Emma
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Classics are hard to read, so I don’t pick them up as often as I feel like I should. The trick I’ve found is that I need to read each twice - the first time through is to get used to the language and start getting the names. The second time I can actually settle into and enjoy the story. This was my first read of Emma, so gets a tentative 4 stars that will likely get boosted on the next pass. Once I clicked into the older rhythm and started retaining people’s names I really enjoyed the story of excess. Emma is well-intentioned but over-indulged. What she lacks in lived experience she makes up in confidence, and she’s one hundred percent convinced she knows how everyone around her should be living their lives. Austen does a great job quietly cluing the audience into people’s actual intentions while leaving Emma happily oblivious, leading to second-hand embarrassment reminiscent of Parks and Rec.
If you can lean into over the top characters and self-inflicted drama you’ll love Emma. My only reservation was the age gap between Emma and her eventual love interest. Everything else in the book aged like fine wine, but big age gaps in romances - especially when the older one had any sort of guardian/mentor/authoritative role over the younger - will always rub me the wrong way. That being said it was a different time and the relationship seems healthy enough when focusing on their dynamics. If you like the idea of Jane Austen but are intimidated by jumping straight into a 200 year old book, Audible has a ‘original drama’ adaptation that features Emma Thompson as the primary narrator and a full voice cast of characters. Clueless the movie is also both excellent on its own and a very faithful adaptation of the original plot - I will admit to watching it before reading the book as ‘prep’.
I paired this with my favorite Earl Grey tea and my mom’s homemade cranberry bread because obviously. I have a small collection of teacups given to me over time by various relatives, so I used this as an excuse to break out one from my grandma. I’m trying to get better about actually using the things that bring me joy rather than always saving them for a future ‘special occasion’. If you read the book or grab one of the adaptations, let me know which you pick!
Mom’s cranberry bread recipe:
I don’t know, she knows I’ll visit every time she makes it so she keeps ‘forgetting’ to share it!
