Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

Do Not Waste Your Time. While at first I thought this could be an interesting and amusing mash-up of Steampunk tropes and Austen's cynical yet understanding story, it was just an excuse to be...stupid.

Ben Winters did an amazing thing when he wrote this particular mash-up. He managed to turn Elinor Dashwood, one of the more admirable of Austen's characters, into a spineless, obtuse, and brain-dead spinster in a bonnet. Elinor's turn for accepting the realities of life, her ability to acutely assess the characters of those around her, and her awareness of herself and others was surgically removed so that assorted gruesome deaths, characters who are introduced so they can be killed off, and nifty tech seen only so we can watch it blow up show more can be introduced. By the time I was a third into the book, I'd determined Winters not only hated Austen with a deep passion and undertook this project because he needed beer and condom money, but he might not be very keen on the female of the species. The venom practically makes the pages sticky.

Extremely disappointing to anyone who either likes sea monster stories or who has the least little liking for the Austen original. Mr. Winters should be forbidden access to bookstores, computer keyboards, pencils, and chocolate for life. show less

3.5 stars

This retelling of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility” adds in some additional... characters, adventure, etc. in the form of sea monsters! The Dashwoods – mother and three sisters – are put out of their house and must move to an island. Their son/brother inherited all the money, and though he initially intended (on a promise to his dying father) on providing his family with some money, his wife convinces him they can’t afford to. Anyway, while on the island, they still manage to visit with a lot of people, and to find men for the eldest two sisters, Elinor and Marianne, to fall in love with (in fact, Marianne has a choice of two men... though one has an odd facial/health issue in the form of tentacles).

It was a show more bit hard to keep the characters straight, between using first names or sometimes a title with last names (Mr. or Miss). I thought the book did pick up in the 2nd half and especially the last 1/3 with the sea monster and underwater action! I did enjoy those parts of the book, odd as they might have been. There were some good illustrations that were added to the book, as well. It helped me picture some of the odd sea creatures. It also included humourous book club discussion questions, which I quite enjoyed reading, as well. show less

I loved this book. When I first started it I wasn't really sure where it was going to go, but since I've already read S&S w/o Sea Monsters a hundred times, and will 100 more, I gave it a shot. I eased into the pages (kindle style) fairly slowly, but the farther I got, the more I appreciated the amazing combination of Austenian social convention and incredible dry humor. The changes to the characters and the settings made me laugh out loud more often than not - I especially loved Colonel Brandon, and the recurring references to him - and I really appreciated what Winters did to make the plot stay cohesive and authentic while at the same time changing nearly everything.

Oh, and there are pirates. And an orangutan.

It was awesome.

In Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, Ben H. Winters reworks Jane Austen's classic novel into a tale with monsters, steampunk elements, and a touch of H.P. Lovecraft. The basic plot follows that of Austen's novel, focusing on the Dashwood sisters, but they find themselves living in England after the Alteration, when all the life of the sea has grown hostile to humanity and giant mutations of common sea creatures stalk the ocean and the shore. Some of Winters' more interesting additions include Sub-Marine Station Beta, a giant undersea domed city in which British scientists work to tame the newly-aggressive denizens of the deep while the more cosmopolitan members of English society enjoy a higher standard of living than those on show more land. The city evokes aspects of Jules Verne and Eugene Smith's interior illustration is magnificent. Recalling H.P. Lovecraft, one of the Dashwood sisters finds herself attracted to a mystery on the island on which the family vacations and begins chanting in a strange, guttural language. She joins a group living in caves that worship "a pantheon of cruel and hidden monster-gods called the K'yaloh. The K'yaloh were an ancient race, older than man, older than beast, older than the Alteration, older than time itself. They laid in slumber, waiting for the day of waking. When they woke, all that we know would be destroyed" (pg. 331). These elements notwithstanding, Winter's Austen-pastiche retains less of the original compared to Seth Grahame-Smith's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Due to that, it seems a parody of itself. Fans of the first Quirk Classics book will likely enjoy this, but it newcomers may not want to read this one first. show less

WARNING: This review contains spoilers.

I was originally quite skeptical of this book when I first heard about it. Sure, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was one thing, but really, wasn't this taking things too far? Then I read an article by Ben H. Winters, the adaptor/author of this book, that he wrote for Slate, and his obvious enthusiasm for the project intrigued me enough to add my name to the request list at the library.

Having read this one directly after reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I was perhaps on a bit of weirdness overload. However, I was also able to compare the two books more readily. This one contains a lot more sea monsters than P&P&Z does zombies, and Winters deserves high marks for imagination: among other show more things, Sub-Marine Station Beta is a neat addition, and having the Palmers live on a houseboat called The Cleveland was another interesting touch. And of course the descriptions of the various sea life were very good, with vivid writing and illustrations to bring the events home. The incident with the giant lobsters at Hydra-Z in particular was so evocative that I shall never be able to look at grocery-store lobsters the same way again.

Character-wise, I liked his expanded role for Lady Middleton, or at least giving her some more character than she has in the original -- in this one she is an island princess whom Sir John captured and brought home with him, along with Charlotte Palmer and their mother, who isn't really "Mrs. Jennings", but he calls her that because it amuses him. Lady Middleton is constantly busy plotting her escape from Sir John, and it's nice that she has something to motivate her throughout the story. In general, the women were more assertive, as was the case in P&P&Z... of course, with such horrifying events as the zombie plague and the unelaborated-on "Alteration" that has caused all sea creatures to turn against man, women would probably HAVE to be more assertive and capable of defending themselves.

