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2.96 AVERAGE
2.96 AVERAGE
I'm not sure if this constitutes a spoiler by just mentioning a character's name who never truly materializes, but...
If you are looking for a novel that continues the love affair between Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy, this probably is not the book for you. As James gets into the minds of each character, those characters are lost. Constant regret on Darcy's part? Elizabeth as a woman only interested in hosting balls and being a wife? Were was the strength of character, the witty intelligence? The steadfast personalities of each? I had a hard time accepting any of the traits these characters had, although I was finally able to overcome that for what became a great mystery. In fact, it was hard to put down until the appearance of Harriet Smith at the end. Why? Why on earth did Harriet Smith and Emma Woodhouse need to be mentioned at all? It almost ruined the whole thing for me...a definite roll of the eyes moment.
If you are looking for a novel that continues the love affair between Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy, this probably is not the book for you. As James gets into the minds of each character, those characters are lost. Constant regret on Darcy's part? Elizabeth as a woman only interested in hosting balls and being a wife? Were was the strength of character, the witty intelligence? The steadfast personalities of each? I had a hard time accepting any of the traits these characters had, although I was finally able to overcome that for what became a great mystery. In fact, it was hard to put down until the appearance of Harriet Smith at the end. Why? Why on earth did Harriet Smith and Emma Woodhouse need to be mentioned at all? It almost ruined the whole thing for me...a definite roll of the eyes moment.
It was no Jane Austen, but interesting as the author follows her idea of what happens after the wedding of Darcy and Elizabeth. Funny that it focused mostly on Mr. Wickham.
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
P.D. James did an excellent job capturing the feel of Austen's work, but the story was not quite as compelling as I thought it would be. And seriously, Wickham and Lydia need their damn comeuppance at some point!
Okay, I finally finished listening to this one. It was just as disappointing as when I bailed on it in book-book form. I like Austen derivatives. A LOT. The problem with this book is that it doesn't know what it wants to be. Austen derivatives fall into two major categories: 1) sequels and 2) re-writes. The best of the P&P sequels is, in my humble opinion, Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife. The characters continue to grow, horses are given silly names, good sex is had, and Mr. Collins' comeuppance is EXQUISITE. My favorite re-write is Longbourn, which takes place during the events of Pride and Prejudice, but from the point of view of Longbourn's mostly invisible maid, experiencing her own romance. You know what? Go read those books. Don't read this crap.
This is crap because it is neither a sequel nor a re-write. It's a sequel, but nothing new is learned, and even babies are entirely glossed over. I am sorry, but if you are going to give Lizzie and Fitzwilliam children, you had better spend some fucking time on it. THEY'RE NOT PROPS OKAY. I want dark-eyed chubby-thigh cherubs and will accept no substitutes. It's a re-write, in the sense that we hash over the same ground as the original. But it is PLODDING. My Gd does it plod. Even the mystery part of this book is entirely predictable!
Do you know what pisses me off? I belong to a group of high school friends who, for fun, watched the A&E adaptation over and over and over until we could stage our own performances. James employs SO MANY lifted lines from the original book that it was impossible to enjoy correspondence from the usual suspects. I already knew what they were going to say.
This book could have been GOOD. It could have been an epistolary, consisting of nothing but letters sent back and forth, and maybe some from the past, and slowly a picture would have emerged and by the ending the villain could have been AMBIGUOUS. Lydia might have actually got to express her opinions! She's supposed to have them. Anyway. PBBT.
This is crap because it is neither a sequel nor a re-write. It's a sequel, but nothing new is learned, and even babies are entirely glossed over. I am sorry, but if you are going to give Lizzie and Fitzwilliam children, you had better spend some fucking time on it. THEY'RE NOT PROPS OKAY. I want dark-eyed chubby-thigh cherubs and will accept no substitutes. It's a re-write, in the sense that we hash over the same ground as the original. But it is PLODDING. My Gd does it plod. Even the mystery part of this book is entirely predictable!
Do you know what pisses me off? I belong to a group of high school friends who, for fun, watched the A&E adaptation over and over and over until we could stage our own performances. James employs SO MANY lifted lines from the original book that it was impossible to enjoy correspondence from the usual suspects. I already knew what they were going to say.
This book could have been GOOD. It could have been an epistolary, consisting of nothing but letters sent back and forth, and maybe some from the past, and slowly a picture would have emerged and by the ending the villain could have been AMBIGUOUS. Lydia might have actually got to express her opinions! She's supposed to have them. Anyway. PBBT.
Compelling to start, but far too tidy and iterative. Passages of the book are like bad voiceovers in movies - they tell you what you know without illuminating the story.
I loved returning to Pemberley and continuing Elizabeth and Darcy's story. I was amazed at the skill with which the author wrote in Austen's world without feeling out of place. A great read.
adventurous
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Well, read it to try P.D. James, and because I saw it recommended. I guess it probably influenced me into a lower opinion of P.D. James than I might have had, had I started with another of her books. I certainly did not expect a reproduction of Jane Austen - although P.D. James has a nearly successful go at it when she describes the church attendance after the crime. For the rest, the book reads as a review of Pride and Prejudice. I would have appreciated a little less flash-backs, a little more growth in the characters. Darcy is stuck in his shame for having taken some "wrong" decisions and held "wrong" opinions - and not shown to have evolved in his opinions. He might have learned (from Elizabeth) to see the value of independent thought and judging for oneself by the inner character of people in stead of keeping up appearances and sticking to formalities for the sake of the formalities.
I also found any questioning of Lydia lacking - someone might have asked her what happened in the chaise and how Denny came to leave it. What did she make of that conversation? But then those are the choices and liberties of the author, of course.
The book reads easily though and flows well and I suppose the author enjoyed weaving the other novels by Jane Austen into the story.
Yet I think that those people who enjoyed Jane Austens novels will be disappointed in this sequel (and would not need all those flash-backs unless they might add something to the story), and those who never read Jane Austen will not meet with any feeling of recognition.
I also found any questioning of Lydia lacking - someone might have asked her what happened in the chaise and how Denny came to leave it. What did she make of that conversation? But then those are the choices and liberties of the author, of course.
The book reads easily though and flows well and I suppose the author enjoyed weaving the other novels by Jane Austen into the story.
Yet I think that those people who enjoyed Jane Austens novels will be disappointed in this sequel (and would not need all those flash-backs unless they might add something to the story), and those who never read Jane Austen will not meet with any feeling of recognition.