sea monsters rule the day

I’ve discovered, much to my surprise, that I like classic novel mash-ups. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies? A delicious farce, and one of my favorite books of the year. I won’t defend it as real or wonderful literature. I only found it extremely enjoyable. It was laugh-out-loud fun, and quotable too. Definitely something to throw out into the conversational arena when you need a little humor or a couple of raised eyebrows. So when I heard Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters was coming out, I was delighted. Actually cackled with glee.

From the publisher of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies comes a new tale of romance, heartbreak, and tentacled mayhem. Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters expands the original text of the beloved Jane Austen novel with all-new scenes of giant lobsters, rampaging octopi, two-headed sea serpents, and other biological monstrosities.

As our story opens, the Dashwood sisters are evicted from their childhood home and sent to live on a mysterious island full of savage creatures and dark secrets. Can they triumph over meddlesome matriarchs and unscrupulous rogues to find true love? Or will they fall prey to the tentacles that are forever snapping at their heels? This tale blends Jane Austen’s biting social commentary with ultraviolent depictions of sea monsters biting. It’s survival of the fittest—and only the swiftest swimmers will find true love!

So obviously Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters should be a favorite, just based on the title, and the description sounds pretty fantastic, too. And in parts it was hilarious. There were moments when I felt the need to read aloud. But unfortunately the combined effects of typographical, continuity and factual errors kept me from really enjoying the book. I felt that I couldn’t focus on the content for the sake of the grammar. That’s a shame (and a disappointment).

The book has an added mystery, which I quite enjoyed, as it gave the reader something to puzzle over while ‘admiring’ the addition of sea monsters to a beloved text. So it’s not just S&S PLUS sea monsters, it’s an extra parallel storyline. The thing was, during the last third of the book especially, this additional content was not integrated well into the whole, and mistakes such as spelling troops ‘troups’ were littered all over the place. I can forgive a lapse or two – as my brother Joey says, “I find a couple of typos a book.” It’s when you find that there are enough to count, to keep track of…that’s when the reading gets tough.

I got the feeling that this book was pushed through the editing process to make a deadline, and not given the same care and attention as the previous title, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Either that, or it was meant to look sloppy. In any case, I have a hard time recommending it because I wasn’t able to enjoy it fully. Here’s hoping for better luck with Quirk Classics in the future.

I read Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters for the Everything Austen Challenge hosted at Stephanie's Written Word.

sensing a return to the austen challenge

I haven’t been doing anything with the Everything Austen Challenge (put on by Stephanie’s Written Word) recently, but since Netflix is clamoring to have my latest DVDs back, I’ve been obliged to watch, and now review, a couple of films that are past due. For this entry I’ll talk about the 2008 BBC television mini-series production of Sense and Sensibility.

Emmy Award-winning writer Andrew Davies (Pride and Prejudice) stylishly interprets Jane Austen's beloved novel for this acclaimed BBC production. Formerly privileged sisters Elinor and Marianne can avoid poverty by attracting suitable husbands -- but will they also find true love? Filmed on location in the English countryside, the lavish miniseries stars some of the U.K.'s greatest actors and takes a more sensual approach than other adaptations.

It’s still quite possible that someone who hasn’t read the book or seen the 1995 movie adaptation may come upon this review, so I’m not going to include any spoilers. I’ll do a (very) brief introduction only. The scene: the second wife and three daughters of Mr. Dashwood, Sr. are left destitute after his death, when the oldest son (born of the first wife) inherits. They remove to a cottage some ways away, and the story follows the foibles and feelings of the two elder Misses Dashwood as they go about finding love and themselves. As always, chaos, bad manners, misleading characters and true love follow.

What I liked: Although in some ways it’s very unfair to compare two different film adaptations of the same novel, I’m going to do it anyway. I really do like Hattie Monrahan better than Emma Thompson in the role of Elinor. That’s nothing against Emma at all – she’s amazing. I simply felt that in the 1995 version she was rather advanced in years to play a convincing Elinor. This adaptation somehow captures the essential youth of the two heroines perfectly. I also liked Dan Stevens, the actor playing Edward Ferrars, and thought that the girl playing Meg, young Lucy Boynton, was quite good (and got a lot of well-deserved screen time). As a fun aside, I recognized Mark Williams, who plays Sir John Middleton, as Mr. Weasley in the Harry Potter films, and Billy the Goat in Stardust, another favorite.

What I Didn’t Like: The Palmers, who are so deliciously insufferable in the 1995 film version, barely make an appearance in this production. I felt that their characters could have been eliminated, as they added so little to the overall story and quality. And my only other complaint is that Lucy Steele didn’t get enough character development.

Though it was a bit long to view in one sitting (three one-hour segments), I thought the mini-series was beautiful and superbly cast, directed and produced. The gorgeous settings and cinematography set off delightful acting and a tight script. Although it’s billed as a more ‘sensual’ Austen adaptation, I found it simple, lovely, and not in the least bit vulgar. The film stays true to the essentials in the Austen original, and though it keeps tension high and the characters’ feelings open, it is all done in very good taste. I’d recommend this to Austen aficionados, and anyone who likes a good romantic tale. A-.