The dialogue, wit, and characters I am not puzzled about. - Edit 1
Before modification by Dan at 28/04/2012 03:18:43 AM
It's not quite my cup of tea, but it may just be a matter of time.
But I seem to recall a thread where more than a couple people whose opinions are generally very good brought her up as an exemplar of excellent prose in the English language. I think the thread was one of those circlejerks about Fantasy novels not being well written or something (I actually like those threads, don't get me wrong.) I think one of those was you, or Doma, maybe you both, but I could be mistaken. Anyway, I recall seeing "X is no Jane Austen, though" more than once. So I was just curious as to what made her prose well-formed, apart from dialogue or wit or characters. If that makes sense. I'm seriously interested, because I think I'm missing something. The fact that it was simply a product of a different trend in style doesn't cut it for me, though- I'm interested in a positive description, her stylistic context already acknowledged. Anyway, jw.
But then, few books are great in every aspect (though I won't deny there are some that certainly come closer to that ideal than Austen's).
I glanced through the first few chapters of P&P on Project Gutenberg just now, and to the extent that those can be considered representative (not very), the conclusion is that much of Austen's writing is simply dialogue, and her dialogue is good, as I'm sure you'll agree. Of the rest, a good part is taken up by witty or ironic touches (which I at least find amusing). The descriptive prose is very simple indeed, but why should that bother us? It's the characters and the dialogue that make the novels such classics, and the ironic comments like the famous "truth universally acknowledged". And of course a good part of Austen's reputation is simply that she wrote those books when she did, and that she was already a classic to the Victorians. If there are other English writers who have written novels comparable to Austen's prior to 1820, they certainly haven't stood the test of time.
But I seem to recall a thread where more than a couple people whose opinions are generally very good brought her up as an exemplar of excellent prose in the English language. I think the thread was one of those circlejerks about Fantasy novels not being well written or something (I actually like those threads, don't get me wrong.) I think one of those was you, or Doma, maybe you both, but I could be mistaken. Anyway, I recall seeing "X is no Jane Austen, though" more than once. So I was just curious as to what made her prose well-formed, apart from dialogue or wit or characters. If that makes sense. I'm seriously interested, because I think I'm missing something. The fact that it was simply a product of a different trend in style doesn't cut it for me, though- I'm interested in a positive description, her stylistic context already acknowledged. Anyway, jw.
I'm not trolling, and I don't want to hate on the book, but I can barely make it through a paragraph without getting bored and tired. Everyone here seems to swear by her prose, though, so I really think I'm perhaps missing something in appreciating it. Could someone explain to me why it's good? Preferably with some textual examples?
But then, few books are great in every aspect (though I won't deny there are some that certainly come closer to that ideal than Austen's).
I glanced through the first few chapters of P&P on Project Gutenberg just now, and to the extent that those can be considered representative (not very), the conclusion is that much of Austen's writing is simply dialogue, and her dialogue is good, as I'm sure you'll agree. Of the rest, a good part is taken up by witty or ironic touches (which I at least find amusing). The descriptive prose is very simple indeed, but why should that bother us? It's the characters and the dialogue that make the novels such classics, and the ironic comments like the famous "truth universally acknowledged". And of course a good part of Austen's reputation is simply that she wrote those books when she did, and that she was already a classic to the Victorians. If there are other English writers who have written novels comparable to Austen's prior to 1820, they certainly haven't stood the test of time.