The Classics Club Spin #6 was good to me and not only did it land on a book I already owned but one I really wanted to read fairly soon: Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. If I remember correctly this was the first Austen book I read when I was a teenager, choosing to shun the more conventional and better known Pride and Prejudice in the first instance. This was over a decade ago ( god that makes me feel old) and although I have watched various adaptations since then, such as the fantastic Emma Thompson one and one starring Dominic Cooper, I have been looking forward to a reread.
Sense and Sensibility follows the lives of Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, from the death of their father and the subsequent loss of their family home to the dilemmas of love and loss that all women in an Austen novel seem to face. Elinor, the older sister, embodies sense; she loves Edward Ferrars but knows she cannot have him and so she carries her heartache with quiet dignity. On the other hand, her younger sister, Marianne falls head over heels in love with the cad, Willoughby and when he inevitable breaks her heart she falls into a devastation and simply cannot function because the loss of Willoughby is just too much.
I love Sense and Sensibility. I loved it when I first read it and I always had a sneaky suspicion that I loved it more than Pride and Prejudice and reading both of them in recent months I know that I do. What’s not to love? It has all the usual love drama of an Austen novel and a happy ending. The characters are so perfectly created that even over 200 years later you can spot their modern day counterparts in real life; we all know a meddlesome older lady who whilst annoying and a bit of a busy body, means well (luckily my grandma doesn’t understand the internet so she will never read that comment and to be fair I could be talking about her sister ha). I think her characters and how relatable they are is one of the reasons why I enjoy Austen’s writing and arguably why she has remained a significant part of literature as a whole. Everyone loves a story with good guys and bad guys and then a lovely happy ending, at least I know I do. And I do love a romance story every so often.
Overall, an enjoyable read and what made it even better was the lovely British sun over the weekend so I could actually sit outside, read and tan/burn slightly. I always find it so much easier to completely relax and read for hours when the sun is out and I can just lie there and not have to worry about anything. It doesn’t help the work situation, but hey ho, I’m happy. In the past year I have reread three of Austen’s novels (Mansfield Park, Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility) and I think now I’m halfway through, not including the unpublished one, I might as well continue and aim to the read the remaining three in the near future, mainly because I have a great looking book called What Really Matters in Jane Austen? that I have yet to pick up and a refreshed reading of her novels will certainly enrich my experience reading this book.
Challenges
As I said I reread Sense and Sensibility as part of The Classics Club Spin, so that’s one more book ticked off the list. ;
LindyLit 
I really love Sense and Sensibility, too! For a modern take on the story (and I generally hate this type of thing), The Three Weissmanns of Wesport by Cathleen Schine is a lot of fun.
I will have to look out the modern version and add it to my TBR Pile
I think Sense and Sensibility is my favourite Austen book (and I loved the Emma Thompson film too!).
I feel the need to watch the film version again soon, especially as I used to work at one of the houses used in it, so that always makes me smile.
Mine too, Yasmine. 🙂
Sense and Sensibility was the first Austen novel I read too and I think perhaps still my favourite although Persuasion is a close contender 🙂
I’m not sure what would be a close second; I need to reread the remaining three novels soon.
Mansfield Park is my favourite Austen novel, but I like S&S a lot, too. I think Austen does a great job at teasing out the threads inherent in the philosophical debate about sense and sensibility that was worrying people at the time. I’m not too keen on the Emma Thompson adaptation, but the BBC series you mentioned is interesting, I think.
I need to rewatch the BBC adaptation as it has been a long time.
This is one of my favourite Austen novels, it never seems to get as much attention as some of the others.
This is my favourite Austen too, but you’re right it tends to get overshadowed by others; I don’t remember ever seeing it on a school curriculum or at university when I read quite a few Austen novels.
Sense and Sensibility is my first and favourite Austen. The Emma Thompson film is fantastic.
I really enjoyed my spin book too, Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood: http://loniseye.blogspot.ca/2014/07/alias-grace.html
Glad you enjoyed your book too! I tried to comment on your blog but my iPad wouldn’t let me, but thank you for the quinoa recipe, I’m slightly addicted to it at the moment.
Oh no! I have trouble with blogger blogs on my iPad too. Alias Grace was an awesome book.
Glad you like the quinoa recipe. It’s so yummy. I like the idea of trying it toasted, but not sure what to make with it.
This makes me want to re-read S&S!!It’s been years since I first read it. My spin book was Mansfield Park, which was excellent too.
I reread Mansfield Park last year for Austen in August, think I might join it again this year to reread another Austen novel.
I’m joining in Austen in August again this year and was wondering which one to reread – I think you’ve just sold me on S&S – esp since I saw common characteristics between the sisters in my spin book (No Name by Wilkie Collins) and with Elinor and Maryann.
I’m still debating joining Austen in August this year, but I’m sure I will. I have reread three of her novels in the past year so it might be a mini goal to reread the remaining three.