Before diving into the novel, here's a quick trailer of the movie adaption of the book from 1995. It'll just give you a gist of what the story is about, and also hopefully give you a more visual understanding, since the book is a graphic novel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJMnm28vAqQ
As you now hopefully see, the book revolves around the lives of two sisters who are pretty much opposites and their ups and downs as they deal with the ever-dramatic stories of love and heartache in the 18th century. Stacy King did a great job captivating this story and enhancing it with her art. I appreciated the detail she put into each page, even with just a couple of lines. We can see the moods and emotions of the characters with her illustrations. That being said, the story itself was interesting to say the least. There's a love story with Elinor (the older sister) and a man named Edward, a love story between Marianne (the younger sister) and a man named Willoughby, and yet another love story with Marianne and a man named Colonel Brandon. Though the separate tales of love with each couple were intriguing, I thought the relationship that the sisters had was the most captivating. They were obviously very close and it was refreshing to see a love story that highlighted other important relationships, like family in this case.
The way the characters spoke and dressed was also engaging because it allows readers to kind of travel in time. Because of this aspect, I found the book a lot more interesting. They would say and do things that were deemed romantic and symbolic in that time frame, but would probably seem really weird in our current society. For example, Marianne gave Willoughby a lock of her hair, which he kept in a box. This was to symbolize their love for each other and the possibility of engagement. What would I do if someone I was dating asked to keep a lock of my hair in a little box? Probably run. Edward also wore a ring that had a lock of hair wrapped around it. This was to have the same sort of message that the box of hair would. I found it equally as strange. Nonetheless, it was interesting to see the gestures and behaviors of the 18th century in this story.
Overall, it was an easy read with a lot of different aspects that made it a good book (for me, anyway). Some cons that people might not enjoy about it would be the admittedly dramatic reactions and plot line. I mean, I can't even count how many times they cried. It was also kind of predictable. Of course, even with all of the crying, drama and heartache, there was a happy ending where both sisters lived happily ever after with their significant other. Would you suspect anything else from a classic love story? Even so, I do think there are a lot more pros than cons to this novel. It was easy to follow, had engaging images, an interesting perspective, etc.
The way the characters spoke and dressed was also engaging because it allows readers to kind of travel in time. Because of this aspect, I found the book a lot more interesting. They would say and do things that were deemed romantic and symbolic in that time frame, but would probably seem really weird in our current society. For example, Marianne gave Willoughby a lock of her hair, which he kept in a box. This was to symbolize their love for each other and the possibility of engagement. What would I do if someone I was dating asked to keep a lock of my hair in a little box? Probably run. Edward also wore a ring that had a lock of hair wrapped around it. This was to have the same sort of message that the box of hair would. I found it equally as strange. Nonetheless, it was interesting to see the gestures and behaviors of the 18th century in this story.
Overall, it was an easy read with a lot of different aspects that made it a good book (for me, anyway). Some cons that people might not enjoy about it would be the admittedly dramatic reactions and plot line. I mean, I can't even count how many times they cried. It was also kind of predictable. Of course, even with all of the crying, drama and heartache, there was a happy ending where both sisters lived happily ever after with their significant other. Would you suspect anything else from a classic love story? Even so, I do think there are a lot more pros than cons to this novel. It was easy to follow, had engaging images, an interesting perspective, etc.
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