All this being said, some of the additions were just weird for weirdness' sake (like Willoughby's orangutan valet, Monsieur Pierre), and at times the extra writing stuck out as extra writing, subject matter notwithstanding; that is, it sounded like a modern writer trying to sound old-fashioned. In particular the use of 'pon (instead of "upon") was rather jarring. Also I did NOT need to know about anything other than Col. Brandon's face being "multi-appendaged." EW.

To sum up, if you liked 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Sense and Sensibility, you may enjoy this too. It's silly, but quite entertaining. But be warned, some of the sea life attacking men incidents are kind of gruesome. show less

Nothing offended me more than in first year university English when I had to listen to a classroom full of people gripe and moan about Jane Austen, and how they thought Pride and Prejudice was like a soap opera. I sat there and blew steam out of my ears and looked forward to the day when I could discuss the book with people who actually understood how brilliant it was that you could compare her book, written between 1797 and 1813, with a modern soap opera.

But for Christmas this year, my good friend Mel gave me Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, and I've got to say, I think Quirk Publishing might have just found the way to make this book fun even for the nay-sayers!

They started with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (which I'm going show more to have to pick up now, since pride was always my fave anyhow), and then moved on to Sense and Sensibility.

Sense and Sensibility with Sea Monsters, is a great parody all in that dry humor vein which is so classically Austen. To begin with the book seems nearly identical to the original except for the comments thrown in to set up the sea monster theme; lots of them very comical. For instance Willoughby is a treasure hunter, and wears a wet suit for the entire book no matter what he's doing
"Marianne began now to perceive that the desperation which had seized her at sixteen and a half, of ever seeing a man who could satisfy her ideas of perfection, had been rash and unjustifiable. Willoughby was all that her fancy had delineated in that unhappy hour, and in every brighter period. He was the sun shining on smooth rocks; he was a clear blue sky after monsoon season's end; he was perfection in a wet suit."

As the story moves on there are progressively more and more fun changes, the fashionable hub of society is Sub-Marine Station Beta an under-the-sea city, instead of London. There are Pirates, and Sea witches, one of which has cursed Colonel Brandon to have a Squid face.
"Otherwise, he was very pleasant. His appearance, besides the twitching tentacles that overhung his chin, was not unpleasing, despite being an absolute old bachelor; for he was the wrong side of five and thirty."
And in almost every emotional scene there is an attack by some type of sea monster happening at the same moment. Picture Lucy unburdening herself to Elinor of her secret engagement to Edward while Elinor fights off a two headed Sea Serpent.

Finally, without giving away the big ending, i have to say there is a truly wonderful parody at the end of this book of the usual readers Discussion guide. "10. Is Monsieur Pierre a symbol for something? Name three other well-known works of Western Literature that feature orangutan valets. Are those characters also slain by pirates?"

This book had me giggling on and off for days, not to mention reading bits out for people whenever they'd listen. I highly recommend it for both Jane Austen fans and those who thought she was a bore in first year university.

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters
Published by Quirk Books, September 2009 show less

I love Austen's narrator's voice. In all her novels, I enjoy the gentle irony she writes with as she describes her characters, with all their quirks and eccentricities; their faults and failings. She always stops just short of mocking her characters, and allows you to laugh with her at their pride, selfishness and sillyness.

Winters does not bother stopping short of mockery. He leaps right over the line, heads straight past sillyness and ends up firmly in the territory of the ridiculous.

The "Alteration", an unexplained but often hypothesised about event in history, has caused sea creatures and humans to be at war. It's eat-or-be-eaten! Thus a pleasant beachside party of "tiki dances, crawfish fries and bonfires", swiftly becomes a show more situation of life and death, as a jellyfish "twice the size of the largest man present", "demonstrating itself to be faster than any creature lacking legs or other apparent means of locomotion ought naturally to be", advance on the party with the intent of consuming whomever it can catch. All the families enjoy a variety of seafood at every meal, and travel by sea has become dangerous indeed! Even a pleasant ramble renders one in danger of attack by giant octopus, if you are unfortunate enough to stumble into the brook!

This book follows the general plot and characterisation of Sense and Sensibility, while adding sea witches, pirates, and a fellow suffering from a cruel affliction, the addition of "a set of long squishy tentacles protruding grotesquely from his face". The difficulties of life in the "altered" Britain has also caused the characters to become adept at defending themselves from murderous sea creatures: says Marianne, "Margaret, we will walk here at least two hours, and if we are set upon by any sort of man-beast with lobster claws, I shall swiftly butcher it with this pickaxe I brought for that purpose".

Winters has also added a bit of steampunk (Victorian science fiction) to the book, by introducing Sub-Marine Station Beta, an undersea city ("the greatest engineering triumph of human history since the Roman aqueducts") where the fashionable set enjoy "undersea pleasure gardens and aquatic exhibition halls".

Did I enjoy this book? Yes I did, but I found that I had to read it in small doses. You have to enjoy silliness to enjoy this book, and occasionally the ridiculous factor got a little too high for me. If you enjoy Austen, it's worth a try. show less