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Emma |
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A comedy of manners, Emma portrays the spoilt, snobbish, yet charming Emma Woodhouse as she delightfully interferes in the relationships of others without taking much notice of her own heart. Although quick to make prejudgments and decisions, Emma is eventually able to notice her mistakes, and it is this revelation that makes her an endearing heroine and an inspiration to women throughout. Austen has not only created, but also brought to life the world inhabited by her characters through her vivid depictions and clever use of wit.
The novel begins with the introduction of the twenty-year-old protagonist described by the all-knowing narrator as “Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich with a comfortable home and happy disposition”. He also warns readers of Emma’s high self-confidence and her efforts of having everything her way. Living on the large estate of Hartfield in Surrey with her elderly widowed father, Emma is satisfied with her life and sees no need for romance or a marriage of her own. Instead she views herself to be quite the matchmaker after attending the wedding of her former governess and best friend Anne Taylor and Mr. Weston, whom she has introduced to one another. This new role as matchmaker is further inflamed when she befriends the sweet but not so bright seventeen-year-old Harriet Smith. Emma is determined to find a suitable match for her new best friend and believes that Harriet deserves a gentleman and nothing less. A trusted friend and brother-in-law, George Knightley appears to be the only person openly criticizing Emma’s actions and pointing out her faults. As the novel progresses so does the positive transformation of Emma as she evolves from her self-centered ways into a sympathetic woman well aware of others and her own desires.
Emma is often labeled as Austen’s most flawless piece of work, as she explores social issues concerning the difficulties women face living in a society and time when social status defined their very existence. A classic depiction of youthful pride and a misinterpretation of signs, Emma is not without reason celebrated as one of the most revered social comedies. |
Reviews (Rated: 3 Stars - 26 reviews) |
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Reviewer: Good book, decent reader - January 19, 2021 I like the book so far, but I don’t understand everyone’s quarrel with the reader... she isn’t perfect, but I find her reading soothing and calm. |
Reviewer: Natalie - August 1, 2020 Subject: Emma I can't with this reader. I tried. It's so flat and boring. Unfortunate for a great book. |
Reviewer: Mara - June 29, 2020 Subject: Reader Very hard to follow, reader sounds robotic, no emotion, lost interest after first chapter. Rather watch the movie. |
Reviewer: Michelle - March 27, 2018 Subject: Emma Terrible reader. Didn't make it halfway. Please get a reader with expression. |
Reviewer: Kona - March 4, 2018 Subject: Awesome book and reader I have a slight obsession with Jane Austen, so this review may be a bit biased. Take it as you will. Emma is a wonderful story and I love it. The reader is great and easily understood. Some Librivox readers are irritating and sound like robots or are boring. But this reader did really well with Emma. |
Reviewer: User - November 2, 2016 Even the robot is better than the reader. |
Reviewer: Grace - May 21, 2016 Subject: Perfection I loved this book, and it I have realized that I love audio books better than books! Really good job! |
Reviewer: Sara - December 21, 2015 Subject: Emma A real pageturner,simply a classic |
Reviewer: Laura - July 31, 2015 Subject: Emma reader sounds robotic, very hard to follow and stay interested in listening. |
Reviewer: Lnh - July 26, 2015 I'm vey sorry to have to write this review, but this is a terrible narration of this book! The reader's singsong voice is extremely distracting! I know this book inside out and it was even hard for me to listen to it ! Please consider another reader! :-/ |
Reviewer: ereen - April 30, 2015 Subject: my opinion it's my first time listening to audiobook. i realised i love reading more than listening. it's poorly narrated. |
Reviewer: sydney - March 2, 2015 Subject: ok The reader was ok I heard her clearly shows pronounced words correctly and paused and stopped d when needed to |
Reviewer: Alissa - September 18, 2014 I thought the reader was just fine. She was easy to understand, and changed her voice for different characters. Classic Jane Austen. Well done. |
Reviewer: PJ - February 16, 2014 Subject: Not bad When you start listening to this reader it is a bit disturbing. But as she goes on she gets much better, or you get used to her. She is very articulate and differentiates between most voices. I don't know if I could do as well. Enjoyed. |
Reviewer: User - January 23, 2014 The reader has an extremely bizarre cadence which makes her sound extremely robotic. |
Reviewer: Iris - January 8, 2014 I think the reader did a alright job though she isn't my most favorite. |
Reviewer: Eivrin - November 18, 2013 Subject: Emma They must have changed reader because the one I just heard this last week was a very good one. No foreigner accent and in dialogs she even deepened her voice to distinguish male lines from female ones. I really prefer just one reader per book, unless each character has its own reader. |
Reviewer: User - November 18, 2013 I just couldn't finish this. It was too painfully narrated. |
Reviewer: Malissa - November 8, 2013 This reading was not difficult to follow at all. It's true the reader has a bit of a lisp or accent, but I think she has good voice inflection and keeps a good pace. I quite enjoyed the reading. Like another reviewer said, it is leaps and bounds better than some of the terrible readers. |
Reviewer: S - October 26, 2013 Subject: Reader Terrible reading - so sad to diminish this masterpiece |
Reviewer: Mindy - September 25, 2013 I disagree with all the negative remarks. She may have somewhat of an accent in the beginning, but as the story progresses she I think she does really well. Much better than some of the other books I've listened to on here. At least there is only one reader, instead of jumping to a new person with every chapter. |
Reviewer: Ebol - August 16, 2013 Subject: Emotionless The reader is awful!!! |
Reviewer: User - May 30, 2013 Please give more care to choosing your readers. This one had an annoying regional dialect and lacked any expression. The monotone was very disappointing and hard to listen to for any duration of time. |
Reviewer: Mummy BH - April 21, 2013 Subject: Robotic voice The voice is very robotic, there is no emotion and is too fast. I have never read the book and was really looking forward to listening to it, but I am finding it such a drudge and I am sure I am missing some of the story. |
Reviewer: George - March 8, 2013 Subject: ... I hold no complaint against any of Jane Austen's novels. The reason I give such a low rate to this audiobook concerns only the reader. Her lack of pitch and emotion transforms a masterpiece into a boring sequence of words. She makes no difference between narrative and dialogues, and she holds a certain tone that makes her sound robotic. |
Reviewer: User - January 30, 2013 All Jane Austen's novels are great but sometimes difficult to understand for non-English-speaking people. But anyway I enjoy reading them and Emma isn't an exception. Only the voice of the reader of this book doesn't please at all for its having a disagreeable accent and a low degree of emotionality. |