Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters Giveaway

I admit, I've been skeptical of Quirk's latest JA mashup, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. P&P & Zombies was fun, but S&S & Sea Monsters seems a bit much, perhaps too much.

Readers will have to decide for themselves. Here's your opportunity--Stephanie over at Stephanie's Written Word (Everything Austen Challenge) is giving away several arc copies. Try to win one of them here.

Sense & Sensibility

Seeing the newest movie edition of Sense and Sensibility inspired me to reread S&S again. Much to my dismay I realized I didn't actually own a copy of this book and remedied that immediately. I ran to the local B&N and grabbed a B&N edition of the book.

First, let's take a look at the cover. I was about half way through the book when I stopped and stared at the cover for a moment. Do the women on the cover look like women from Regency England? They look a bit more like women from another time, maybe more Marie Antoinette like than anything else. This discrepancy bothers me. It will forever taint my copy of S&S now. Apparently, I am purist when it comes to things like this. Get it right people!

I did, however, enjoy reading S&S again. What struck me this time through, was that JA's sentence structure needed some help and vastly improved throughout her writing. S&S was the first published novel, and I felt like I could tell. Some of the sentences were lone paragraphs in and of themselves. And they were hard to discern. I had to read some of them outloud at times. I don't remember having such a problem with P&P or Persuasion or any other JA work for that matter. Does that mean her writing style changed or improved some? I don't know. Just food for thought.

Otherwise, it was an enjoyable reading of S&S. Elinor just as level headed as ever. Marianne just as emotional as ever. But one more question: Would Elinor really have forgiven Edward Ferrars so willingly and easily? I mean, he deceived her and she still things the world of him and finds no fault in him. In fact, he is more honorable because he chose to stick by Lucy. But he was not honest with his friends and with Elinor and shouldn't she have been upset with him?

Anyhoo. Just some thoughts.
5 Bonnets. :)

Sense and Sensibility Part 2

Sense and Sensibility's second part aired on Sunday night. It was a good culmination of the story, but I think I was a bit let down. I think that the first part did such a good job of setting the story and tone. It gave detail and didn't skip over things. The second part felt fast and perhaps somewhat rushed. All of the events happening so close together made the time go by quickly, but there wasn't the same time to savor the story in this part. Like the first part it is well done and I think if I sit and watch the whole adaptation straight through, I will find a bit more continuity to it. I was frustrated by the appearance of Willoughby after Marianne has been sick. Is it that disjointed in the book? He sort of appears out of nowhere. The same can be said for the appearance of the two Miss Steele's at the Ferris household. They were just invited there? What? What's the connection that would lead to such an invitation? I guess it's no wonder I just bought a new copy of S&S at B&N last week. We know what I will start to read later this evening....Overall, a great version. Andrew Davies wins my kudos again for a great screenplay of dear JA.

Sense and Sensibility Podcast (Thing 19, Part 2)

Masterpiece offers this sudo-podcast about S&S (I argue that it is not a podcast because it does not have a RSS feed/link to download it. It is only available on the webpage to listen to and not even download. But, they call it a podcast, so there it is.) by life coach Cheryl Richardson. There are two segments, one for each portion of the broadcast of S&S.

Part 1: Richardson offers these questions in relation to JA and S&S.
What speaks to you from this film? What is it that you might be longing for?
She notes several points that speak to her and I thought they were well thought out.

Simplicity: The simplicity in the film (and perhaps all of JA) speaks to her. It should make us stop and think about what we really want and how we might go about clearing our life from all of its clutter. I think that the film does a good job of showing the simplicity of life in the Regency era compared to the busy lives we lead now. I think that can be why JA still appeals to readers. Somehow we find refuge in the simplicity of the stories. There does not seem to be as much clutter and complications make from numerous committments and time constraints. Life was simple--a bit of gossip, wit, find a husband, Life was good.

Importance of connections & relationships. How do you relate to others? Do you have a support system in place for tough times. She notes how Mrs. Dashwood deals with the loss of her husband and the lack of her stepson's follow through of duty to she and her daughters. What did the others do?

She also notes that amount of containment or repression of emotion that takes place in the film. You just want to scream out and yell at the women who don't speak up and say what they are thinking or meaning. Instead, the stay proper and refined as a lady should. It can be maddening to watch!

Food for thought: Richardson points out to watch for the ocean and how it shows emotion in the movie. It connects certain periods in the film and certain character's emotions. She also says to pay attention to some of the characters and how the film uses light and dark to portray certain issues or certain sides of some of the issues or conflicts that arise in the story.

Part 2:
She asks us to identify which character of the book/film we identify most with? (In terms of obvious, free qualities and in terms of hidden qualities and similarities, good and bad.) I would have to say that I agree with Richardson and can identify with Elinor the most, but know that at times I exhibit (depending on the situation) parts of Marianne's personality. It is dependent on what the situation is. Mostly, I would argue, however, that the level headed, thinker would be easier for me to relate to. :)

The plot also makes a point of how important telling the truth is throughout the entire story. Pay attention to this theme and you begin to notice how it runs throughout the whole of the story. (Think Edward, think Willoughby, think Margaret, think Elinor and Marianne. All have points where this theme shines through.)

Sense and Sensibility Part 1

Sense and Sensibility was on Masterpiece last night. It's brand new adaptation of the book and it was worth it. Andrew Davies wrote the screenplay and it was apparent. It was well done and explained the story without confusion and without leaving certain details out. The actresses who played Elinor (Hattie Morahan) and Marianne (Charity Wakefield) both fit into the roles with ease. I enjoyed them and their acting and the script really let viewers get the differences between the two sisters. Really, I think it is the characterization that sets this version apart from Emma Thompson's version of S&S. The characters were very real and believable. The look and feel of the film also fits the Regency period. It feels damp and cold by the sea and even the colors (muted and darker, say at dinner) fit with what lighting must have been like. The use of light and dark is also well done (so far). There is a scene in which Marianne and Willoughby are in a window and she is all white in light and he is all dark in black. It's a great use of light and dark for setting some foreshadowing and what might happen.

So far, this adaptation does S&S justice, where other versions in the past, have not. (Despite how much I love Hugh Grant as Edward Ferrars. :)) My only disappointment was that it was only an hour and a half long instead of a full two hours in length for the episode. Until next week.