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A review by inessova
Pride and Prejudice: with original illustrations by C. E. Brock by M. C. Frank, Jane Austen
3.0
Before stating the reasons why I gave this book three stars and not five like 99% of my friends, I want to say that I love the story. I think I've watched the movie at least 5 times, and I've seen the mini series as well. And I liked them very much.
My problem was that I didn't enjoy the book more. The writing took me a bit to get used to, but halfway through I got used to it and loved it really.
I had a big problem with the narrative/ dialogue in the book. It frustrated me at times, that when I needed to know what was exactly being said, was just narrated, and when I really didn't care about the dialogue, I had to go through a whole page of speeches. That was a big part of the reason I preferred the movies..
Moreover, I didn't like the secondary characters, they were all one dimensional. They were either too good (Jane), too haughty (Catherine De Bough), too flighty..
Every character was just one thing. They didn't have layers to them. It was like cartoon. and I hated how they treated each other. Everyone of them even Elizabeth thought they were superior either because they were rich, so they're better than the poor, or they were educated and read books so they were better than those who didn't read.
While reading I didn't wish I was with them in that period of time. They were all fake, sometimes hurting people with unnecessary incivility.
Let's talk about Elizabeth. She is pictured as this this lively, well-educated young woman, but I didn't see that in her actions, she was like any other woman, gossiping and talking about people all the time.
I LOVED that she wasn't in a search of a husband just for the sake to be married. It takes courage to to take a stand when everything women think about is marriage at that time. But her only contender was not such a hard person to say no to. Mr Collins made me cringe at times, so much he was so ill-bred.
And Darcy! He was the best thing in the book, I connected to him, he had character, he made mistake and learnt from them. Sure Elizabeth was the one who opened his eyes but he accepted criticism and became a better person. Even though I did like him from the beginning, because I'm shy too, don't talk when have nothing to say (small talk is so not my thing) and it's more easy for me to connect with people I'm already acquainted with. Nowadays, it's called being an introvert. then, it was called being proud.
So in conclusion, it was an average love story. A harlequin novel really, certainly, it was beautifully written in the 19th century but a harlequin nonetheless.
My problem was that I didn't enjoy the book more. The writing took me a bit to get used to, but halfway through I got used to it and loved it really.
I had a big problem with the narrative/ dialogue in the book. It frustrated me at times, that when I needed to know what was exactly being said, was just narrated, and when I really didn't care about the dialogue, I had to go through a whole page of speeches. That was a big part of the reason I preferred the movies..
Moreover, I didn't like the secondary characters, they were all one dimensional. They were either too good (Jane), too haughty (Catherine De Bough), too flighty..
Every character was just one thing. They didn't have layers to them. It was like cartoon. and I hated how they treated each other. Everyone of them even Elizabeth thought they were superior either because they were rich, so they're better than the poor, or they were educated and read books so they were better than those who didn't read.
While reading I didn't wish I was with them in that period of time. They were all fake, sometimes hurting people with unnecessary incivility.
Let's talk about Elizabeth. She is pictured as this this lively, well-educated young woman, but I didn't see that in her actions, she was like any other woman, gossiping and talking about people all the time.
I LOVED that she wasn't in a search of a husband just for the sake to be married. It takes courage to to take a stand when everything women think about is marriage at that time. But her only contender was not such a hard person to say no to. Mr Collins made me cringe at times, so much he was so ill-bred.
And Darcy! He was the best thing in the book, I connected to him, he had character, he made mistake and learnt from them. Sure Elizabeth was the one who opened his eyes but he accepted criticism and became a better person. Even though I did like him from the beginning, because I'm shy too, don't talk when have nothing to say (small talk is so not my thing) and it's more easy for me to connect with people I'm already acquainted with. Nowadays, it's called being an introvert. then, it was called being proud.
So in conclusion, it was an average love story. A harlequin novel really, certainly, it was beautifully written in the 19th century but a harlequin nonetheless.