Pride and Prejudice (1813)
When Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited; he is indifferent to her good looks and lively mind. When she later discovers that Darcy has involved himself in the troubled relationship between his friend Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she is determined to dislike him more than ever. In the sparkling comedy of manners that follows, Jane Austen shows the folly of judging by first impressions and superbly evokes the friendships, gossip and snobberies of provincial middle-class life.
which will run until January 28th.
Please be aware comments on this post will contain spoilers for those who wish to discuss during their reading. If you don't want the book to be spoiled, wait until you've read it to comment and discuss! And remember, you can still discuss Sense & Sensibility.
Happy reading! :D
I have to say, unlike S&S, I am finding this much easier to read and much more enjoyable. With S&S it took me a few chapters to warm into the book, but this has kept my attention from the start. I can maybe see why people rave about "Mr Darcy"! :p
ReplyDeleteI can't decide whether it's sad or awesome that I know parts of this book by heart... :p
ReplyDeleteI'm starting it tomorrow :) I can't wait to actually read P&P, as I LOVE both the miniseries and the movie. (And for the first time I think I've seen the movies before reading the book!)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Pride and Prejudice IS, shall we say, CLASSIC chick lit and I feel compelled to add the other two which are dear to my heart <3, Jane Eyre and Little Women.
ReplyDeleteAnd... keep up those dreams about pipes, eh-hem, I mean Pipe Dreams. ;)
@Astharis - Definitely awesome! :D
ReplyDelete@ and her heart it is in ireland - Yey! I've enjoyed P&P so much more that I've nearly finished it! I get the feeling this one will be discussed more than S&S.
@ Becflies - I've not read Jane Eyre, but I love Little Women! Definitely classic chick lit! :D And I can guarantee I will always be a Pipe Dreamer! :p Thanks for stopping by!
I've now read it, which shows how much I enjoyed it!! But, I'll wait a few more days before I air my views! :0)
ReplyDeleteI've read P/P twice - and I am NOT a rereader of books by nature (only b/c there are so many other books and authors out there to discover) and (sidenote) I've recently noticed that I have begun a new habit of only reading the 1st in a series to get a general idea of what the series is about and who the author is (end sidenote).
ReplyDeleteIt is the only Austen I've read as of now... and I look forward reading ya'lls comments...
Permit me to start of by saying, is there a finer first liner than this one?
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." so witty, so acutely accurate for the plot which is to unravel...
I'm itchin' to say more, but I'll hold off.
Elle. You HAVE to read Jane Eyre. The most romantic story ever written. The first book I truly fell in love with. My first ever classic. The first hero from a book or film that I actually fancied.
ReplyDeleteOh, just read it!!!
I will add JE to my TBR list!
ReplyDeleteRight, P&P ends in four days - discussion please!!
@Becflies - I have to agree, it is a great opening line and very apt for setting up the book.
I am going to hound people now to get them to discuss because this is a book that *needs* to be talked about!
How's this:
ReplyDelete1. I first decided to read P/P because of its appearance in You've Got Mail all those years ago.
What about ya'll?
2. I LOVE that Elizabeth has the guts to stand by her convictions even if it means becoming an old maid... even if it was misunderstood, but that providence aka fate aka what have you... saw to it to bring her back together with her love... and that providence aka fate aka what have you... saw to it that her love was filthy rich. ;)
1. I first decided to read it because I was woefully under-read in JA and decided to set up a book club!? ;p No, this is actually the only JA book I've read before and I decided to read it because it was in the house and I hadn't read it, yet had seen adaptations of it - sadly, not an exciting reason!
ReplyDelete2. It was *very* lucky he was rich - it just goes to show that if you stick to your convinctions, then everything will work out! ;p (At least in book world.)
The one thing I found with this was the importance placed on the behaviour of relations determining people's impressions. I was appalled that Elizabeth and Jane were judged so harshly on their mother and younger sisters' behaviour.
