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leannanecdote's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Classism, Fatphobia, and Sexism
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Infertility, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Colonisation
Minor: Death of parent
kibbles15's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was an interesting take on Jane Austen's <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>. It takes the well know story and puts it in contemporary Pakistan. It was definitely a creative take on the story. I did find the book to be a bit long winded and it catered a bit toward people already familiar with the culture in Pakistan. That being said, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to other readers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Misogyny, Classism, and Sexism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Sexual content, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Cursing
katievh's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Classism, and Body shaming
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Infertility, and Abortion
bookwormbullet's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, Body shaming, and Fatphobia
Minor: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Abortion
chalkletters's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
The premise of Unmarriageable appealed to me: Pride and Prejudice set in contemporary Pakistan. Retellings of the same story are usually interesting, and while I’ve experienced a few modern takes of Pride and Prejudice, the Pakistani setting made this one stand out as something different. Soniah Kamal makes it work well in several ways: the urgency placed on getting the Binat sisters married, and the way their family’s reputation reflects on their eligibility feels much more at home here than it might in a British retelling.
Unmarriageable’s characters are interesting, too. Alys and Darsee have a history of displacement in common with each other, and with me, which is something fresh bringing them together, as is their love of literature. It surprised me, at first, that Jane Austen actually exists in the novel, but it made sense. The criticism of Anne de Bourgh by her re-imagined character was a particularly nice touch. Soniah Kamal also takes the award for the grossest version of Mr Collins since the original, he actually made my skin crawl.
In some places, Unmarriageable stuck too closely to the original. It was fairly obvious what was going to happen, with relatively few surprises, which made reading the book an experience in exasperated impatience. That said, there were some differences, mostly in the characters rather than the plot. And at one point, I genuinely questioned whether Alys Binat was going to end the book unmarried, which would certainly have been a twist!
Unfortunately, what really let Unmarriageable down was the prose; it was just terrible. Sentences rambled in a way that made me cringe almost as much as Farhat Kaleen. While I could understand what Soniah Kamal was getting at, there was no grace in it, and I kept being thrown out of the world by constructions like ‘she was beginning to believe that truly of what use was beauty without a brain that could plot’.
Usually, I say that characters are the most important part of a book for me, but Unmarriageable has taught me that prose quality is at least equally significant, if not more so.
Content Warnings
Minor: Body shaming, Chronic illness, and Abortion
reads2cope's review against another edition
3.0
This was a fun read, but I wish it would have branched a bit more from the original. That, or reference Austen less. It was a little unbelievable to have Darsee talk about Darcy or Alys quote Pride & Prejudice without anyone in the story catching the similarities.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Islamophobia, Body shaming, Classism, Fatphobia, Abortion, and Sexism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
liezjo's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ANY pride and prejudice retelling, sign me UP! It’s way more obvious that Darsee writes the explanation letter to maintain Alys’s interest, god, he’s smitten. I love Qitty’s ending (stop the fatphobia!!) and I love the insight into Pakistani culture circa 2000. The constant mentioning of P&P was unnecessary, in my opinion. Recommend!
Content Warnings
Minor: Abortion, Classism, Infertility, Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Violence
booksandstrokes's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, and Death
salon3ly's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
for whatever reason, the reigning emotion felt for me throughout the book was melancholy - especially the early middle part. more than alys, i felt the most compelled by qitty's storyline and wish that was properly addressed and resolved instead of once again having a fat character as a background device.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming and Fatphobia
Minor: Abortion
painausten314's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny and Fatphobia
Minor: Abortion and Miscarriage