Northanger Abbey
Author: Jane Austen
Rating: ā 4/5
Date Read: 2014/03/27
Pages: 254
Oh Jane Austen, you never cease to be charming, do you? In Northanger Abbey, the brilliant Miss Austen manages to lampoon Gothic novels and produce her typical story of upper-crust society shenanigans, which ends up being ridiculously enjoyable.
Her heroine, Catherine Morland, is a teenage girl who has had her (rather subpar) brain ruined by the voracious reading of novels, a la [b:Don Quixote|3836|Don Quixote (Don Quijote de la Mancha)|Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1364958765s/3836.jpg|121842]. And yes, dear Catherine really is stupid, as she fails to pick up on any of the social subtleties present in her particular milieu. This idiocy comes to a head when she leaves Bath for Northanger Abbey, where she manages to come up with all manner of unlikely explanations for perfectly ordinary behaviors. Hilarity ensues.
*replace Karen with Catherine and you have a good image of what I looked like whilst reading this novel.
4 stars, because, while Austen manages to be quite as funny as always, sheās not particularly scathing. Which is too bad, because I like scathing (thereās a reason why [b:Persuasion|2156|Persuasion|Jane Austen|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1385172413s/2156.jpg|2534720] is my favorite of Austenās novels, and not only because Iām also 27 and, thus, probably a washed up old maid). And the ending kind of hit me in the face, as if Austen was like āOk, gotta finish this real quick so I can go to the ball!ā