Also, I didn't see the point of Mary in the book - she's redundant like Margaret from P&P - unless she's meant to highlight the balance between her wild younger sisters and her refined older sisters.
I have to say, I didn't get much of an impression from reading P&P the first time, but this time round I loved it and can see it becoming a firm favourite. There's great supporting characters in here like Mr Collins and Lady Catherine and who couldn't love Elizabeth and Mr Darcy? :0)
I haven't quite finished my read, but I thought I should throw my ideas out there!
ReplyDeleteAside from the Darcy & Elizabeth pairing, my second favourite relationship in the book is between Lizzy & her father. I agree that she does have a bucket load of integrity, and think that in regards to her, Mr Bennet is possibly the only one that understands/encourages it (because he learnt how much important this is than looks & money by his own mistakes). Plus it reminds me a little of my dad & I!
But anyway, Elizabeth is definitely a strong woman, who is still really relevant to us today; I think that a lot of woman worry at some point whether they're going to end up alone. Don't settled for a Mr Collins when you can have a Mr Darcy!
I wrote a blog entry about this before, but I saw costume drama a while ago that threw a modern girl into the mix with the P&P characters, in doing so it dramatically changes who Wickham is, so I found myself warming to him a little more than I had done before... Although he's still a conniving little...! :p
I think that Mary is in the story simply to play the same part that Charlotte ended up being, but other than that, she was mostly pointless.
I love the way that everything begins to unfold after Elizabeth reads Darcy's letter!
Oh, I thought that I should just add that I first read this book, after getting it for free with some magazine or other. It's slowly becoming a battered up all thing, because it's my go to book when I need to take something out with me to read! :p
RE: behavior of family - people's impressions etc... I was reminded of a movie I just saw a few days back called Duchess, true story about The Duchess of Devonshire played by Kiera Knightly... there's not really a tight correlation between the two other than another woeful slice of society during that time... BUT it did also show something of how a woman could exert her power and influence if only in her "realm" of importance. As sad as her situation was, I totally admired the Duchess for putting up with that pompous husband of hers. Check it out if you haven't already.
ReplyDeleteRE: Mary's character: as a writer of journals and not novels, I never questioned the inclusion of her character the way ya'll have so that's an interesting observation for me.
RE: Mr. Collins: I have to say that the Hollywood version of P/P (with K.K) got the Mr. Collins character so totally correct, that I will never be able to see him in anything else with out thinking "You're such a pansy!"
RE: Lizzy and her pops: I love that dynamic for completely opposite reasons, b/c I envied what they had!
RE: Different impressions on 2nd go round: I am always amazed at how life circumstances can totally color our reading of a book, that is what happened to me when I read Jane Eyre. The first time "Eh" and the second time "OMG!"
tootles.
Rebachin
Aside from the Darcy & Elizabeth pairing, my second favourite relationship in the book is between Lizzy & her father.
ReplyDeleteYes - I forgot to mention their relationship - I love that she's a bit of a Daddy's girl, although I can't imagine *how* Mr and Mrs Bennett got together in the first place! :p
I was reminded of a movie I just saw a few days back called Duchess
I've had the book on my TBR pile since October, but I've not got roud to reading it yet. I've not seen the film either. I should bumpt it up the list.
RE: Mary's character: as a writer of journals and not novels, I never questioned the inclusion of her character the way ya'll have so that's an interesting observation for me.
To me, it just seems redundant to have unnecessary characters! I know it is important to have minor characters, but Mary just seemed pointless.
Different impressions on 2nd go round: I am always amazed at how life circumstances can totally color our reading of a book, that is what happened to me when I read Jane Eyre.
I'm going to have to check out JE too, but it's defintely true in life that as your position changes, the way you view the world (and books) certainly changes alongside it! :0)
Anyone else any thoughts?
P&P has always been my favorite book. I have read it more times than I would like to admit.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what it is that draws me to this story so much. I think its because I relate to Lizzy so much. I have always seen myself in this character.
Rereading it was as enjoyable as the first time :-)
Glad to hear! :0)
ReplyDelete