Pride and Prejudice in Reading the Classics

Apr 18, 2011 Carl rated it liked it

Not bad. This is probably THE Victorian romance book. Not that I'm one for romance mind you. ...more

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May 06, 2018 Alisha Marie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own-that-i-ve-read, classics, humor, read-in-2018, three-star-books, this-is-really-a-3-5-star-book

I have tried to read Jane Austen for years. I tried to read her books every single time I watched The Jane Austen Book Club (and that was a lot of times because it's one of my favorite movies). I tried to read her books after I was gifted a Pride and Prejudice sweater from a family member who thought I would love it because I love books and I love cozy things (she's not wrong, I wear that sweater all the time because it's just so warm and comfortable). I tried to read it after I bought Pride and I have tried to read Jane Austen for years. I tried to read her books every single time I watched The Jane Austen Book Club (and that was a lot of times because it's one of my favorite movies). I tried to read her books after I was gifted a Pride and Prejudice sweater from a family member who thought I would love it because I love books and I love cozy things (she's not wrong, I wear that sweater all the time because it's just so warm and comfortable). I tried to read it after I bought Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and thought that I should read the original before I read the parody. I have read the opening page of Emma, of Sense and Sensibility, of Persuasion, and of Pride and Prejudice at one time or another and could never get past it. Last week, I watched Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, really liked it (yes I know Mr. Darcy is not at all charismatic in that adaptation, but I really love Lily James as Elizabeth Bennet), and decided that come hell or high water I was gonna finish a damn Jane Austen book. And I did. And I'm kinda proud of myself. And I also rated it three stars because I didn't love it.

Classics get the reputation of being stuffy and boring and sometimes that isn't really fair (I mean is Jane Eyre boring? NO!). But I do feel like Pride and Prejudice had some incredibly boring parts that kept me from really loving it. Yes, I know Austen is poking fun at her own life or whatever and some of it was actually really humorous (Mr. and Mrs. Bennet were a riot), but some of it was also kinda boring. Not boring enough to stop reading, but boring in that when I was reading it, I really wanted to skim some parts. I didn't, but again, really wanted to.

It's no surprise that Pride and Prejudice is at its best when it's describing the relationship between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. It really is worth all the hype (and I have a fan theory that this is where the enemies to lovers trope originated from) and it really is incredibly amusing and romantic. I also really liked the relationship between Elizabeth and Jane as I'm a sucker for a good sister relationship.

So, I finally read a Jane Austen novel. Didn't love it, but did like some of it. I have some misgivings (like what really was the point of Mary because she does nothing at all in this book), but I do see myself reading this book again in the future and maybe liking it more. If that happens, I'll adjust my rating accordingly. But until then, 3 stars. ...more

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Sep 29, 2012 Rachel rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2014-read, favorites

Having read all of Jane Austen's writings, I put this one off for the longest time. Primarily because it was the work that had the most hype surrounding it and I didn't want to be disappointed. To put it shortly, I wasn't. ...more

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