Unmarriageable in Around the Year in 52 Books

Jan 13, 2019 CrystalIsReading on StoryGraph rated it it was amazing

Shelves: international, romance, feminist, retellings, diversity, books-about-books, ownvoices, muslim, netgalley

Unmarriageable is a delightful book—one of the best retellings of Austen I’ve ever read, but also one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read in a long time. I didn’t want to put it down, and powered through most of it in a single snowy weekend. It is everything good about Pride and Prejudice, aside from the British setting, which has been replaced by a vibrant and fascinating Pakistani setting.
The characters are true to the original stories, in names as well as character, in ways that seem to ma Unmarriageable is a delightful book—one of the best retellings of Austen I’ve ever read, but also one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read in a long time. I didn’t want to put it down, and powered through most of it in a single snowy weekend. It is everything good about Pride and Prejudice, aside from the British setting, which has been replaced by a vibrant and fascinating Pakistani setting.
The characters are true to the original stories, in names as well as character, in ways that seem to make perfect sense in Pakistan in 2001. Alys Binat/ Eliza Bennett is a fiery and opinionated, well-educated feminist who is seeking the best for everyone around her. She gets a little preachy at times, but it didn’t seem out of character. Jena/ Jane is sweet and kind, although this version gives her a little more backbone than the original, which I appreciated. Valentine Darsee/ Fitzwilliam Darcy has the same haughty initial demeanor as the original, but with extra layers of feminism and international awareness and a love of literature that added to his charm. Bungles/ Bingley is a bit bland, but no more so than the original.
The unlikable/ awkward characters from the original are just as bad, if not worse, in this version. I didn’t think Mrs. Binat/ Bennett could be worse, but she is in this story. Same with Lady/ Lydia, who is dreadfully selfish and impulsive and careless of others, even cruel. Lady and her mother are very similar in this story, and are all the more unappealing for it. Mr. Binat/ Bennett comes across much weaker and more selfish than the original—it is easier to despise him this time, no matter how much he loved his daughters and had tried to empower them initially. Lady de Bourgh’s character (can’t remember her name in this book) has even less to recommend her than the original. The only character I didn’t find more repulsive than the original was Kaleen/ Mr. Collins. He’s mostly a tolerable fool, and his devotion to Sherry is rather sweet. I like the twist of him being a widower with children too. It makes sense.
Then there are the more neutral supporting characters—Sherry especially. Sherry/ Charlotte is so much more developed in this version, and with it we get rather an ugly duckling story for her. It’s sweet in its own way. Mari/Mary is given motivation for being such a religious zealot—yes, she’s still very annoying in this version. It just makes more sense. Qitty/Kitty gets more attention too, since the author made her plus-sized and an artist. Her body size is a recurring theme amongst the other characters, and I was honestly uncomfortable with the way many of the other characters, especially Lady and Mrs. Binat, talked to and about her. It was my least favorite part of this story, despite a twist in the epilogue that redeems the storyline a bit.
This book feels longer than the original Pride and Prejudice, and I think it has something to do with how much extra information is included. The author constantly describes the setting--location, food, clothing, clothing, food, location, history, lists of things, things, things, etc.). Normally I’d find this much exposition, especially descriptions, annoying and more distracting than I did. Here it flowed surprisingly well. The author also describes the characters. All the characters. Every character that crosses these pages seems to have a back story and personality. We see snippets from the maid’s perspective, and we know facts about every child in every family we encounter. Each adult in the extended family has a backstory we’re told. And there are more family members for everyone than mentioned in the original novel (ex: Bungle’s parents, Mr. Binat’s brother and sister-in-law, etc.). There is even a recurring principal character, with her two daughters, that I simply cannot recognize as characters from the original story.
I didn’t want to stop reading this bright and sparkling book (literally sparkling. The women wear a LOT of jewelry as a matter of course.). I loved the characters I should, hated the ones I should, and was mesmerized by them and their world. I look forward to reading future books by Soniah Kamal—but for now I’ll have to be content with sharing this title with everyone I know. Do yourself a favor and read it as soon as you can.
Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read this book early and free. ...more

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