Unfinished: Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

Title: Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

Author: Ben H. Winters and Jane Austen

ISBN:  1594744424

Pages: 320

Release Date: September 15th 2009 

Publisher: Quirk Books

Genre: Fiction

Source: FSB Media

Rating: Unfinished

From Goodreads.com:

From the publisher of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies comes a new tale of romance, heartbreak, and tentacled mayhem. Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters expands the original text of the beloved Jane Austen novel with all-new scenes of giant lobsters, rampaging octopi, two-headed sea serpents, and other biological monstrosities. As our story opens, the Dashwood sisters are evicted from their childhood home and sent to live on a mysterious island full of savage creatures and dark secrets. While sensible Elinor falls in love with Edward Ferrars, her romantic sister Marianne is courted by both the handsome Willoughby and the hideous man-monster Colonel Brandon. Can the Dashwood sisters triumph over meddlesome matriarchs and unscrupulous rogues to find true love? Or will they fall prey to the tentacles that are forever snapping at their heels? This masterful portrait of Regency England blends Jane Austen’s biting social commentary with ultraviolent depictions of sea monsters biting. It’s survival of the fittest—and only the swiftest swimmers will find true love!

Review:

Sadly, I just could not get into this book. I really, really wanted to like it because I love Jane Austen, I love Sense and Sensibility and I love silliness mixed into normally non-silly things. But by trying to read this book I discovered something about myself. I'm a purist. I do not like to see Jane Austen messed with! Jane Austen is one of the finest authors of all time and she was a master of the English language. Reading her writing is like sipping English tea from fine bone china. Reading this book was more like sipping Lipton from a coffee mug.

That's not to say that Ben Winters isn't a clever writer. He is. And the silliness of the sea monsters that he throws into Jane's story is funny and entertaining. Maybe if I weren't such a prude about Jane Austen I would have enjoyed it more. I tried my best, but eventually I had to put the book down and admit that I really would rather be reading Sense and Sensibility in it's pure form.

So in all fairness I cannot give a rating to this book since I did not finish it. All I can say is that for those of you who are not prudes, please do pick up this book. You might like it better than the un-silly version by Jane herself!