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shayanelacey's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Infertility, Racism, Transphobia, and Classism
jjbug86's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia
alireads's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racism, Transphobia, Antisemitism, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Classism
danidimuzio's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Transphobia, Xenophobia, and Antisemitism
k_toch's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, and Transphobia
Minor: Antisemitism
smolbeez's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Incest, Racism, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Car accident, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Outing, Alcohol, and Classism
pattyreader's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
A superficial rewrite of Pride and Prejudice, the characters are never developed and serious topics such as being transgender, facing discrimination, eating disorders, body dysmorphia, infertility and abortion are dismissed as minor, irrelevant or with voyeurism. This rewrite is the furthest from what Jane Austen wrote.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Abortion, Pregnancy, Outing, Alcohol, and Dysphoria
skudiklier's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I'm really not sure how I feel about this book. On one hand, I enjoyed reading it, and was very invested in what was going to happen. I wasn't at all bored by it because I knew how Pride and Prejudice goes, or anything like that.
On the other hand, for the first third of the book I hated all of the characters, and I still don't really like most of them by the end. There's a lot of transphobia, fatphobia, racism, and homophobia. Some of these are very clearly faults of the characters, but others are less easily dismissed. (More details on each of these under the spoiler warning.)
Transphobia: a major plot point in the novel is when a character is revealed to be trans, and this is treated very badly by almost every character. This is actually the one spoiler I knew ahead of time, because I'm trans and I read a little bit about this part of the book before starting it. But what I didn't realize is that even Lizzy was going to be weird and transphobic about it. She does quickly learn what she said/did was wrong, and becomes better towards the end of the book. But still, that section was frustrating and I didn't like it. It feels way out of proportion for her to fly home because of this, and to be honest I think Darcy forgives her too easily for this. Overall though it's clear Sittenfeld meant the transphobia to be a fault of the characters, and she herself doesn't agree with that, and so on and so on. I'm glad it was so clearly disputed in the book. But I still wouldn't have made that this big of a deal in the book at all.
Fatphobia: the fatphobia is one of the bigger issues I have with the book, as it's both blatant and not super clearly disagreed with. Lizzy as the narrator repeatedly says things like how she tries not to get caught up in diet talk, but that she's not completely successful. The characters' fatphobia is made fun of in some ways but reinforced in others. Charlotte is the only fat character that I can think of who is presented in a positive light, but she's repeatedly called unattractive--by the characters, but still. I think all of the characters who are portrayed as attractive are straight size, if not actively thin.
Racism: part of me wants to say the racism is disputed in similar ways to the transphobia, but I know I might also just be less focused on that since I'm white. Lizzy does definitely point out that several characters are racist, and this is seen as bad, and it's clear neither Lizzy as the narrator nor Sittenfeld as the author think any of the racism is okay. However, the casual racism just scattered throughout the book was still obviously not great, and I'm not sure how much of it was necessary or relevant to the plot.
Homophobia/lesbophobia: the homophobia was pretty bad in the beginning, and got a little better later on. I feel it could have been addressed more clearly, rather than just being accepted as normal, but I have less issue with the homophobia than with the rest of the things listed above. Lizzy's sisters are kind of awful about it though, and if you don't feel like reading a bunch of "haha you're a lesbian" "no I'm not" interactions, I wouldn't recommend this book.
Overall, I'm pretty torn on if I liked this book or would recommend it. In general I like Sittenfeld's writing, but the more of her books I read, I'm not sure if I should want to read them. I don't think this was a terrible retelling of Pride and Prejudice, though it's definitely a different story with different characters. I was also not super convinced by Darcy's character in general; I feel like in the beginning he was an almost irredeemable asshole, and then later he just sort of became nice and interesting. I don't buy that that's the same person with the same motivations.
On the other hand, for the first third of the book I hated all of the characters, and I still don't really like most of them by the end. There's a lot of transphobia, fatphobia, racism, and homophobia. Some of these are very clearly faults of the characters, but others are less easily dismissed. (More details on each of these under the spoiler warning.)
Transphobia: a major plot point in the novel is when a character is revealed to be trans, and this is treated very badly by almost every character. This is actually the one spoiler I knew ahead of time, because I'm trans and I read a little bit about this part of the book before starting it. But what I didn't realize is that even Lizzy was going to be weird and transphobic about it. She does quickly learn what she said/did was wrong, and becomes better towards the end of the book. But still, that section was frustrating and I didn't like it. It feels way out of proportion for her to fly home because of this, and to be honest I think Darcy forgives her too easily for this. Overall though it's clear Sittenfeld meant the transphobia to be a fault of the characters, and she herself doesn't agree with that, and so on and so on. I'm glad it was so clearly disputed in the book. But I still wouldn't have made that this big of a deal in the book at all.
Fatphobia: the fatphobia is one of the bigger issues I have with the book, as it's both blatant and not super clearly disagreed with. Lizzy as the narrator repeatedly says things like how she tries not to get caught up in diet talk, but that she's not completely successful. The characters' fatphobia is made fun of in some ways but reinforced in others. Charlotte is the only fat character that I can think of who is presented in a positive light, but she's repeatedly called unattractive--by the characters, but still. I think all of the characters who are portrayed as attractive are straight size, if not actively thin.
Racism: part of me wants to say the racism is disputed in similar ways to the transphobia, but I know I might also just be less focused on that since I'm white. Lizzy does definitely point out that several characters are racist, and this is seen as bad, and it's clear neither Lizzy as the narrator nor Sittenfeld as the author think any of the racism is okay. However, the casual racism just scattered throughout the book was still obviously not great, and I'm not sure how much of it was necessary or relevant to the plot.
Homophobia/lesbophobia: the homophobia was pretty bad in the beginning, and got a little better later on. I feel it could have been addressed more clearly, rather than just being accepted as normal, but I have less issue with the homophobia than with the rest of the things listed above. Lizzy's sisters are kind of awful about it though, and if you don't feel like reading a bunch of "haha you're a lesbian" "no I'm not" interactions, I wouldn't recommend this book.
Overall, I'm pretty torn on if I liked this book or would recommend it. In general I like Sittenfeld's writing, but the more of her books I read, I'm not sure if I should want to read them. I don't think this was a terrible retelling of Pride and Prejudice, though it's definitely a different story with different characters. I was also not super convinced by Darcy's character in general; I feel like in the beginning he was an almost irredeemable asshole, and then later he just sort of became nice and interesting. I don't buy that that's the same person with the same motivations.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Hate crime, Incest, Racial slurs, Antisemitism, and Pregnancy
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Stalking, Murder, and Outing
transphobic slur (t slur)tiasreads's review against another edition
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming and Homophobia
Minor: Eating disorder and Racial slurs
shelbybelby's review against another edition
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? Yes
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Racism, Transphobia, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Eating disorder, Homophobia, Incest, and Lesbophobia