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unfiltered_fiction's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
Although I wasn't expecting this to be life-changingly scintillating read, I was really, really disappointed by it. The only praise I can offer is that some of sections of the prose were beautifully written, especially parts focusing on the flora and fauna of the English countryside.
I would have loved to see the concept handled well, as I think there are a lot of interesting and important narratives from the Georgian era that get quashed by our preference for glamorous, elegant period dramas. Sexism, classism, racism, and colonialism are all inherent to the structure of Georgian society, and they are pervasive themes in all of Austen's novels to different extents. Revisiting her stories in today's era should offer a less blinkered approach, as writers have access to endless historiographical resources, and readers are more open to issues of inequality being brought to the front of the story.
But this is a retelling absolutely riddled with problems. Points about the gruelling and filthy nature of housework are very heavily laboured and yet distinctly emotionless; through the close third person narrative style, the single black character is continuously referred to in deeply offensive terms; there is a constant, insidious threat of sexual assault. The blatant emphasis on Mr Wickham's paedophilic interest in very young girls is entirely justified but poorly handled. The representation of Mr Bennett as a selfish and relatively heartless adulterer with an illegitimate child is completely out of character, and doesn't even fit consistently with the overall characterisation adopted in this novel. The narrative is strangely structured, with a lengthy and frankly unnecessary flashback in the final third of the book. The constant emphasis on disgusting smells and the prevalence of EVERY bodily fluid is... just grim, and ineffective.
All in all, it's a do not recommend from me.
I would have loved to see the concept handled well, as I think there are a lot of interesting and important narratives from the Georgian era that get quashed by our preference for glamorous, elegant period dramas. Sexism, classism, racism, and colonialism are all inherent to the structure of Georgian society, and they are pervasive themes in all of Austen's novels to different extents. Revisiting her stories in today's era should offer a less blinkered approach, as writers have access to endless historiographical resources, and readers are more open to issues of inequality being brought to the front of the story.
But this is a retelling absolutely riddled with problems. Points about the gruelling and filthy nature of housework are very heavily laboured and yet distinctly emotionless; through the close third person narrative style, the single black character is continuously referred to in deeply offensive terms; there is a constant, insidious threat of sexual assault.
All in all, it's a do not recommend from me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Death, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Pedophilia, and Excrement
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