Impossible Classics

Emma. Middlemarch.

Do these words ring a bell to you? I suppose the former is more likely to do so than the latter.

Emma is another of Jane Austen's works which has been made into movies (why the plural form? because there are more than one version) along with other works like Sense and Sensibility. While I enjoyed Emma (the movie) less than Sense and Sensibility (the movie), I haven't got the book about the later to compare to Emma.

Overall, I liked her style, however I found certain sentences not quite easily disgested although the meaning could be gleaned from the overall direction of the passage. Due to the length of the book, I have to admist I gave up finishing it and skipped straight to the last few chapters after a while. In contrst to this, as I may have posted before, I read and enjoyed Norhanger Abbey from beginning to end.

As for Middlemarch, it is a well received book and young people are encouraged to read it the world over. The writer assumed a man's name - George Elliot - in order to publish her book without the ensuing public outcry or criticism that comes with being a woman who is a writer in her time. However, I found it a little dry and way too long to sit through (it is even thicker than Emma).

So I proceeded to do what I did with Emma earlier and be done with it. It should be noted though, I find the description of life in those days rather romantic and charming. The leisurely hours, long walks (which can't be had here in Malaysia, a pity really), tea, dances and conversations are things that I always read with a certain longing.

Modern life does not allow us many of the above and in some cases where I live in doesn't allow me the above walks, unless I want to subject myself to being hot and sweaty while in the company of a love interest or good friend (which is who the heroine usually is with when indulging in walks) but I could still learn to dance and look very hard for a place where dances are done in a social manner.

Oh can someone please tell me why I am still living in this country?