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lenaricharz's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Antisemitism, Body shaming, Cursing, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infertility, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Racism, Transphobia, and Eating disorder
charm0nix's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Misogyny, and Transphobia
Moderate: Eating disorder
juvonh's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Sittenfeld’s Eligible tries hard to contextualize Austen’s Pride and Prejudice onto a modern mindset of a diverse society. However, it does a terrible job, as the most despicable characters are given sexist and racists voices, yet are never criticized, let alone penalized. Not once is Mrs. Bennet corrected on her outrageously racist and sexist opinions. Instead, her remarks are simply downplayed and ignored. Even when she reacts in an antagonistic fashion towards her son-in-law because of his gender transition, it is Ham who is encouraged to resolve her issues. When Darcy miraculously manages to convince Mrs. Bennet to change her mind, it is by arguing that Ham’s sexuality is a medical issue. Additionally, black characters are seemingly thrown into the picture for the mere purpose of being black and present (though they don‘t gain any agency nor voice). Several times their complexion is named without any consequence. For example, at Bingley’s dinner party, there is an “attractive woman, also black” (118) who Liz immediately presumes to be engaged to Keith (also black). This is of course confirmed. Even the juxtaposition of Lydia’s elopement in both novels is problematic: Wickham’s threateting role in P&P (of a selfish, dangerous character who has it in his power to ruin the entire Bennet family) translates to Ham, a loving and friendly trans character. As a whole, Sittenfeld’s novel reads as a racist and trabsphobic mess.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs and Transphobia
nothingforpomegranted's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Like most devoted bookworms out there, I have a particular passion for Pride and Prejudice and all that Jane Austen has contributed to the literary world over the past two hundred years.
Unfortunately, Curtis Sittenfeld's Pride and Prejudice retelling for The Austen Project just didn't cut it for me. Though Sittenfeld did an admirable job adjusting the Pride and Prejudice story to modern times in Cincinnati, incorporating characters and events in surprising but logical ways, her renditions of Liz, Darcy, and the rest of the Bennet family and cast were flat and unsatisfying.
We begin with the arrival of Chip Bingley, one-time star of find-love reality show Eligible in Cincinnati, where Liz and Jane Bennet have been visiting from New York after their father's heart attack only to discover the family house and financial situation in near ruin. While Liz prioritizes her job as a writer for a women's magazine and trying not to worry about her fourteen-year affair with her married best friend, Jasper Wick, Jane is pursuing motherhood through artificial insemination, which gets complicated when she enters a whirlwind flirtation with Chip Bingley himself.
Of course, the true star of a Pride and Prejudice retelling should be one Fitzwilliam Darcy. Sittenfeld's Darcy is an accomplished neurosurgeon with massive California estate and a seeming commitment to bachelorhood. In fact, I quite liked this version of Darcy, and I appreciated Sittenfeld's acknowledgement of how much Darcy smiles in the original book (I certainly like him more than Sittenfeld's whiny, clueless Liz); however, as the book reached its climax, so much happened so quickly, and Darcy's sudden confession felt so much more unexpected and dramatic than the original.
In short:
Jasper Wick sucks and the fact that Liz pined over him for over a decade is a shame, particularly for a character based on one of the most independent, feisty women in literature.
Bingley and Jane were done very well. I loved Jane's modernized storyline, and I thought they both exhibited their characteristic naive sweetness in a charming way.
Lydia and Ham were intriguing and sympathetic, which is a bold move given the drama surrounding Lydia's storyline in the original. It's not clear to me whether Sittenfeld wanted this partnership to be as damning as Austen's, so I want to give her the benefit of the doubt and accept this as an interesting shift in the retelling.
Mary weirdly got the last word, and I don't really understand what she did to deserve it.
The discriminatory language--racist, homophobic, body shaming--was appalling, especially given this book's relatively recent publication date. Nearly every page had some sort of inappropriate comment or language, and it poisoned me against so many of the characters.
Unfortunately, Curtis Sittenfeld's Pride and Prejudice retelling for The Austen Project just didn't cut it for me. Though Sittenfeld did an admirable job adjusting the Pride and Prejudice story to modern times in Cincinnati, incorporating characters and events in surprising but logical ways, her renditions of Liz, Darcy, and the rest of the Bennet family and cast were flat and unsatisfying.
