Austen in August - The Three Weissmanns of Westport

This review contains spoilers!

The Three Weissmanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'll admit, I cheated. Since I was listening to this, I sought out reviews with spoilers so I could see where the story was heading because the first disc interested me, but I didn't know if I wanted to keep listening. After reading the review with spoilers, I kept listening and I'm happy I did, this was a refreshing adaptation of Sense and Sensibility.

I'll also admit that Sense and Sensibility is my least favorite Jane Austen work, I've read it once and will probably never force myself to read it again. So when I saw in the spoiler reviews that the plot doesn't perfectly follow Jane's tale, I knew it would be worth my time to finish listening to this story.

The ages of the characters bothered me at the beginning of the story, but as the story went on I found that it worked with the direction of the plot. I liked Annie and Miranda more than I ever really liked Elinor and Marianne. I liked that Annie didn't take Fredrick back and that Marianne didn't end up with Roberts but that Annie does (or does she I really couldn't tell).

That wasn't the only change I enjoyed! Instead of suffering in silence like Elinor did, Annie lays into Miranda after she finds out that Fredrick has to do the honorable thing. While Miranda does get sick like Marianne does after her heart break, it's Betty our Mrs. Dashwood who really gets sick over her heartbreak.

There were so many things that reflected Jane's original work, yet changed them so they fit in with her (Schine) story. She changes up characters but has the fit perfectly into the rolls they are supposed to play that you can't help but just go along for the delightful ride this story turns out to be!

View all my reviews

Comments

Blind Date with a Book

Last year I put together a book display called Blind Date with a Book. I found the idea through another librarian's post and thought it was great. Last year I wrapped 19 books and 15 books were checked out. We asked that people reviewed the book but unfortunately only two people returned reviews. Last year's books included: In the Hot Zone by Kevin Sites Night by Elie Wiesel Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon by Daivd Michaels Macbeth by Shakespear A Million Little Pieces by James Frey Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore Under the Dome by Stephen King Lawless by Nora Roberts The Sinatra Files by Tom Kuntz The Help by Kathryn Stockett The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl Ford County by John Grisham The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery The Postmistress by Sarah Blake A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar Hide & Seek by James Patterson A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolf Gorgeous East by Robert Girardi Most of these books were ones tha

Nonfiction November: My Year in Nonfiction

Hosted by Sophisticated Dorkiness this week This week's prompt: Your Year in Nonfiction: Take a look back at your year of nonfiction and reflect on the following questions – What was your favorite nonfiction read of the year? What nonfiction book have you recommended the most? What is one topic or type of nonfiction you haven’t read enough of yet? What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November? What was your favorite nonfiction read of the year? I don't know if I can pick one favorite, I looked at my list and there are at least 10 that I really enjoyed so far this year. If I had to pick my top three they would be: Caffeinated by Murray Carpenter My Beloved World by Sonya Sotomayor I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai All three of these books really caught my attention and really made me take a look at my life. I saw how much of a caffeine addict I really am, how lucky I was to be born in the suburbs in New Jersey, and how with hard wor

Peek Inside a Book - Becoming

Book Beginnings on Friday from Rose City Reader The Friday 56 with Freda's Voice . This week I'm reading: Becoming by Michelle Obama It Begins: Preface March 2017 When I was a kid, my aspirations were simple. On Page 56: This was the doubt that sat in my mind through student orientation, through my first sessions of high school biology and English, through my somewhat fumbling get-to-know-you conversations in the cafeteria with new friends. Not enough. Not enough. It was doubt about where I came from and what I'd believed about myself until now. It was like a malignant cell that threatened to divide and divide again, unless I could find some way to stop it. Verdict: I'm really enjoying this look into Michelle Obama's life. It's comforting in a way to see that she has struggled with self image, self doubt and a need to be in control in an order to comfort herself. She talks about meeting new people while cam

Little Thoughts About Books and Stuff

Search This Blog