Emma: A Modern Retelling in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Mar 04, 2015 Julianne Dunn rated it really liked it

For the same reasons that Emma is no longer my favorite Jane Austen, I struggled with this book. This Emma is even worse than the original. She is pompous, vain, condescending, and unbearable. She has moments of enlightenment but any self-improvement is lost when she is confronted with something that doesn't go exactly as planned. McCall Smith has done a pretty good job of updating the story but there are a few things that don't make sense, like why aren't these people using more cell phones? Wh ...more

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Jun 09, 2015 Linda rated it really liked it

I love Alexander McCall Smith, love Jane Austen, the combination is strange but somehow I enjoyed it.

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Aug 23, 2015 Jessica rated it liked it

I thought this one was fun. I didn't know about the Austen Project, so I will checkout the other ones too. ...more

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Oct 31, 2015 taeli rated it liked it

Shelves: audiobook, library-book

read 11/3/15

A updated retelling of Austen's Emma that hits all the beats of the original. ...more

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Mar 12, 2019 Ruth rated it liked it

Shelves: ebooks

Perhaps the 2nd most successful of this series, after "Eligible." The author gets very close to the Jane Austen tone and writing style, but I found the character of Emma to be very annoying. Austen manages to make her, although flawed, a sympathetic character, and I didn't feel that here. ...more

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Apr 03, 2020 G-phy rated it liked it

Shelves: 2020

Three stars because it's Emma, but I really disliked this version. Everyone was kind of terrible and plastic. The aurhor seemed to get sick of the whole thing after the picnic and quickly wrapped it up. No ball at all! There was no Emma / Knightly slow burn. MEH! ...more

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