Sense & Sensibility Paperback – Deckle Edge, 2 September 2004

All good but page quality is not good .

Sense and Sensibility is like a symphony composed with words, where Jane Austen masterfully orchestrates the lives of the Dashwood sisters—Elinor and Marianne. The novel takes us on a journey through love, loss, and the bittersweet dance between emotion and restraint.Elinor, with her quiet wisdom, represents “sense”—a pillar of rationality amidst life’s storms. Marianne, the embodiment of “sensibility,” wears her heart on her sleeve, embracing emotions with all their intensity. Through their trials and tribulations, Austen delicately explores the balance we must strike between reason and passion in navigating relationships and society’s expectations.The writing feels like sipping a warm cup of tea on a rainy afternoon—comforting yet stirring. With biting social commentary and an array of vibrant characters, Austen skillfully exposes the inequalities and absurdities of her era, especially the limited agency of women.The humor, the heartbreak, the hope—it’s all woven together seamlessly, making the story timeless. By the end, you're left pondering not just the Dashwoods' fates but also your own approach to life: Do you lean towards sense, or are you guided by sensibility?

Sense and Sensibility is a lot like a Fast & Furious movie, except there are no supercar races, gun fights, fist fights, robbery, and scantily clad girls. Come to think of it Sense and Sensibility is nothing like a Fast & Furious movie. I just had no idea how to start off the review.Actually Sense and Sensibility is (seriously now) a lot like Pride and Prejudice. What with the sisters, one stoic and worldly, one a little wild, impulsive and naive, not to mention the youngest one who is the Maggie Simpson* of the family and does not have much to do. Then we have the nice but immediately friendzoned gentlemen, the handsome cad and the twittering mom with the dollar GBP sign popping up in her eyes when considering her daughters’ matrimonial prospects.In all fairness to Ms. Austen, the two books are not that similar, Sense and Sensibility is her debut novel and she later used some of the same elements to write her magnum opus (“Pride” that is). The book is entirely focussed on the two Dashwood sisters Elinor and Marianne and their felicitous relationships with men. This is not the kind of book you should put through the Bechdel test because the ladies herein very seldom talk about anything else except the men in their lives. Still, you never have to wonder what the ladies in this book do in their spare time because all their time seems to be spare time, Thomas Hardy’s heroines seem to have much harder and more productive lives. Still, I don’t want to put too much of a negative spin on Sense and Sensibility because it is a pleasure to read in spite of its flaws and low stakes.Jane Austen is brilliant at writing silly, twittering, meddling women who actually mean well but never stop talking except when they are listening through the door and completely misunderstanding the snatches of conversation they could hear. Mrs. Jennings, a friend of the family, is my favorite character in the book, she can always be relied upon to hilariously bark up the wrong tree. Curiously characterization is both a strength and a weakness of this book. The “good guys”, namely Edward Ferrars and Colonel Brandon, are awfully dull, semi-zombified gentlemen. Whereas Willoughby the cad is lively and always game for a laugh. Sir John Dashwood, who is somewhat of an antagonist, is not so lively but he is hilariously tactless and shallow. Our two heroines are both too nice and are no match for the almost-femme fatale Lucy Steele.Jane Austen is at her best when she is skewering people in polite society and terribly inhibited gents:“The nature of her commendation, in the present case, however, happened to be particularly ill-suited to the feelings of two thirds of her auditors, and was so very unexhilarating to Edward, that he very soon got up to go away”Unexhilarating! LOL! Then there is this bit which is worthy of a high five:“she did not really like them at all. Because they neither flattered herself nor her children, she could not believe them good-natured; and because they were fond of reading, she fancied them satirical: perhaps without exactly knowing what it was to be satirical; but THAT did not signify. It was censure in common use, and easily given.”I started reading Jane Austen to find out what the fuss is about, why do the studios keep adapting her works for films and TV? Initially I did not get it, her storylines always seem inconsequential to me but I have always liked her beautiful prose so I keep coming back to read more. With Sense and Sensibility it finally clicked for me. The snark! Beneath the Victorian politeness and sense of decorium Ms. Austen was a fabulously snarky lady. Having come to this conclusion I am practically ready to join the rank of the Janeites. I already have a bonnet, with several bees in it.* and her name is Maggie Dashwood! (sort of)

My copy of the book was excellent. Perfect font size and perfect thickness of pages.This is definitely Austen's most saddest story (persuasion being the most melodramatic one). Her humour remains intact throughout the suffering that our heroines go through. I do think amongst all her novels Eliza Senior and her daughter were the ones to have the most painful story which does make the novel quite depressing at one point.This is also the austen novel where we see barely much interaction with the girls and their love interests but yet she makes it worthwhile. Edward and Elinor were beautiful. His decision to always do right even if at the cost of person pain makes the happy ending even more glorious. Marianne's character arc was also very great. And Elinor definitely is one of Austen's strongest lead character.

Though old, it is still enjoyable

- Jane Austen's style is extremely distinctive and beautiful. It is impossible to resist the urge of reading her books especially when you just finished one. She alwaysmakes me come back for more. After reading pride and prejudice, I had to read this one and soon enough I'll be reading her all the works and I always admire the vibes of her books which are kinda soft, cozy and perfect reads for winters.- And, about S&S, I'd say that it wasn't upto my expectation 'cause I read the P&P first and henceforth, it automatically raises the bar.But, on the contrary, my ratings will be biased obviously because of Austen's style, she's such a great storyteller. Without moving my feet I just travelled the whole England of 18th century.- S&S describes a lot about how people used to think in that era and what used to be their topmost priorities. S&S wasn't upto my conjecture but I won't say that it disappointed me 'cause this book has a huge amount of things which are worth knowing and some of the things are so relatable which are quite common in today's date. Austen gives us so much to learn about sense and sensibility through Elinor and Marianne.