Eligible (A modernized version of Pride & Prejudice) by Curtis Sittenfeld

     While reading this beautiful and very thick book, I was tempted on occasion to call upon Ms. Sittenfeld (Yes, 'Curtis' is also a girl's name!) for an interview!  My mind continually questioned why Ms. Sittenfeld needed to create this story, using Pride and Prejudice as the skeleton or outline.  The story on its own could have been written amazingly without the comparison.    Especially since the constant concern with proprieties were next to a theme with Jane Austen's novel and this one... well, it was totally different!  It was written as if the Bennet girls were teenagers, with their manners uncouth, no- that's too kind.  They were hilariously scurrilous!

     But I have to admit, I enjoyed the story.  It was funny while still sticking to Austen motif.  You could see how, though modernized, the stories carried along the same line, but in order to tell what I thought of the story, I need to go into details.
     Okay, so the story is pretty much the same as Pride and Prejudice, there are the Bennet girls, a mother who's seeking affluent bachelors and a father who's yonder of it all.  That's pretty much where the similarities end, other than names.  

    Set in Cincinnati, Jane and Lizzie return home to assist the family due to Mr. Bennet having a heart attack.  The sisters band together to show their playful, childish behavior more than their gifts of Florence Nightingale!  They're insane: Mary is assumed to be a lesbian, Kitty and Lydia are health fanatics and Jane is a regular patron at her hometown's IVF clinic!   Lizzie, the bookworm works for a magazine called Mascara.  

     Then there are the other characters:  Mr. Collins' first name of "Willie" instead of William and Mr. Wickham who goes by the nickname "Ham".  Oh, and he's a Crossfit Instructor.  It's been totally rejuvenated to fit our current century instead of the 18th.  With that, I was pleasantly pleased.  I liked that instead of the girls being goofy and stitching, they were into their smartphones, but they were, as mentioned above, Insane!  A hilarious part was when they were playing charades.  The things they purposefully called out, throwing the game made me choke on my bottled water!  Thankfully I wasn't near my computer.

     Mr. Darcy was still haughty and self-important but a doctor and "Chip" Charles Bingley is a handsome doctor who appeared on a famous tv show called Eligible.  The story was extraordinary but entertaining, but it would have made for just an entertaining story without the Austen storyline.  I wonder what compelled her to do so?  I need to look up a few interviews with her or just send an email.  I'm sure she'd respond.

​     Well, while I see what I can find out, I'll be moving on to the next novel.  If you haven't purchased this book yet, you should get it.  Try to not compare it to Pride and Prejudice.  It's not the same, but it is the same.  You'll see!  Next book, please!