Manga Classics: Sense and Sensibility

In Jane Austen’s classic novel of heartbreak and passion, two sisters try to find love; but although they love each other deeply, they couldn’t be more different. Level-headed Elinor holds the family together as she struggles with her sense of duty and societal obligations, while impetuous Marianne, to her own sorrow, blithely follows her self-absorbed heart. This manga version does a good job of summarizing the emotional roller coaster in the original novel, keeping all the major plot points, though with much-streamlined text. The power of a manga novel is its ability to convey the characters’ emotions through expressive artwork, and many written scenes can unfold in just a few manga panels. This book does that very well, and it enjoyably presents the story in an engaging format that will be a great introduction to new readers of Austen. The story itself is fairly melodramatic, which, when condensed into such a space, takes on the superficiality of a French poodle with painted toenails, and the excess of weeping wanders far into the maudlin. But that is not the fault of this version. Blame Marianne.