Evelina in Never too Late to Read Classics

Dec 31, 2019 Chrissie rated it did not like it

Shelves: love, humor, epistolary, disliked, 2020-read, georgian, classics, returned, audible-uk, england

I like neither the book nor the audiobook narration. I rate them here separately. Both I am giving one star.

I have not read many Georgian books, and this was supposed to be funny, so I thought I would give it a try. I was also curious because Jane Austen loved this author. I have tried to like the book, but I have utterly failed. The humor didn’t work for me. I would spot a line that clearly was meant to be funny, but I didn’t even crack a smile. The humor is satire, often related to what is all I like neither the book nor the audiobook narration. I rate them here separately. Both I am giving one star.

I have not read many Georgian books, and this was supposed to be funny, so I thought I would give it a try. I was also curious because Jane Austen loved this author. I have tried to like the book, but I have utterly failed. The humor didn’t work for me. I would spot a line that clearly was meant to be funny, but I didn’t even crack a smile. The humor is satire, often related to what is allowed and not allowed in society, but it is not funny because there is nothing new or imaginative. Often the humor borders on the slapstick, particularly at the story’s end. Slapstick bores me. I prefer humor that demands that one thinks. This is not what is delivered here.

Let’s look at the plot. The book is an epistolary novel. We learn about Evelina through letters, the letters she sends and those she receives--all sent in one year from April to October. We learn about Evelina and her family, and the question is who will make up “her family” in the future, and obviously, whom she will marry.

The plot is predictable. The telling is melodramatic. It is sentimental. It is a retelling of the Cinderella fairy tale, made unnecessarily long and convoluted. I prefer the shorter original. Evelina could easily be cut in half.

The prose style is florid. Super wordy. It takes a whole page to say one thing. You might think the writing is long because it is supposed to sound lyrical and pretty. It isn’t.

The characters are black and white cardboard figures. Beautiful Evelina is so darn sweet, wonderful and perfect. I prefer complicated, messy people—people who are real.

Did I give the book up when I discovered I disliked the audiobook narration? NO, I did not! Seriously, I wanted to give Frances Burney’s written words a real try. The audiobook has three narrators--Finty Williams, Dame Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer. The latter two read well, very well. I have no complaints whatsoever regarding their performance. It is Finty Williams’ narration that gives me trouble, and unfortunately, she reads much more than the other two. She reads Evelina's letters. Williams dramatizes, and in a fashion I vehemently dislike. She reads too quickly, her French is poor and worst of all is how she renders conversations. She intones the different characters in a manner making it difficult to distinguish who says what. Male and female characters sound exactly the same. Her voice is that of a young girl. The exception is when she mimics a laugh--her laughs are extremely loud, throaty and boisterous. When she laughs, I cringe. Much of the time Finty Williams’ voice is unpleasantly shrill. I have given the narration one star because it is Williams who reads most of the book and her narration I do not like.

I wanted to like this, but I don’t. If you don’t test different types of writing, you don’t know what you might end up liking. I will soon be trying more Georgian novels. I am hoping I will like them more. ...more

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May 31, 2014 Kate rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2014, england

"Evelina, the first and best of Fanny Burney's novels, tells the story of a young girl, fresh from the provinces, whose initiation into the ways of the world is frequently painful, though it leads to self-discovery, moral growth, and finally, happiness. Hilarious comedy and moral gravity make the novel a fund of entertainment and wisdom. Out of the graceful shifts from the idyllic to the near-tragic and realistic, Evelina emerges as a fully realized character. And out of its treatment of contras ...more

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Aug 19, 2020 Karen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001

I enjoyed this 1778 epistolary classic. I am not a huge fan of 18th century novels because they seem to be all plot and no character development. Having said that, I enjoyed this book, which according to author Michael Schmidt of The Novel: A Biography, was very well received when it was published, and influenced Jane Austen.

My only complaint is that the book was too long and drawn out. ...more

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Feb 16, 2009 Stacy rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: e-books, classics, read-in-2013, owned-books

This book started out really well, but became very tedious as it went along.

At the beginning, I could identify with Evalina as she did not know how to conduct herself during courting behavior. She ends up telling a lie to deflect an unwelcome suitor, but it turns into an embarrassing scene.

Here's where the story (or lack thereof) drags. Evalina has to stay with her crass grandmother. The grandmother and a male friend of the family argue constantly. Because these people spend all their time goin ...more

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