Pride and Prejudice in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Jul 10, 2007 CrystalIsReading on StoryGraph rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classics, library-audio, 2019-pop-sugar-challenge

This is one of my favorite books of all time. The story is timeless--hence reference to in movies as diverse as Bride and Prejudice and You've Got Mail. The ideas of social prejudice and first impressions, as opposed to loyalty and honor and second chances--they are all in play in this story, with some of the most classic and lovable characters of all time. Even Jane Austen herself said she loved Eliza Bennett the most--that she was a bright and sparkling character. if you haven't read this book This is one of my favorite books of all time. The story is timeless--hence reference to in movies as diverse as Bride and Prejudice and You've Got Mail. The ideas of social prejudice and first impressions, as opposed to loyalty and honor and second chances--they are all in play in this story, with some of the most classic and lovable characters of all time. Even Jane Austen herself said she loved Eliza Bennett the most--that she was a bright and sparkling character. if you haven't read this book, you should. You will enjoy every minute of it, and will find that you will either love or hate every character in it. it's just that good.

02/15/19 I was a bit hesitant to reread the original Pride and Prejudice this year, as I'd read TWO retellings of it within the past 4 months, and have read it several times in the past (I'm not generally a re-reader.) and was afraid I'd be bored going over the same general plot yet again. But this was my best option for one of my annual reading challenges, and my library had the audio, read by the incomparable Kate Reading, so I decided to give it a listen. I'm so very glad I did.
While, yes, I did feel some sense of boredom when I started reading this, because I'd already "done" this plot two times recently, that boredom very quickly faded into delight at realizing how absolutely, incomparably wonderful the original story is. The richness of character development, of characters both good and bad. The interpersonal dynamics. The witty dialogue and clever author's commentary. The social structures that affected so much of the story. I was truly pulled into the story, reminded of much of what I'd loved about this story the first times I saw the movie and read the book. But I was also awed with how much more rich and developed this story was than I remembered.
My memory and most retellings have in common that they follow the basic structure of Austen's plot, and retain basic elements of each character's personality--but they both often lose so much of what truly makes this book great. I had forgotten so many little details, like the brief mentions of Mr. Collin's upbringing, and how that contributed to him being the pompous a$$ he is at the time of the story. Like how I'd never actually noticed before that one of Collins' last letters to Mr. Bennett mentions joy at Charlotte's "condition"--the euphemism for pregnancy at the time. Like horror at how willing Mr. Bennett was to let his daughters be inappropriate and laugh at them, if it gave him peace and a good joke. I was immersed in the richness of the story and characters all over again, from the repulsive selfish willfulness of Lydia and her mother, to the the true nobility of character hiding behind Darcy's earliest bad behavior (and his ability to change and grow, which is so refreshing). I am reminded why Jane, the eternal optimist, might have been willing to forgive and forget as easily as she did. I even was reminded that Georgiana Darcy is a stately/ curvaceous brunette, not the delicate blonde so often depicted in movies.
Everything about this story pulled me back in and kept me immersed (OK, the early scenes with Wickham made me roll my eyes. Because I knew what was coming, and I cringed for Lizzy's enthusiastic acceptance of his stories. But that was no fault of the writing.). I was very sorry when the story ended, but also utterly happy with the ideas of how the various characters' lives developed. Yes, some of them got far better endings than they deserved. But that only reflects positively on the characters of those around them, characters I am so grateful I acquainted myself with in full again. This was definitely worth the re-read. ...more

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Jul 14, 2007 Mary rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

my favorite Jane Austen - maybe like best that I read as an adult. Love the writing style, the happy ending. And envisioning Colin Firth as Mr Darcy (of course, looking back, when I read it the first time, he hadn't done the mini-series!) Recently listened to it on CD and really liked hearing it - with a british accent! ...more

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Nov 14, 2007 MacDuff rated it really liked it

I read this over Thanksgiving, and I kind of copped out and bought the Barnes and Nobles library copy. I wouldn't recommend that series because of the lack of notations at the end. If you're going to read a classic, you really need a credible accounting for the historical significance of the book. In this P&P version, I can't tell you how many times I read the words "perhaps" and "probably". It was disappointing.

But I liked this book more than I thought I would. Don't tell Katie Funk. ...more

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