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spectacledbear's review against another edition
5.0
A collection of essays about various aspects of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, from discussion of what makes Mr Darcy so attractive to background on the minor characters.
andreablythe's review against another edition
4.0
A collection of essays (and handful of short stories) from chick-lit and modern literary authors assesses the classic Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice. It's a fun light-hearted criticism of the book, addressing it from a modern perspective, even going so far as to imagine what it might be like if Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters had to deal with cell phones or if the book was actually a reality TV show. Some of the essays are better than others, but most of them were easy reads with enough I-hadn't-thought-about-it-that-way throughout to hold my interest.
atroskity's review against another edition
2.0
This marks the first (and hopefully only) time I have used the words “Pride and Prejudice” and “disappointment” in the same sentence.
Everything started off well enough when I first opened Flirting with Pride and Prejudice. The first few essays are entertaining, if not elucidating; I learned a little about how P&P reflects modern relationships, and how self-professed chick-lit writers see their work in the grand scheme of things. It is perhaps telling (more about me than about the quality of the collection) that my favorite essay was rooted more in the actual history of the novel than about how P&P is some sort of dummies’ how-to guide about girlie books.
There’s too much cute, there’s too little thought. I know this is supposed to be a simple collection of “dishy” essays about the “original chick-lit masterpiece” (just that subtitle alone almost made me put it back on the library shelf, and I kind of wish I had) and granted, “Jane Austen and the Masturbating Critic” was entertaining (and not like that), and “The Gold-Diggers of 1813” was interesting, but the majority are throw-away little bits of fluff.
The essays are divided into sections, like “Jane and the Movies” and “Jane and Academe,” which are all pretty self-explanatory and occasionally have interesting ideas to posit. Like the idea that the lower gentry of Austen’s novels deal with “high class problems,” much like chick-lit heroines, which is an interesting perspective and not unfair to either Austen or chick-lit. But there’s just not enough of this.
Ok, now I’ve said that I’m pretty lukewarm on the first half or so of the book (at least, I hope that’s what I said), but then we get to “Jane’s Untold Stories.” Ick. I know there is a thriving market for Jane Austen sequels and rehashes, but I am not the target audience; I have never read one I liked, as no one can capture the ironic tone that Austen so clearly masters. So, I was less than thrilled when I realized there was a whole section devoted to telling the “untold stories” of minor characters. I read one or two and then skipped the rest of the section (maybe I missed some gem of literary genius, but I’m not interested enough to find out) For example: Mary Bennet as the passionate secret lover of an Irish footman?? You’ve got to be shitting me.
The concluding sections are about on par with the beginning, so no new discoveries there.
I don’t absolutely HATE this book, but it’s a lousy start to my 2012 reading (although I technically started it in 2011). I need to find something better to be the first “officially” read book of the year, and wash this disappointment away.
Everything started off well enough when I first opened Flirting with Pride and Prejudice. The first few essays are entertaining, if not elucidating; I learned a little about how P&P reflects modern relationships, and how self-professed chick-lit writers see their work in the grand scheme of things. It is perhaps telling (more about me than about the quality of the collection) that my favorite essay was rooted more in the actual history of the novel than about how P&P is some sort of dummies’ how-to guide about girlie books.
There’s too much cute, there’s too little thought. I know this is supposed to be a simple collection of “dishy” essays about the “original chick-lit masterpiece” (just that subtitle alone almost made me put it back on the library shelf, and I kind of wish I had) and granted, “Jane Austen and the Masturbating Critic” was entertaining (and not like that), and “The Gold-Diggers of 1813” was interesting, but the majority are throw-away little bits of fluff.
The essays are divided into sections, like “Jane and the Movies” and “Jane and Academe,” which are all pretty self-explanatory and occasionally have interesting ideas to posit. Like the idea that the lower gentry of Austen’s novels deal with “high class problems,” much like chick-lit heroines, which is an interesting perspective and not unfair to either Austen or chick-lit. But there’s just not enough of this.
Ok, now I’ve said that I’m pretty lukewarm on the first half or so of the book (at least, I hope that’s what I said), but then we get to “Jane’s Untold Stories.” Ick. I know there is a thriving market for Jane Austen sequels and rehashes, but I am not the target audience; I have never read one I liked, as no one can capture the ironic tone that Austen so clearly masters. So, I was less than thrilled when I realized there was a whole section devoted to telling the “untold stories” of minor characters. I read one or two and then skipped the rest of the section (maybe I missed some gem of literary genius, but I’m not interested enough to find out) For example: Mary Bennet as the passionate secret lover of an Irish footman?? You’ve got to be shitting me.
The concluding sections are about on par with the beginning, so no new discoveries there.
