Emma by Jane Austen

I tried to read this book about 8 years ago, just as I was finishing up my last semester of college, and I couldn't get through it. I think my brain was fried and couldn't handle any kind of intellectual literature. Now that I've been a mom for almost 4 years, my brain is still fried, but in a different way. At this stage in my life, reading some Jane Austen was like drinking a cool glass of water on a dry, hot day. I reveled in the language and enjoyed immersing myself in the English gentry of the early 1800's.

Emma is a delightful story. I've always loved the movie and was delighted to find the the book very closely follows the 1996 Gwyneth Paltrow adaptation. It is a story of a young woman who successfully set up her governess with a man in town and becomes determined to play matchmaker for those around her, particularly her friend Harriet. Unfortunately, she's not very good at what she does and continually misreads the people and situations in which she finds herself, resulting in some comedic blunders.

If you enjoy Jane Austen and other similar authors and have not yet read Emma, do yourself a favor and read it! It is wonderful. It takes a little patience; I definitely had to skim some parts (aka, any time Miss Bates started talking), but I am so happy I finally read this one. It's been on my mental to-read list for years.

4.5 out of 5