Friday, July 7, 2017

Book Review - Eligible

Curtis Sittenfeld, author of Prep (a darn good book) is out with Eligible – a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice.  From the cover blurb – equal parts homage to Jane Austen and bold literary experiment, Eligible is a brilliant, playful, and delicious saga for the twenty-first century.

I hear screams from Jane Austen fans, and I understand. Pride and Prejudice is a treasure. It’s the one. It can’t be duplicated.  I agree.

However, this is a clever interpretation with lively characters running amok in the twenty first century. Cell phone etiquette and first impressions, dating, and marriage, health and wealth. A lot of life doesn’t really change nor do goals of Mrs. Bennet. Unfortunately she can’t always get her daughters to do what she wants- i.e. get married.   And Chip Bingley is shallow. Fitzwilliam Darcy does not give a good first impression. And Liz Bennet is independent and shows pluck.

Eligible is a breezy read. It’s funny and tackles gender, class, courtship, and family issues.  I enjoyed the book, and it made me want to re-read Pride and Prejudice. Nothing wrong with that.



16 comments:

  1. Nothing wrong with that indeed, ones you want to breeze on through show good writing.

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  2. Hmmm, I love Pride & Prejudice (hated the Keira Knightley film, because it was so wrong), so it might be best if I step away from this one :-)

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    1. and I wrote this review with you in mind. You are a purist. I do have another friend who is picky about her P&P and she enjoyed this book. Hmmm.

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    2. Perhaps I'll give it a try then :-)

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  3. I'm not usually a fan of modernized versions of old classics, but I might give this one a try. But I LOVED the original, so I dunno...

    Have a super weekend.

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    1. I got it from the library, so did not put forth a monetary investment. Libraries are awesome.
      Take care

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  4. This certainly sounds interesting Joanne.

    Yvonne.

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  5. I've never read Pride and Prejudice. Maybe I should start with this one first then work my way to the classic?

    betty

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    1. that could prove interesting. do it and report back!

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  6. Hi Joanne - I'm going to some Jane Austen talks next weekend which feature Pride and Prejudice ... and the film staring Greer Garson and Lawrence Olivier ... should be interesting ... but this book does sound a quick read ... perhaps ... !! Cheers Hilary

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    1. keep an open mind. I'd like to do the Jane Austen tour over there...Pemberly,etc. Enjoy the chats and I hope you blog a bit about them.

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  7. That's an interesting concept, and a lot more worthy than a movie remake. Sounds like a fun read - one I'd more likely read than Pride and Prejudice. (Jane Austen is such a good writer, her writing takes too much out of me.)

    Hope you're having a great weekend, Joanne.

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    1. Thanks. Indeed this book is fun on its own. No need to take notes. All fine in TX Hope you are well in CA.

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  8. I think I'd like this one. Sounds good to me, especially for a fun summertime read.

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