Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Reading Assignment Twelve

Hey!

I'm a little farther into Emma... it's still just okay (sorry!). I'm still suspending judgement, but Emma is losing me fast. It's just not as interesting as I'd hoped. I'm just not hooked. And I'm trying to diagnose my lack of interest. It made me think of reasons that a book would make me drag my feet. It could be:

  1. The characters aren't worth investing my emotions
  2. I don't have any idea what's happening?!??!?!
  3. Nothing has happened.
  4. Nothing will happen.
  5. Someone else suggested it and I'm only reading it because they wanted me to.
Out of those five reasons, I think that number three applies: nothing has happened. Well, nothing that has caused any tension has happened. In the course of what I have read, there has been a wedding, a dinner, and two people meeting and becoming friends. Of all this, there is no mounting suspense. I'm not subconsciously wondering, "What will happen next?" Emma is, well, boring right now. However, I'm not giving up. When I read Austen the first time, she trained me to wait for the "big moment." I know that little things will start to add up, and that something will happen when I least expect it. Now it is a waiting game of finding those pieces that push the story forward.
I really do think that this Mr. Knightley will play a big role with Emma. I also think that Harriet Smith is going to have a significant role in the plot of this story. I'm just full of predictions. They make the reading more interesting.

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