"I have not wanted syllables where actions have spoken so plainly." 
 Elinor and Marianne Dashwood are as near to polar opposites as sisters can be. Marianne is impetuous and emotionally vivacious, while her older sister is cautious and pragmatic. After the death of their father, they (along with their much younger sister and their mother) find themselves in the uncomfortable position of being essentially evicted from their home by their spineless half-brother and his vile, selfish wife, and given a minuscule income to live off of. 
 Finding a good marital "match" for the older two girls becomes necessary not only for their sakes, but for future provision for their widowed mother and young sister. The brash Marianne sets her sights on Mr. Willoughby, and Elinor falls for Edward Ferrars. Neither man is at all what he seems, and both women subsequently end up heartbroken. How and if either of them will make it to some semblance of a happily-ever-after is the ongoing basis for the plot. 
 Lovely prose, witty dialogue, and expert characterization. Of the five novels I've read by Jane Austen, this is my second favorite. 
 My primary complaint? There isn't nearly enough Colonel Brandon in this book. 
 But when he does put in an appearance, he is entirely worth the wait. All the quiet constancy, honor, and depth so many love about Mr. Darcy, but without the pretentiousness. 
 For this reader personally, the most trying parts of this story to muddle through always involved Marianne. I found her far more irritating than even Austen's most famed but difficult character, Emma. That's not to say her self-centric volatility and dramatic over-excitement wasn't realistic--it was almost TOO realistic. The likes of her sort of personality is something I encounter regularly but rarely have any patience for. Characterization Example: 
 "I could not be happy with a man whose taste did not in every point coincide with my own. He must enter in all my feelings; the same books, the same music must charm us both." 
 *gag* 
 I'll admit to being much better able to identify with the level-headed and logical Elinor--who was accused of being unfeeling when, in fact, she was only a case of still waters running deep. (This is perhaps a bias-rendering personal issue, but I'll gladly cop to it.) 
 The ending comes about a little too conveniently, and Austen slips into more telling than showing for my tastes in a sort of hasty effort to wrap things up. But on the whole, I did largely enjoy myself and Austen's richly complex and timelessly clever writing. 
 Favorite Quotes: 
 -"Elinor agreed to it all, for she did not think he deserved the compliment of rational opposition." 
 -"At first sight, his address is certainly not striking; and his person can hardly be called handsome, till the expression of his eyes, which are uncommonly good, and the general sweetness of his countenance, is perceived." 
 -"I never wish to offend, but I am so foolishly shy, that I often seem negligent, when I am only kept back by my natural awkwardness. [...] Shyness is only the effect of a sense of inferiority in some way or other. If I could persuade myself that my manners were perfectly easy and graceful, I should not be shy."