Author: Jane Austen
Publisher: Headline Review
Release Date: 15 May 2006 (this version) title first published 1813
ISBN-13: 978-0755331468
Synopsis
I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed upon to marry.” Perhaps Jane Austen’s best-loved book, Pride and Prejudice recounts the romantic clash between Lizzy Bennett, one of literature’s most engaging heroines, and the proud Mr. Darcy. It is a supremely satisfying story, balancing comedy and witty observation with profound insight on life and love.
My Review
I studied this at school and absolutely hated it. I swore never to pick it up again. But then i fell in love with 'The Lizzie Bennet Diaries' on Youtube and wanted to see how it compared to the original and i have to say i was pleasantly surprised. I found myself enjoying the plot and characters. Lizzie is not afraid to speak her mind and i like Jane's sensitivity.
This is a classic love story but has many dimensions and routes, There are the five sisters in the family and their mother is determined to marry them off to men with good fortune. Jane and Bingley meet, then there is a bit of a love triangle with Lizzie, Wickham and Darcy, then I suppose it spreads to include Lydia. Then there is Charlotte and Collins, and well a whole other host of characters. It sounds quite confusing if you try to summarise it, but it all works in the book. I can see a lot of similarities in this book to some modern day books that have love stories in. The only difference of course is the language and era in which it is set.
It took me quite a while to get into the writing style, as it is more old fashioned, they spoke in a very different way back then but it wasn't too bad and I actually found it helped if I imagined the dialogue spoken in the voices of the actors from the above mentioned video series on youtube, it kind of bought it to life a bit more.
I did find references to 'Miss Bennet' a bit confusing at times as i wasn't always sure which sister they were referring to, but other than that i thought it enjoyable. A real classic love story.
I am glad I gave it another go and can now give it a positive review and rating. I don't think I would read it again but I will definitely look at it now with a smile instead of contempt. And that's all I can really ask for.
So maybe this is a lesson, reading through books at school isn't always ideal, I also think I am more mature and a better reader now than I was then, so maybe we should give books a second chance. OF course we have so many books to read anyway, we can't always go back, but every now and then it might be worth it.
My Rating
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