We begin with the arrival of Chip Bingley, one-time star of find-love reality show Eligible in Cincinnati, where Liz and Jane Bennet have been visiting from New York after their father's heart attack only to discover the family house and financial situation in near ruin. While Liz prioritizes her job as a writer for a women's magazine and trying not to worry about her fourteen-year affair with her married best friend, Jasper Wick, Jane is pursuing motherhood through artificial insemination, which gets complicated when she enters a whirlwind flirtation with Chip Bingley himself.
Of course, the true star of a Pride and Prejudice retelling should be one Fitzwilliam Darcy. Sittenfeld's Darcy is an accomplished neurosurgeon with massive California estate and a seeming commitment to bachelorhood. In fact, I quite liked this version of Darcy, and I appreciated Sittenfeld's acknowledgement of how much Darcy smiles in the original book (I certainly like him more than Sittenfeld's whiny, clueless Liz); however, as the book reached its climax, so much happened so quickly, and Darcy's sudden confession felt so much more unexpected and dramatic than the original.
In short:
Jasper Wick sucks and the fact that Liz pined over him for over a decade is a shame, particularly for a character based on one of the most independent, feisty women in literature.
Bingley and Jane were done very well. I loved Jane's modernized storyline, and I thought they both exhibited their characteristic naive sweetness in a charming way.
Lydia and Ham were intriguing and sympathetic, which is a bold move given the drama surrounding Lydia's storyline in the original. It's not clear to me whether Sittenfeld wanted this partnership to be as damning as Austen's, so I want to give her the benefit of the doubt and accept this as an interesting shift in the retelling.
Mary weirdly got the last word, and I don't really understand what she did to deserve it.
The discriminatory language--racist, homophobic, body shaming--was appalling, especially given this book's relatively recent publication date. Nearly every page had some sort of inappropriate comment or language, and it poisoned me against so many of the characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Body shaming, Transphobia, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Deadnaming, Fatphobia, Infertility, Medical content, and Medical trauma
lynleybidlake's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Transphobia
strangerthanfiction's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia, Racism, and Transphobia
catsreads's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
My feelings on this book are kind of conflicted.
Really well modernized in some ways and tone-deafly modernized in others. The inclusion of non-straight white characters fell off, like it was trying to be 'progressive' and, to put it kindly, missed the mark. Gotta be honest I was reading it and I got to *certain parts* and was like "when was this written?!" I would have guessed the late 00s, but no! Slightly dismayed to see this was written in 2016. Wasn't all bad perse, just uncomfortably/poorly executed, I guess.
I really didn't like the use of Ham being trans as the shock value. Like it mattered more that he was trans than that they eloped. It didn't make a lot of sense from a story standpoint that she would rush home from this either. It felt awkwardly written, awkwardly handled and there were better ways to modernize the Lydia plot-point, that didn't require that.
Really well modernized in some ways and tone-deafly modernized in others. The inclusion of non-straight white characters fell off, like it was trying to be 'progressive' and, to put it kindly, missed the mark. Gotta be honest I was reading it and I got to *certain parts* and was like "when was this written?!" I would have guessed the late 00s, but no! Slightly dismayed to see this was written in 2016. Wasn't all bad perse, just uncomfortably/poorly executed, I guess.
Content Warnings
Minor: Transphobia and Racism
not super spoiler-y butdiana_barv's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I can’t decide whether I liked this or not. It was fun I think, mostly the first half. But Mrs. Bennet was WAY too much and the way the book treated some issues... yikes.
The Chip and Jane romance was... okay. And Liz and Darcy had their moments but the part where “Darcy saves Lydia” just didn’t accomplished it like the original or other retellings.
Overall, I read it way faster that I thought I would and it was enjoyable most of the time
The Chip and Jane romance was... okay. And Liz and Darcy had their moments but the part where “Darcy saves Lydia” just didn’t accomplished it like the original or other retellings.
Overall, I read it way faster that I thought I would and it was enjoyable most of the time
Content Warnings
Minor: Transphobia, Fatphobia, Racism, Eating disorder, and Homophobia
maittrix's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia and Racism