Sense & Sensibility

Very disappointed. I expected a fresh take on the Austen original, but instead all I got was a poorly written replica of the original with iPods, Twitter and Facebook thrown in to make it seem more current.

If it was set in the current day, surely not everyone would be getting married in their late teens. And be relying on mommy for their money? Surely the women would get real, professional jobs and not simply wish to marry well?

What I like about Jane Austen is that despite writing over 200 years ago I feel I understand the characters, this retelling though... Who are these people? They are like a combination of “Absolutely Fabulous” and some British reality show.

I feel very lukewarm and quite frustrated towards this book. It's a straightforward, not very original update of Austen's novel. What I love about the original is that Austen conveys the emotions of the characters in such a subtle way. Unfortunately I feel like Trollope fails at this and the characters end up annoying and insipid. Add to this the feeling that the social media references were written by someone who has little concept of the modern world and a Margaret Dashwood talking slang that dates the book immediately and what I got was a big pile of disappointment. If I hadn't read the original I might have found it an instantly forgettable romance, as it was I don't think that it really deserves to have Jane Austen's name on it.