Author: Jane Austen
Genre: Romance, Historical Fiction
Target Audience: From Adults to young readers
Reading Experience: 7.5/10
Story: 7.5/10
Writing: 6/10
My Verdict: 7/10
Okay, so you'll read a LOT of contradictions here, in this review. So bear with me 'till the end. I'm not really sure where I stand with this book, but I'll let you decide.
So, Pride and Prejudice. We've all heard it. Many of you had to read it in school or for a course in college. It was, simply put, an obligation to do so. Since English literature is not in Puerto Rico's curriculum (we had other excruciatingly boring books to read), I wasn't "obligated" to read this book. English literature was pretty much non-existent in Puerto Rico. We were too busy reading the same novel over and over; one was about an epileptic girl in a very poor village, another was a collection of poems from a woman that was depressed practically her whole life. An occasional "decent" book made it to our hands, but the rest was excruciating, a real challenge.
Okay, back to Jane Austen. I read it on my own accord. No teacher to obligate me, and no fear of failing a class to make me "endure" the book. Nope. Only me. I know by know some of you are saying "Are you crazy? Reading Jane Austen voluntarily?". Yes! Why not? Everybody has read it at least once, and everybody knows its story, either from the movie adaptations or the book itself. I saw the trailer for the 2005 movie adaptation with Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen. Curiosity got the best of me. That, and the fact that Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was made into a movie, so I HAD to read the original to understand the ... alterations to the story. Makes sense now, right?
So the story is about the Bennett family, specifically about Elizabeth, the second oldest daughter (out of five girls). The Bennets are a humble family, made almost entirely out of girls (except, of course, the father). So we have this family living in a time where a woman must marry good in order to survive in the world. That means, marrying a man with either money or a good future - and if a woman finds a man with both qualities, she just hit a jackpot. So the book is basically about the parents (well, mostly the mother), trying to marry the daughters - specially the eldest one, Jane - and the events that happen all around them in this era.
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| Here they are, as a man and potential husband comes in... "Eenie, meenie..." (Okay no, that was cruel... sorry 'bout that) |
The story develops itself around the Bennett family, but mostly around the love/hate relationship between our prejudiced heroine, Elizabeth Bennett, and a proud, rich man named Mr. Darcy. It's a somewhat funny and elegant story as his pride and her prejudice build up one of literature's most iconic love stories.
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| They are sooo into each other |
Reading Experience: 7.5/10
Here's where the review gets funny and contradictory. I liked the story overall, what it was about and how sweet and elegant it was. But I literally had to endure the book. I mean, I felt like I was dragging myself throughout the whole book (which is quite lengthy!). I found a few chapters to be hilarious (something I didn't think possible in a very, very old novel), and I was very much pleased with Lizzy's character and her her meetings with the proud Mr. Darcy.
I also found many, many scenes and chapters either unnecessary or too saturated. I had to take a breather between each chapter, and sometimes a week-long break between them. I had to read it with an audio-book next to me, so I wouldn't slack off between the words, and after each chapter, I had to look up a summary of that chapter, because sometimes I didn't know what the hell just happened.
I'm not hating on the book. It's well written in beautiful prose and so detailed that the experience is almost vivid. But it was so saturated with words and information, that sometimes I had to stop and wonder what Austen meant by what she wrote.
It's a classic and old, I know. And also a romance. I try to avoid romances because... well, I don't find romance stories too appealing when searching for the next book to read. Yet, Pride and Prejudice was simply beautiful. If only I could dust off the unnecessary words and chapters, maybe shave off a few things, the book would've been perfect.
And I admit, I "Awwwwed" a few times towards the end. And the last chapters were very interesting and fun. But the climb... please, no...
Story: 7.5/10
As I said, the story was good and interesting. The story, not the narrative. I found the whole love/hate thing between Lizzy and Darcy to be hilarious and fun. Lizzy has a wit on her! Not only that, but the actual family was very interesting and fun. The mother was hilarious and annoying, the father was uninterested most of the time, yet still very kind and fatherly, Jane was a pure soul and the other teenage girls were... well, teenagers. Not to mention the numerous families involved and Lady Catherine de Bourg...
I think the world of Pride and Prejudice was very well made, and the events that took place, either by someone's doing or as a consequence, had me interested most of the time. Actually, the things mentioned above were the ones that kept me on the book 'till the end. Oh, Jane Austen, if only your narrative would've been more "agreeable" with me...
Writing: 6/10
The narrative is in third person, but it is mostly centered in Elizabeth Bennett's head. It also explores a few letters from now and then, but it is mostly on Lizzy. I honestly found the writing a little tiring. I'm not used to reading old-English books, and it was my first Jane Austen book. It was hard to keep up, and it hard to keep going. I almost gave up half-way.
Still, the story helped, and made the reading bearable.
My Verdict: 7/10
Many may not approve or agree with my final rating. I understand. It is, after all, a classic. I won't be able to rate it any higher because I wasn't expecting much. I don't tend to read much romance, and much less old-English novels like this one. So, there's not much to compare it to. That being said, I don't regret reading it. As I said, the story was very beautiful, and the interactions between Lizzy and Darcy from the beginning of the book to the end, was very interesting and fun to read. As a guy who's not that into romance and love stories, I did smile and "Awed" a few times, especially during the scenes that had subtle yet very meaningful details and interactions between Darcy and Lizzy.
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| Like the interest from both sides. He looks at her, she looks at him... And no one admits it... |
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| Like those moments when each of them knew something was going between them... like a spark... |
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| And those moments that they were slowly admitting it to themselves... |
See? I can be sensitive too! The story will stick with me forever, to be honest. And of all the love stories I've either read about or seen in movies, this one has to be the most memorable one. Well, this one and the love story between Satine and Christian in Moulin Rouge. But who's comparing, right?
Honestly, try it out. If not for school, then to say that you've read this classic. Endure it 'till the end. It will be worth it. Then watch the movie. Some people say that Colin Firth's adaptation of Darcy was better, though I haven't seen any adaption yet. This trailer, however, got me motivated a little to read the book. Check it out here, if you haven't seen the movie or read the book. Maybe it'll motivate you.
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Hope you liked this review! Do you agree with my review? Did you like the book or hated it? Like my blog? Let me know on the comments! Happy Reading!
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