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juushikaTitle: Northanger Abbey
Author: Jane Austen
Published: New York: Penguin Books, 1995 (1818)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 219 novel, 386 total
Total Page Count: 117,491
Text Number: 341
Read Because: fan of gothic literature, purchased from The Book Bin
Review: Come to Bath for the season, 17-year-old Catherine discovers friends who will educate her socially and falls in with the Tilney siblings, who live in an intriguing Gothic abbey. To call Northanger Abbey a Gothic satire (as I was introduced to it) is to overlook over half the book, which concerns itself with the social tableau of Bath and Catherine's evolving role and relationships within; this section draws on predecessors such as Frances Burney, whose work—while not unknown—is not so popular or culturally known today as Radcliffe's Gothic novels which inspire much else of the book. As such, Northanger Abbey can feel like two books uneasily combined into one; furthermore, it's exceedingly self-aware, which is both its joy and damnation. The book has a shifting focus, its satire is often heavy-handed, it demands self- and genre-awareness from the reader (yet its brevity and tone make it something of a pleasure read), but at its best it distills its genres critically and with great love. Northanger Abbey mocks the expectations of a heroine and the limitation of its own, yet creates an enduring and convincingly adolescent figure in Catherine; its social interactions can be frankly frustrating, but the dialog shines; it revels in the tritest of Gothic clichés, then mocks the reader who over-indulges in them, yet embraces the emotional sensitivity that underlies the impulse. To my surprise, this is the most success I've had with Austen. It's too much of a niche taste, and begs too much background knowledge, for me to recommend it outright. But in the end, the best satires require love: love enough to know, and engage, and represent the beloved; to make something of it which is incisive but meaningful. Northanger Abbey has that, and won my love in return.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
Author: Jane Austen
Published: New York: Penguin Books, 1995 (1818)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 219 novel, 386 total
Total Page Count: 117,491
Text Number: 341
Read Because: fan of gothic literature, purchased from The Book Bin
Review: Come to Bath for the season, 17-year-old Catherine discovers friends who will educate her socially and falls in with the Tilney siblings, who live in an intriguing Gothic abbey. To call Northanger Abbey a Gothic satire (as I was introduced to it) is to overlook over half the book, which concerns itself with the social tableau of Bath and Catherine's evolving role and relationships within; this section draws on predecessors such as Frances Burney, whose work—while not unknown—is not so popular or culturally known today as Radcliffe's Gothic novels which inspire much else of the book. As such, Northanger Abbey can feel like two books uneasily combined into one; furthermore, it's exceedingly self-aware, which is both its joy and damnation. The book has a shifting focus, its satire is often heavy-handed, it demands self- and genre-awareness from the reader (yet its brevity and tone make it something of a pleasure read), but at its best it distills its genres critically and with great love. Northanger Abbey mocks the expectations of a heroine and the limitation of its own, yet creates an enduring and convincingly adolescent figure in Catherine; its social interactions can be frankly frustrating, but the dialog shines; it revels in the tritest of Gothic clichés, then mocks the reader who over-indulges in them, yet embraces the emotional sensitivity that underlies the impulse. To my surprise, this is the most success I've had with Austen. It's too much of a niche taste, and begs too much background knowledge, for me to recommend it outright. But in the end, the best satires require love: love enough to know, and engage, and represent the beloved; to make something of it which is incisive but meaningful. Northanger Abbey has that, and won my love in return.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
