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theanitaalvarez 's review for:
Austenland
by Shannon Hale
2.5 stars. It delivered as promised, but nothing else.
This isn't a bad book, but didn't blow my mind either. It was a nice read, light and easy, as chick-lit books are supposed to be. So I guess that's s good point. But on the whole, it didn't do much for me. I like when I'm able to feel passionately about a book and its characters. This book general feeling was something more on the lines of "meh".
I felt that the relationships were shallow (and, mind you, relationships in Austen are everything BUT shallow) and somewhat predictable (though I guess Austen's are also a little predictable). The characters were stereotypes and so on, so I had a hard time trying to feel the connection between them and myself. In the end, this book didn't move me at all. I like when books leave me something, leave me thinking about some issue or something. It was entertaining and fun, but by no meand was it a great book.
I had lots of problems with Jane, the main character. At some points I just wanted to tell to grow up and act like an adult, as she was acting like a teenager. I can get having a huge crush on a literary character, but her building her life on it was annoying. I got to like her in the end, though. When she realizes that living a fantasy is not good and decides she wants something real, she took quite a step. I like characters who grow up. And I liked her epiphany. Yes, fantasies are all nice and perfect, but the real thing is always so much better. Just because it is real. Yes, probably the guy won't be all dreamy and perfect, but love has never been about idealized perfection. At least, it has never been so for me. And if you live in fantasy all the time, you might never live at all. After all, life is not only about the good moment, but also about heartbreak, grief and moving on. So when she finally got that, she became a lot more real and relatable.
Anyway, I'll watch the film. I have the strong feeling I'll like it a lot more than the book.
EDIT AFTER THE FILM: As I expected, it works a lot better than the book. Though it might be because it was JJ Feild. It was a nice, simple film and I enjoyed more than I did the book.
This isn't a bad book, but didn't blow my mind either. It was a nice read, light and easy, as chick-lit books are supposed to be. So I guess that's s good point. But on the whole, it didn't do much for me. I like when I'm able to feel passionately about a book and its characters. This book general feeling was something more on the lines of "meh".
I felt that the relationships were shallow (and, mind you, relationships in Austen are everything BUT shallow) and somewhat predictable (though I guess Austen's are also a little predictable). The characters were stereotypes and so on, so I had a hard time trying to feel the connection between them and myself. In the end, this book didn't move me at all. I like when books leave me something, leave me thinking about some issue or something. It was entertaining and fun, but by no meand was it a great book.
I had lots of problems with Jane, the main character. At some points I just wanted to tell to grow up and act like an adult, as she was acting like a teenager. I can get having a huge crush on a literary character, but her building her life on it was annoying. I got to like her in the end, though. When she realizes that living a fantasy is not good and decides she wants something real, she took quite a step. I like characters who grow up. And I liked her epiphany. Yes, fantasies are all nice and perfect, but the real thing is always so much better. Just because it is real. Yes, probably the guy won't be all dreamy and perfect, but love has never been about idealized perfection. At least, it has never been so for me. And if you live in fantasy all the time, you might never live at all. After all, life is not only about the good moment, but also about heartbreak, grief and moving on. So when she finally got that, she became a lot more real and relatable.
Anyway, I'll watch the film. I have the strong feeling I'll like it a lot more than the book.
EDIT AFTER THE FILM: As I expected, it works a lot better than the book. Though it might be because it was JJ Feild. It was a nice, simple film and I enjoyed more than I did the book.