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buttercupita's review against another edition
4.0
I hadn't read a romance in a while, and I have never read a Jane Austen book. This was tremendous fun, but I think it would have been better 50-100 pages shorter!
thefemalekyle's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
This was selected for a romance book club read from a friend of a friend (no one in the group).
When I hadn’t started it yet and another friend in the club said they were gonna “have questions about the original pride & prejudice” I should’ve known something was up. For street cred, I have a P&P foot tattoo and also was in the TRENCHES of the Lizzie Bennet Diaries fandom while it was airing as well as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
Aside from all the casual racism, homophobia, and transphobia, this was a flop of a modern adaptation that the author only ‘’modernized” bits of the book when it suited them and in increasingly gross ways.
I am just gonna post my live react notes below cause I’m done dedicating brain space to this drivel:
[Begin]
Does this family…hate one another?
Oh the mom is racist AND homophobic…cool!
Jesus this is a tough read. How do you zap all of the charm from the Bennents???!!
WOW sending cheap lingerie. How charming and sexy of him.
“Bang you in a hotel I get to expense” what a fucking romantic
Girl, Lizzie you are 38. Why are you still mooning over this asshole. STAND UP!
These people text like boomers
Irrationally annoyed at this author needing to prove a point how much she knows Cincinnati. Down to the streets.
One thing I will give the story is the medical debt of Mr. Bennett is an ok change for modern times.
“Two runs? Are you anorexic?” WHAT
“A chubby chaser.” Guck. I hate it here.
They keep talking about peoples issues but then never to anything to address it. Georgie has anorexia. Mrs. Bennetts a shopaholic.
All the ‘NPC characters’ aren’t developed past the status of their skin or what genitals or ‘defects’ they have. Mary is ace and only likes bowling!!??! Shawn is Black and “oh my mom’s a racist?!” “Georgie is anorexic but WHELP what can we do?!” UGH
The language was tedious and overly flowery to the point of exhaustion at times. If Curtis was trying to emulate Jane Austen they failed. I don’t think she likes any of these characters.
AND WOW OH WOW DONT GET ME STARTED ON THE SURPRISE TRANS TWIST WITH THE WICKEM (OR SORRY, WICK AND HAM, come’on) WHO IS THE EQUIV THE VILLAIN OF THE ORIGINAL BOOK
Calling being trans a ‘birth defect’ Darcy wtffff
OMG I hate this. I truly do.
[End]
This book was so bad my friends and I continued to trash it at arts fest this weekend. It’s becoming an inside joke it was so bad.
I wish I could scrub this from my brain.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Racism, Acephobia/Arophobia, Homophobia, and Transphobia
reydeam's review against another edition
2.0
I don't consider myself a Pride & Prejudice purist but maybe I am because I could barely stomach this one. And yet, I read the entire book with speed and hopefulness. I love retellings, I do. They're not all good, but I am a sucker for them. I go into them with much hope. I was very much looking forward to this book.
There were several moments in Eligible that kept my eyes glued to the pages, I was very interested. But, there were many more moments were my hopes were dashed; my hopes for the story to develop further into a story of my liking. I was hoping the retelling would redeem itself. I was hoping the modern twists would rekindle into a nicely told story.
It seems I am in the minority, a vast amount of people are digging this retelling's modern twist. I am not one of them. I found this modern take on Pride and Prejudice to be boorish and crass with characters out of character; characters ballooned into caricatures. The Bennett sisters are spoilt (of course) but their crassness (especially with the younger two) was hard to take. Plus, I did not like Jane or Elizabeth all that much either (I liked Jane more than Liz). A retelling can be modern without crafting characters whose only purpose is to shock. I was able tolerate the reimagining of Lydia, she was shocking for her day in the original story and stayed true to that. But the reimagining of Elizabeth was far too much for my stomach to tolerate. The connection between Darcy and Elizabeth was not felt, it was all about Elizabeth and her lack of any relationship maturity. her idea of having "hate sex" with Darcy was all sorts of thumbs down.
Bottom line: This modern twist on Pride and Prejudice, the characters and their world, left me feeling blah. Yeah. Blah. Meh. I was disappointed but was entertained enough that I was able to finish the book.
As Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs Darcy puts it, "Sittenfeld is no Jane Austen, but she's okay with that: her snappy writing and spirit of playfulness make this such good fun for Jane Austen fans, if you're willing to go with it." I wasn't willing to go with it. (emphasis is mine)
And, "The purists will need their smelling salts."
For me, the smelling salts were not strong enough.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
My book thoughts were also posted on my blog, Polishing Mud Balls
https://polishingmudballs.wordpress.com/2016/06/02/book-thoughts-eligible-by-curtis-sittenfeld/
There were several moments in Eligible that kept my eyes glued to the pages, I was very interested. But, there were many more moments were my hopes were dashed; my hopes for the story to develop further into a story of my liking. I was hoping the retelling would redeem itself. I was hoping the modern twists would rekindle into a nicely told story.
It seems I am in the minority, a vast amount of people are digging this retelling's modern twist. I am not one of them. I found this modern take on Pride and Prejudice to be boorish and crass with characters out of character; characters ballooned into caricatures. The Bennett sisters are spoilt (of course) but their crassness (especially with the younger two) was hard to take. Plus, I did not like Jane or Elizabeth all that much either (I liked Jane more than Liz). A retelling can be modern without crafting characters whose only purpose is to shock. I was able tolerate the reimagining of Lydia, she was shocking for her day in the original story and stayed true to that. But the reimagining of Elizabeth was far too much for my stomach to tolerate. The connection between Darcy and Elizabeth was not felt, it was all about Elizabeth and her lack of any relationship maturity. her idea of having "hate sex" with Darcy was all sorts of thumbs down.
Bottom line: This modern twist on Pride and Prejudice, the characters and their world, left me feeling blah. Yeah. Blah. Meh. I was disappointed but was entertained enough that I was able to finish the book.
As Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs Darcy puts it, "Sittenfeld is no Jane Austen, but she's okay with that: her snappy writing and spirit of playfulness make this such good fun for Jane Austen fans, if you're willing to go with it." I wasn't willing to go with it. (emphasis is mine)
And, "The purists will need their smelling salts."
For me, the smelling salts were not strong enough.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
My book thoughts were also posted on my blog, Polishing Mud Balls
https://polishingmudballs.wordpress.com/2016/06/02/book-thoughts-eligible-by-curtis-sittenfeld/
eekain's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
cainscr's review
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
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.
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.