Valentine week - 3

Top romantic novels.. They definitely have an impact on the cynical outlook a person acquires after heart break (or whatever)

1. Pride and Prejudice

First published - 1813

Author - Jane Austen

Sparks fly when spirited Elizabeth Bennett meets single, rich, and proud Mr. Darcy. But Mr. Darcy reluctantly finds himself falling in love with a woman beneath his class. Can each overcome their own pride and prejudice?

My comments: My alltime favorite. I see the novel as fight between ego and attitude. I find myself closer to the mentality of Elizabeth. So was able to appreciate it a lot.

2. Sense and sensibility

First published - 1811

Author - Jane Austen

The story is about Elinor and Marianne, two daughters of Mr Dashwood by his second wife. The contrast between the sisters' characters is eventually resolved as they each find love and lasting happiness. Through the events in the novel, Elinor and Marianne encounter the sense and sensibility of life and love.

My comments: Truly delight for people who think sensibly. Elinor my favorite.

3. Wuthering Heights

First published - 1847

Author - Emily Bronte

The narrative tells the tale of the all-encompassing and passionate, yet thwarted, love between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, and how this unresolved passion eventually destroys them and many around them.

My comments: AH!! I can't explain in words how I felt reading this one. You need to think out of the box to understand this one. I literally cried reading the lines of Heathcliff when Cathy dies. How destructive the plot may be, how unchanging cruel the male protagonist may be, I still loved this one.

4. Gone with the wind

First published - May 1936

Author - Margaret Mitchell

American classic in which a manipulative woman and a roguish man carry on a turbulent love affair in the American south during the Civil War and Reconstruction.

My comments: How beautiful the plot, description and everything may be, I have a problem of disliking a story without uniting or atleast poetic justice. So, obviously I wouldn't be able judge this one properly. Have good time reading it.

5. Jane Eyre

First published - 1847

Author - Charlotte Bronte

Jane refuses to become Mr. Rochester's paramour because of her "impassioned self-respect and moral conviction." She rejects St. John Rivers' Puritanism as much as the libertine aspects of Mr. Rochester's character. Instead, she works out a morality expressed in love, independence, and forgiveness.

My comments: I haven't read this yet but heard the story in detail from many people. Each time I sense a different approach, so it must be a thought-provoking one.

6. Love in the time of cholera

First published - Spanish 1985

Author - Gabriel García Márquez

Florentino, rejected by the beautiful Fermina at a young age, devotes much of his adult life to carnal affairs as a desperate attempt to heal his broken heart. A destructive plot yet heart warmer

My comments: Haven't read this one. But from the reviews and people who liked it, could picturise a dramatic simple plot which drown you in itself.

Surprisingly(:P), most of these popular novels are written by female authors.

Another observation is that the top two of my favorite list are written by Jane Austen and both Indian versions have Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the cast.