Maybe I am prejudiced, or perhaps it is just my pride...

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but I am having a lot of trouble getting into Jane Austen.

Don't get me wrong: she is an excellent writer. I truly appreciate her exemplary skill.

No, it is the characters. I am 30 pages into Pride and Prejudice, and I find myself hoping that on page 31 a nuclear weapon wipes out Meryton and some characters I am vaguely interested in move in afterwards.

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