" In my personal echelon of Austen, I'd rank Sense and Sensibility somewhere above Mansfield Park and Emma but below Persuasion. In Sense and Sensibility, Austen has created a tool for analyzing the relative merits of neoclassicism and romanticism, the two dominant philosophies of her day. The Dashwood sisters experience parallel joys and tribulations in their romantic lives, always within weeks of each other, and in their different responses to these events -- Elinor, the neoclassicist, hyper-rational, and Marianne, the romantic, deeply emotional -- Austen compares the two philosophies. Though more nuanced than similarly styled novels of the day, I found that this philosophical comparison -- the very thing that made the novel intellectually interesting (beyond, of course, Austen's usual wit and social commentary) -- was also what made the novel drag at points: yes, okay, Marianne is overreacting and Elinor is not -- got it. Beyond this comparison, however, still a stimulating book and a good reminder that being in love requires us to both control our reason and yield to our emotions. "
— Lauren, 2/13/2014