Reviews with content warning for Racism - Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice by Curtis Sittenfeld

33 reviews

allthingsnerdy's review against another edition

lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a really brilliant modern adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. A lot has been changed, but I think most of the changes felt like they captured the point of a scene or story arch, even if the change was significant. The only thing I missed was

the final showdown between Lizzy and Lady Catherine, and Lady Catherine being a more prominent character in general. I appreciate that Kathy de Bourgh has been changed into this strong business woman and feminist, but that made her pretty irrelevant to the plot, to the point that that whole piece could have been cut out and I don't think it would have been missed.

. A lot of the journalism stuff that Liz talks about is also fairly irrelevant to the plot, besides the fact that that's how she met Jasper. But overall, outside of these minor complaints, I thought it was great and would definitely be interested in reading it again!

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shayanelacey's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a reread. I don't think I liked this book the first time I read it (admittedly years ago) but lots of my friends were recommending Curtis Sittenfeld novels and I thought I might give it another go and it felt much more fun the second time around. If I had to guess, I'd imagine that during my first read, I was hyperfocused on the fact that it's a retelling of Pride and Prejudice, and didn't quite know how to react to the choices made in the retelling (starting with "Chip" Bingley).

On this read, it felt more like a satirical romp that I thoroughly enjoyed. Even if some of the addressing of social issues felt a touch clumsy at times and I'm not sure the social commentary always landed as sharply as intended.

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jjbug86's review against another edition

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lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

1.0

I love Jane Austen, so I'm typically game for anything Austen-adjacent. That said, this book was an enormous disappointment. Had I not been reading it as part of a book club, I definitely would not have finished it. It swung between tedious (why do I need to know the names of all the streets in Cincinnati?) and, at times, downright offensive (racist, transphobic, fat-phobic, etc). Besides their names, the characters bore little resemblance to Austen's creations. They were shallow, one-dimensional, and generally irredeemable. The author did a poor job of translating Austen's world into a modern context, and it often read like she couldn't decide which century she was writing in.

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rebeccameyrink's review against another edition

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3.0

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alireads's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted slow-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? Yes

3.5

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hornborra's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

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danidimuzio's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book left a very weird taste in my mouth. Difficult to know if some of the offensive content would have been offensive 10 years ago or would have been written today. The characters are significantly less likable than Austen’s originals, and Darcy’s capitulation in particular, though inevitable, still felt random and unexplained.

It’s fine as a cheesy romance novel but I don’t think it reflects kindly on the source material and the way race and gender are discussed do make me think I’d have been better off not reading it.

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k_toch's review against another edition

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relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

One of my favorite adaptations of Pride and Prejudice I've read -- I felt like I really knew each of the Bennetts and could see how they exist in modern society. And some of the changes that were made to the plot were surprising in a good way -- it really felt like experiencing something new. I was a tad disappointed with the ending, though.

Liz proposing to Darcy when they haven't even dated yet? That just didn't feel believable to me.

But overall I really enjoyed and would recommend.

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emily511's review against another edition

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funny 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

2.0

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lindsayerin's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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