Now before you get all huffy and wonder how on earth any English major and romantic worth their salt can dislike Jane Austen let me continue.
I read Emma about 3 years ago and it was agony. I only finished it so I could say, I have read a Jane Austen novel. And I still don't like her.
I've always felt like there was something wrong with me. I love the movies based on her books. Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, Pride & Prejudice - but I just couldn't get into the novels. Besides which, even in the movies I have NEVER liked Mr. Darcy. He seems so condescending and stuck up and rude and I could never understand why women swooned over him.
(Oh admit it, some of you reading this HAVE swooned over him)
Then I was informed that I had to read Pride and Prejudice for one of my grad classes in the fall, so I started reading it now.
To my surprise I am enjoying it. Quite a bit. I'm only about half way through (I've had a lot of other reading that I've been doing) but I am actually looking forward to having a chance to sit down and finish it.
Not only that, but I LIKE Mr. Darcy. All right, I'm nowhere NEAR swoon territory, but being able to see some of his thoughts, especially the way his regard develops for Elizabeth, have actually made me LIKE him. Something I never thought would happen.
There has to be a way for them to translate this better in the movies. To read that he respected her intelligence and wit and liked her activity and healthy attributes makes him SO much more interesting and likable.
And now I would like to go read some of her other novels and see if I enjoy them.
How about you? Are you a Darcy fan? A Jane Austen fan? Ever had a book that you tried to read, but didn't like only to come back to it years later and really appreciate it?
