What I think about Jane Austen

"To me, Poe's prose is unreadable–like Jane Austen's. No, there is a difference. I could read his prose on a salary, but not Jane's."

I first read Pride and Prejudice when I was about ten. I remember finishing it–all proud and ready to show off–and not knowing at all what the book was about. When I was older, maybe fourteen, I decided to read it again, embarrassed that I couldn't talk about the book . . . and the same thing happened. I read it, and understood nothing.

And now after finding this quote by Mark Twain, my favorite American writer, I am completely vindicated. I felt stupid. But as Twain divulges, it wasn't me, it was her.