Time to share thoughts on Persuasion....

Persuasion has just aired as part of PBS's Complete Jane Austen. If you're part of the Jane Austen mini-challenge, you might have been watching as part of your challenge. But even if you're not "officially" part of the challenge, I'd be curious to hear what you thought about the movie and/or book.

I'm reserving judgment at the moment. I am a little over halfway through the book. (Anne has just gotten to Bath. The last thing I remember is her going to visit her friend Mrs. Smith.) But generally speaking, I thought the movie was good. It's always interesting to see how adaptations are cast. How other people envision a fictional character looking. But I must say, I was pleased with what I saw for the most part. Mary, in particular, looks like her character in my opinion. I would have thought Mrs. Clay might have been cast a little uglier, since they make a point of that in the book, but overall I was happy.

The storytelling was rushed, but I suppose that is to be expected in such cases. An hour and a half for such a complicated plot doesn't leave much time for enjoying the details and mellowing in the atmosphere. I do feel that if you haven't read the book at some point, you would probably be confused by the chaotic introductions of new characters and overwhelmed by the fast-changing scenes. If you'd stepped out of the room for five minutes or so, you could come back and be completely lost as to who was who and what was going on. But even if you missed a few of the details along the way, the heart of the story was simple enough to follow. And the romance strong enough that you *wanted* to keep watching.

What did you think? (Or should that be what do you think?) If you've watched the movie, does watching it make you want to read the book at some point? And if you've read the book, do you feel compelled to watch this version or another movie version? If you've both read and watched this one...what do you think? Did the movie do it justice? Which did you prefer?

If you've posted about the movie OR the book, feel free to leave a link in the comments. If you don't have a blog, or would prefer just to write your thoughts in the comments, that's fine too. I'm really curious to see what others think....

Here is my "official" review of the book with some further thoughts on the movie now that I've read the book.

Here are Tricia's thoughts.