Mansfield Freakin Park

Must. Finish. Mansfield. Park.

Most tedious book ever.

Can't quit now.

Can't wait to finish.

Comments

[mimi]

I hated Mansfield Park. Worse yet was Middle March. Boring!!! I guess every book can't be great...

[Karen]

Middlemarch was astonishingly tedious.

[Teresa]

Gasp! I love Mansfield Park - it's a wonderful book. It's funny, many of Jane Austen's own relatives (who naturally loved her work) hated Mansfield Park. It also causes a lot of interesting discussions amongst Janeites... especially concerning the wishy-washy hero and the vastly more appealing villan.

Totally agree about Middlemarch, though! Tedious and boring, as are most of George Elliot's books.

Try some Nancy Mitford next if you feel the need to scrub your brain and want something TOTALLY different. She's a riot! Or one of my other favorite: Stella Gibbons.

[Alison]

Love the photo!

I've been known to stop reading tedious books. The Fountainhead comes to mind.

On the other hand, I found Atonement tedious at the beginning, but then couldn't put it down, so I don't know what to tell you.

[Alan]

Why spend time reading something you are not enjoying? Are you going to be taking a test? Does not finishing the book stand between you and a big prize? It does stand in the way of reading something that does grab you.

I'd move on to another book, as I am sure you have a long list of others you would like to read.

[Kathryn]

Allow me to clarify--my standard operating procedure is to ditch a book after 100 pages if I hate it or I'm just not getting anything out of it. (The only exception to that is when I'm reading a book club book--then I'll give it 200 pages before throwing in the book.) I used to hate to quit a book without finishing, but I got over that about 20 years ago when I realized life is too short and there are way too many good books waiting to be read.

I plowed through to the end of Mansfield Park (review pending) for two reasons: one, it's Jane Austen, and she only wrote, what five books? So I figured it wouldn't kill me to read them all. The second reason is this book is part of my Presidential Bio Project; Mansfield Park and J. Austen being popular reading during the period of James Madison's presidency.

(PS--Thanks for the tip on Atonement, Alison. That's on my short list to read. I'll know to expect the beginning to be slow going.)

[Elaine Simpson-Long]

Oh dear two of my favourite books!!
Middlemarch is one of the greatest Victorian novels every written and is truly wonderful. HOWEVER, I agree that there are tedious parts, mainly those where Ms Eliot spouts forth about religion, and there I do skip and always will. the story is terrific.

First time I read Mansfield park I wanted to get hold of Fanny Price and shake her and really disliked the book. I have now read it several times and can now say that I think it is, perhaps, her best. Layer upon layer of deceit and double meaning throughout and I have come to love Fanny, annoying she may be, meek she may be, but she sticks to her guns throughout no matter what crap is thrown at her and she earns the love and respect of those at Mansfield Park. BBC did an excellent version of this some 20 years ago now, but the latest one with billie piper was truly DIRE.

Both books are wonderful...promise

Sorry me again
just to prove that I am not sticking my nose up in the air at you and thinking, how can they possibly say that about Eliot and Austen, may I say that I would rather stick needles in my eyes than read Wuthering Heights again.

[Kathryn]

Elaine, thanks for your comments in support of Fanny and MP. I can see your point. I've had the 1999 film version of MP on my Netflix queue for ever, waiting until I read the book. Perhaps watching that I'll find myself liking and rooting for Fanny more. Next up on my Brit Lit reading list: Cranford, by Elisabeth Gaskell. Fingers crossed.

[pam]

I, too, tried to read Mansfield Park but found it too tedious to continue. But it's Jane Austen; she deserves a second chance, and I'll give her one someday soon.