{"id":28432,"date":"2016-01-26T23:44:52","date_gmt":"2016-01-27T03:44:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=28432"},"modified":"2016-01-26T23:44:52","modified_gmt":"2016-01-27T03:44:52","slug":"review-of-emma-by-alexander-mccall-smith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=28432","title":{"rendered":"Review of Emma, by Alexander McCall Smith"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"emma_large\"<\/a>Emma<\/p>\n

A Modern Retelling<\/em><\/p>\n

by Alexander McCall Smith<\/p>\n

Pantheon Books, New York, 2015. 361 pages.<\/p>\n

Oh Emma, Emma \u2013 I was reminded by reading this book that she\u2019s really an annoying character.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m a huge Jane Austen fan, and I\u2019ve been eagerly following the new modernized Jane Austen retellings as they\u2019ve come out, and on top of that I love Alexander McCall Smith\u2019s writings, so of course I wanted to read this one.<\/p>\n

But I almost stopped reading in the middle. Emma\u2019s snobbishness and superiority was a little more tolerable in the original, somehow embedded in the English class system. For a modern young woman to assume she has the right to manipulate people because she can? Not so endearing.<\/p>\n

It was somewhat endearing to occasionally notice Emma sounding like the ladies from the No. 1 Detective Agency or philosophizing like Isabella Dalhousie, but the characters put into the modern day weren\u2019t as likable to me.<\/p>\n

Also interesting was that the modern author took more time with the backstory than Jane Austen did, and spent about half the book before the classic novel even got started. Then some of the crucial scenes in the classic were skimmed over rather lightly.<\/p>\n

I have to say, though, that I did enjoy a small twist at the end, as the tables get turned a bit on Emma. It\u2019s also a much nicer ending for her father than the original.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think of my problems with the novel as Alexander McCall Smith\u2019s fault. Emma really is an annoying character, an interfering, manipulative busybody who thinks herself better than everybody else. Somehow I bought her view when it was dressed up in a historic period in England\u2019s history. Weren\u2019t the gentry actually better than everyone else? But modern day Emma I wanted to slap.<\/p>\n

Still, I did like the way this Emma thought over her shortcomings at the end. I felt like she gave them more weight and took things more to heart than classic Emma did.<\/p>\n

But most of the retellings have made me want to revisit Jane Austen\u2019s classics. This one made me realize that next time I see a reworking of Emma<\/em>, I\u2019ll be much happier giving it a miss.<\/p>\n

alexandermccallsmith.com<\/a>
\ntheaustenproject.com<\/a>
\npantheonbooks.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Fiction\/emma.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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