only positive thing I can say about this book is that I have never read it. But I guess there is one more positive: it's pretty amazing to read Victorian literature and identify themes, cliches, or ideas that are common today. I often find this with Dickens.
ReplyDeleteI have an example that does not apply to this book. I once saw Breakfast at Tiffany's, the movie. Somewhere in the middle, Holly hosts a party and people get drunk. I was genuinely surprised at the accurate portrayal of intoxicated people in a movie from the 60s. I know it sounds stupid, but I was impressed because I recognized all the different types of drunk people and behaviors. I guess it's sort of like believing that people viewed the world in black-and-white before The Wizard of Oz.
Lastly, in order to post my first comment I had to type the security word "flakeyho."
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