Reviews

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

cainscr's review against another edition

dark funny 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

3.5

zoekitch's review against another edition

4.0

LOVED! as a Cincinnati native, I'll admit most of this book was just my pure joy to have so much of my childhood mentioned in a random book recommended by my English teacher. just was so into every second waiting for the next reference, and I enjoyed the modern if goofy modern interpretations of characters.

mandaailey's review against another edition

challenging slow-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

1.25

This book made me so angry. The casual racism and homophobia used throughout is despicable. I had to double check when this book was written multiple times because despite its use of cell phones, the views of the characters felt like they were straight from 90s or early 2000s.

Then, setting that mess aside, these characters were awful. Somehow Sittenfeld achieved a feat I never thought possible; disliking Lizzy Bennet in a P&P retelling. 

Also, why the hell are there nearly 200 chapters in this book? Insanity.

I've given a half star for Charlotte and Cousin Willie actually seeming to make things work, half a star for Cathy de Bourgh not being a bitch, and a quarter star for the audiobook narrator making it through this hot mess.

susannah_knox's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted 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? No

3.25

katelarsenkeys's review against another edition

funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

A contemporary Cincinnati reimagining of Pride and Prejudice meets Greys Anatomy and The Bachelor.

literallyyyyy's review against another edition

funny relaxing fast-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

An iconic story of enemies to lovers from the queen Austen herself transformed seamlessly into a present day tale by Sittenfield.  This modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice created the perfect bridge of understanding for today's readers to more closely follow and experience the air tight tension and banter between the two main characters in Austen's original story.  What context is lost through the years since its publication, is regained in Sittenfield's version.  I found myself laughing and "clutching my pearls" at all the same moments and maybe even more in this book.  It was seriously a joy to read this.

sashapasha's review against another edition

3.0

So I don't know why, but I found the hate-sex to be the most intriguing part of this book.

I was just skimming away, enjoying the story sleepily, when suddenly, Lizzie is like hey want to go have hate-sex? and my ears perked up and things got interesting fast.

For some reason, I just never envisioned Lizzie and Darcy being intimate before Lizzie's opinion of Darcy starts changing for the better. The original is obviously much too old-fashioned for such things, but also it just seemed a tad off-character. Lizzie (the original at least) doesn't seem like the type to act on lust, rather than love. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the whole hate-sex aspect of the story. I think more books should have hate-sex. It was very well-portrayed in this book.

The rest of the updates are executed with varying degrees of success. I liked the whole cross-fit thing with Lydia and Kitty, and I was a fan of the inspirational, non-dragon Kathy de Bourgh. I wasn't a huge fan of how defensive Lizzie was about Cincinnati and other things to Darcy. She came across as having an inferiority complex at times, and it seemed like she spent almost all of her early encounters with him trying to defend her insecurities.

The spider infestation was absolutely horrifying. It was like a fire-breathing hydra suddenly turning up in a story about teddy-bears. What the hell? Keep that shit bottled. I don't need nightmares from reading contemporary romances.

justplainbecca's review against another edition

5.0

I am DEAD from how much I loved this book.

livburness's review against another edition

funny lighthearted fast-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? Yes

3.5

jadajing's review against another edition

2.0

Ugh! This retelling took a classy tale and turned it into a trashy one. I should have passed on it.