Review: Manga Classics: Sense and Sensibility - Adapted by Stacy King, Art by Po Tse

Manga Classics: Sense and Sensibility, adapted by Stacy King and illustrated by Po Tse, covers the general story arc of Jane Austen's story of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood.  The sisters must navigate through the waters of change when the death of their father forces them to relocate in a smaller home away from the estate that they grew up in.  Elinor exhibits a temperament that reflects more "sense" than emotion, while Marianne is more romantically inclined and prone to flights of feeling rather than exclusively being governed by sense.  Perhaps it would be better to say that Marianne would rather follow her heart than necessarily do the sensible thing.  When I was first acquainted with Austen's original novel, it took me a while to figure out that her use of the word, "sensibility," had more to do with emotions, rather than rational thought.  Anyways, the sisters' temperaments guide their thoughts and behavior when prospective suitors appear, and both are not immune to the pain and turmoil that results when their lives do not unfold as they hope. 

It took a couple of hours for me to read the book in one sitting, and I enjoyed reading this version.  I didn't want to leave the book until it was finished.

Besides the story itself, I enjoyed reading the commentary that was provided on the novel's themes about sensible thought versus emotional reaction.  Stacy King mentions that every character had to balance sense with sensibility in their choices.  This wasn't something that I had considered before when I read the original novel in the past; I had only considered the choices for Elinor and Marianne, but it makes sense that the other characters also had to wrestle with their own choices.  It was also interesting to read about the social habits of the 19th century, especially about how men and women met, and about what acceptable behaviour was.  Explanations are given to explain how Marianne's behaviour was so scandalous, for she had violated a number of social rules of propriety. 

It was also interesting to look at the Character Design Sketchbook that appeared in a couple of pages at the back (the left side of the book, because, after all, this is truly a manga book which reads from right to left).  Po Tse's commentary about how he drew the various characters to reflect certain character traits increased my appreciation of this adaptation while reading it. 

Sense and Sensibility is the third adaptation that I've read from Manga Classics, (Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre being the other two,) and I've come to the opinion that this series is a good gateway to get younger readers interested in reading classical literature.  For Janeites, apparently, there is also a Manga Classics version of Emma which I haven't read yet, but will be glad to put on my "to read" list.  I would dearly love to see other adaptations of Jane Austen's work in the future, particularly for Persuasion, and Mansfield Park. 

According to Manga Classics' Facebook page, an adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo will be coming soon, so I'll be keeping my eyes open for that in 2017. 



Disclaimer:  I received an e-copy of "Manga Classics: Sense and Sensibility" by Stacy King and Po Tse from NetGalley in exchange for a review.  All opinions stated in this review are mine. 

Review: Manga Classics: Jane Eyre - Adapted by Crystal S. Chan, Art by SunNeko Lee

I first read Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre many years ago when I was in grade 12.  There was a lot of excitement in the female portion of the class; we were getting a chance to read Romantic literature in English and Mr. Rochester was supposed to be a sigh worthy figure.  For some reason, our class didn't get very far with the novel.  I think that we were assigned to read it over spring break, and we may have been required to write an essay.  However, I don't recall that our class went very deep into studying this novel, probably because of time constraints to make sure that we covered the prescribed curriculum before June arrived. 

This is my memory of reading Jane Eyre:  it was a dry reading experience for me.  The diction might have bogged me down.  I seem to recall that there were about two to three pages devoted to a description of a painting.  My teenage mind probably stalled upon reading that, wondering why so much space was devoted to that and not to the romance.  However, I can't confirm that this is true or if I mixed that fact up with some other novel that I may have read at around that time, because I have not read Jane Eyre since.  I also have to confess that I'm not a big fan of any of the Bronte sisters, because one of them dissed Jane Austen's writing.  Yes, I'm more for Team Austen than for Team Bronte. 

Anyways, Manga Classics will be releasing their own version of Jane Eyre, adapted by Crystal S. Chan, with the art drawn by SunNeko Lee.  This graphic novel captured my interest as it described the story of Jane Eyre, a plucky and strong minded orphan who grows up to become a governess for the ward of her employer, Mr. Rochester, who eventually becomes her love interest.  However, there are strange and bizarre happenings at Thornfield Hall, the home of Mr. Rochester, which may interfere with their romance.

Most of what I know of Jane Eyre is from two visual adaptations, a BBC series starring Timothy Dalton and Zelah Clarke, and a movie starring Samantha Morton and Ciaran Hinds.  It's almost embarrassing to admit that I'm comparing the content of the Manga Classics version against the movies that I watched years ago.  The graphic novel contains a few pages of commentary about adapting the novel to manga format; some changes were made in the order of the narrative to build suspense at the end of each chapter, and also to strengthen the cohesiveness of the story through foreshadowing.  There was a small section about how the manga adaptation was better able to convincingly execute a particular plot point than the television or movie versions (where Mr. Rochester disguises himself as a female gypsy).  I had read those notes before reading the manga, and had almost forgotten to check if it was very obvious that a man was trying to masquerade as a woman, so I'll agree that manga is probably more able to carry that deception off.   

I'm not a manga expert, but most of the art work appeared to be in the shoujo style.  There were probably only a couple of frames in the narrative that contained the chibi style.  The dark and brooding mood of the novel might not lend itself to levity and light heartedness that suits chibi drawings.  For a plain female, Jane appears to be pretty and cute, but my understanding is that the appearance of plain heroines in any manga story is non-existent.  Mr. Rochester looks sufficiently mature, and he's got great hair! 

Would I recommend reading this version?  I would say, "Yes," for the following reasons:  my daughter expressed an interest in reading this version when she saw what I was reading.  Who wouldn't want their kids to have a interest in reading classic literature, even though it is adapted?  Also, after reading this, I'm thinking about giving Bronte's original version another look.  Not even watching the movies was able to move me enough to want to take the novel up again, but this version has stirred up my interest. 


Disclaimer:  In exchange for a review,  I received from NetGalley an e-copy of "Manga Classics: Jane Eyre," by Crystal S. Chan and SunNeko Lee.  All opinions stated in this review are mine.