I don’t absolutely HATE this book, but it’s a lousy start to my 2012 reading (although I technically started it in 2011). I need to find something better to be the first “officially” read book of the year, and wash this disappointment away.
littlemainelibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
This book is interesting...
It is a collection of essays about Pride and Prejudice. Some are humorous, others quite serious - all are fascinating. ☺
I especially loved the one by Lani about Darcy! I giggled like a loon while reading it. Anyone who has ever seen the 6 hour BBC version of P&P would totally understand it! 😉😄😉
All in all it is a very interesting book and unusual, which can be hard to find when the topic is Austen. LOL! 😉
It is a collection of essays about Pride and Prejudice. Some are humorous, others quite serious - all are fascinating. ☺
I especially loved the one by Lani about Darcy! I giggled like a loon while reading it. Anyone who has ever seen the 6 hour BBC version of P&P would totally understand it! 😉😄😉
All in all it is a very interesting book and unusual, which can be hard to find when the topic is Austen. LOL! 😉
katiemoten's review
2.0
This collection is basically exactly what it says it is: it's a sort of tongue-in-cheek engagement with Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice in the early 21st century. I thought it was ok, but not great.
It comes from a pop culture perspective rather than an academic one, so it's not meant to be taken very seriously, and that's ok, but the quality varies a lot in the essays. Some of them seem a bit too silly to be taken seriously. I think maybe if there had been a more academic tone, the quality would have been better.
There are a lot of themes explored here. Among the variety of approaches to the subject, some authors write about movie adaptations, some focus on Mr Darcy, some explore what was happening during Austen's time as she was writing the novel, and some even write alternative stories for some of the characters. Some of these were quite interesting, but, again, I think if the tone had been more serious, these would have been better.
I think this collection is really dated as well. There's too much swooning over Darcy and too much cattiness about the female characters. I mean, Lydia gets called a slut. Can we please just not? In the era of #MeToo, I'd like to think this book would be written completely differently, with a lot more empathy to characters like Lydia.
So, sadly, a disappointment for me. I think it's of its time, but I think writing about Austen and her characters has moved on. I like to hope it has anyway.
It comes from a pop culture perspective rather than an academic one, so it's not meant to be taken very seriously, and that's ok, but the quality varies a lot in the essays. Some of them seem a bit too silly to be taken seriously. I think maybe if there had been a more academic tone, the quality would have been better.
There are a lot of themes explored here. Among the variety of approaches to the subject, some authors write about movie adaptations, some focus on Mr Darcy, some explore what was happening during Austen's time as she was writing the novel, and some even write alternative stories for some of the characters. Some of these were quite interesting, but, again, I think if the tone had been more serious, these would have been better.
I think this collection is really dated as well. There's too much swooning over Darcy and too much cattiness about the female characters. I mean, Lydia gets called a slut. Can we please just not? In the era of #MeToo, I'd like to think this book would be written completely differently, with a lot more empathy to characters like Lydia.
So, sadly, a disappointment for me. I think it's of its time, but I think writing about Austen and her characters has moved on. I like to hope it has anyway.
janetlun's review
It's edited by Jennifer Crusie, but the 24 short pieces are by a variety of authors. It's a mix of essays and short stories in response to Price and Prejudice. I suppose the short stories qualify as fanfic, as they take the characters from the novel. Some of the stories are set in the world of P&P, and others transport the characters to modern time. Crusie is a smart, funny writer, so it's no surprise that she's put together a smart, funny collection. I'll never look at Mary Bennet the same way again.
somechelsea's review
3.0
I was disappointed in this collection - there seemed to be no middle ground between overly academic (and frankly, boring) essays, and the ones that didn't do much more than point out that every woman in the world thinks Colin Firth is hot. Yeah, I know. (Yeah, I'm the oddball who liked McFadyen better.)
[author:Adam Robert]'s Jane Austen and the Masturbating Critic was the most frustrating (and simultaneously content-light), but Lani Diane Rich's squealing teenage girl-esque diary (My Firth Love) was the most unredeemable. The Original Chick Lit Masterpiece was interesting, and I enjoyed all of the essays in Jane's Untold Stories. I'll probably end up buying this at some point, but only because I can't help myself when it comes to Jane. And I refuse to pay full price for it. So there.
[author:Adam Robert]'s Jane Austen and the Masturbating Critic was the most frustrating (and simultaneously content-light), but Lani Diane Rich's squealing teenage girl-esque diary (My Firth Love) was the most unredeemable. The Original Chick Lit Masterpiece was interesting, and I enjoyed all of the essays in Jane's Untold Stories. I'll probably end up buying this at some point, but only because I can't help myself when it comes to Jane. And I refuse to pay full price for it. So there.
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