Was anyone else disappointed in how the author used Pride and Prejudice in this novel? I felt that she went deeper into every other novel on the list and almost treated P and P as a silly soap opera.

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4 years ago
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Meri McCoy-Thompson I have read almost every book on the list, and I actually loved how she had her characters see the books very differently than I did. It reminded me of everyone brings their own experience to a book, and thus their perspective of it will be very different than mine. The perspectives were also different than would be taught in a literature course, which also was good, as most people who have not been in a literature course have different views than the "official" ones (most commonly taught ones).

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Roxann When I began this book, I thought I would want to read every book on "the list." I have read Mockingbird, P&P, and Rebecca, but I don't think she brought any of these books alive in her novel. There relevance to the plot was cursory at best. I never found Rebecca to be a horror novel (gothic romance?) And, she didn't say anything about A Suitable Boy. Basically, with all of them she just gave a nod to the ideas of the book. I found nothing that made me interested in any of them. However, the idea of bringing plots of other novels into a plot of a novel, I think, is a great idea, just not well executed here.

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David Dunlap I would agree, somewhat, that the individual books began to get less in-depth treatment as the novel progresses. But I believe it is unfair to suggest that the AUTHOR treats P&P as a 'silly soap opera' (I believe that is, in fact, a direct quotation from Mukesh: that is how HE looked at it). Aleisha, OTOH, could see some helpful parallels between the Elizabeth Bennet/Mr. Darcy relationship and the growing connection between herself and Zac. (Just my 2¢, of course)

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Elanna Wasn't it Mark Twain who said "Everytime I read Pride and Prejudice I want to dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone"?
I feel the same. P&p, in a way, IS a silly soap opera. A silly soap opera that I, as well as more illustrious people before me, not least Mark Twain, keep re-reading...
I haven't read this novel yet, and I am not sure I want to keep it on my to-read shelf. However, now I feel a bit warmer about it :D

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Deborah I agree. And it was at about the same point that I decided this book itself was really lightweight, almost a YA novel.

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Rose Humphreys P & P is a bit silly and it is a bit soap-opera-ish for me. It's not a serious book; just because it is a classic does not mean it must be treated with kid gloves. Each book in this story speaks to the person reading it and they have their personal 'take' from the books, just as we do in real life.

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Susan Absolutely agree; I didn't get what I expected from Aleisha OR Mr. Patel on this book, I mean, this is really a CLASSIC!! Neither of them mentioned the writing or the HUMOR in it, which I think is first and foremost! They picked on odd things to notice, and in fact, Mr. P thought Mr. Bennett was a good example as a father, and nobody else does! But I agree with one of the other commenters, I was glad that this book gave more than titles, they actually DID mention and talk about the books on the List. So many books about books (and libraries and bookshops) don't really talk about the books!

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Mary Lynn I read P and P after reading this fine book, and was surprised to find out that it WAS a silly soap opera.

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Mehreen I have never been able to successfully endure P&P despite many attempts. I don't think its description as a silly soap opera is necessarily a bad thing. It is still a strong feminist icon, and it's a classic for a reason, but I wouldn't categorize it as an enjoyable read. I actually felt the same way about Beloved (not that it's a silly soap but I found it almost painful to complete) but found the author did hit the important parts of the book.

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Nof*cking Antoinette Most of the books are quite misinterpreted and I think at the end she just wants to be done with the list. Having said that, I don't think that "classics" have to be everyone's cup of tea

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