Title: Pride and Prejudice
Author: Jane Austen
Publication Date: 1813
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Format: Paperback
Pages: 367
Rating: 3/5
Blurb:
"It is a truth
universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune
must be in want of a wife."
So begins Pride and
Prejudice, Jane Austen's witty comedy of manners--one of the most popular
novels of all time--that features splendidly civilized sparring between the
proud Mr. Darcy and the prejudiced Elizabeth Bennet as they play out their
spirited courtship in a series of eighteenth-century drawing-room intrigues.
Renowned literary critic and historian George Saintsbury in 1894 declared it
the "most perfect, the most characteristic, the most eminently quintessential
of its author's works," and Eudora Welty in the twntieth century described
it as "irresistible and as nearly flawless as any fiction could be."
Introduction by
Anna Quindlen.
Commentary by
Margaret Oliphant, George Saintsbury, Mark Twain, A.C. Bradley, Walter A.
Raleigh, and Virginia Woolf.
Anna Quindlen is the winner
of the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for commentary and the author of three bestselling
novels, most recently Black and Blue, a children's book, Happily Ever
After, and an inspirational book, A Short Guide to a Happy Life.
Includes a
Modern Library Reading Group Guide
Review:
It’s
been a while since I read Pride and
Prejudice and my review is certainly late, but I had to take time and fuel
myself off that. Then Finale by Becca
Fitzpatrick came along and I couldn’t hold my pants, and I took a reading
break after reading The Infernal devices
because that just asked to be murdered repeatedly, in a straight jacket,
against a wall because of it’s amusingness plus dreadfulness (I have mixed feelings.
A Love/Hate relationship if you please.)
So
here I am with my IPod beside me, which I used to fuel out my opinions on the
book straight after the read at 2 o’clock at night and I know this is going to
be a long and tiresome project.
Pacing:
It was slow paced. Some parts I felt were totally unnecessary, but I guess
that’s what made up the story and the life of Lizzie. Really, half the book is
about her travelling. That’s nice and all, but I would like to see some more
Darcy and Lizzie scenes.
Characters:
Jane Austen really does know how to write her characters! I thought they were
EXCELLENT. Her characters are so beautifully sculptured and woven like silk, I
would dive fathomlessly into their personalities if I could. I love everyone
one of them, even the ones that annoyed me. Miss Bennet, though I wanted to
kill her sometimes and strangle her after, made me want to laugh and hit her
head against a wall. Mr Collins, oh my gosh, words cannot describe how much I
thought he was a complete disaster and respected Austen for creating him. Lydia
Bennet, I wanted to do to her what I wanted to do to her damn mother. Lizzie
Bennet annoyed me at times, but when do main characters not?
Writing:
Pride and Prejudice is so beautifully written, but at times it was hard to
grasp the meaning of her sentences. Especially at the beginning as it was my
first classic Jane Austen book. Although at times I wish she would describe the
tone of dialogue and the expressions on peoples faces when they said it. There
is only so much the mind can do.
Romance:
I didn’t feel the Romance between Darcy and Lizzie Bennet. It just didn’t feel
tangible for my taste. It was like all her life she hated him and despised him then
when they decided they didn’t hate each other they decided to get married,
because they just merely didn’t hate each other anymore.
Jane and Bingly’s romance even had more
interest than that. The mystery, the longing and the loss was intriguing, but I
wanted that from Lizzie! I like the main characters to have what they’ve always
wanted. I want them to be superior.
I understand the fan clubs excessively
ponder over Darcy’s affections toward Miss Bennet but I really think it’s all
fuelled by the TV shows, the spin off books and other stories that bring that
tone out. I watched Lost in Austen after that and felt like I felt more
connection between the main character and Darcy.
I
know there must be that in underlying tones beneath the words that expressed
her love for Darcy, but I didn’t even feel it! It was like she hadn’t even
given enough fuel to the fire for it to really shine. I’m not a girl that needs
to see a bouquet of flowers from the male lead to know that he must care for
her, though I did actually feel Darcy’s affection throughout the book and even in
the abrupt moment when he confessed his love for her.
But
with all the fan club love over Darcy, I feel like I haven’t read the right
book. It was like they grabbed at anything that could lead to love and fluffed
it up like a pillow to make it seem bigger and grander.
I
would never want to say this, but I do feel like one must watch the movies
before reading to feel connection between Darcy and Lizzie. I really wanted to like this book. It
frustrated me.
