I'm a great believer in the idea that if anyone didn't like this book it's because they didn't read it properly and/or are possessed. In all seriousness, the wit is timeless and Austen should always be remembered as a literary genius, as I hope she will.

If you are not Elizabeth Bennet or Fitzwilliam Darcy I am not gonna marry you. Period!!

El verdadero enemies to lovers

This Review ✍️ Blog

I am so genuinely surprised at the positive experience I had reading this book! I had so much fun reading it and can now understand why people love it so much :3 Let's be real this deserves 5 stars <3

Around the Year in 52 Books Challenge Notes:
- 9. A book mentioned in another book

6.0 stars. Confession...this book gave me an earth-shattering Janeaustegasm and I am feeling a bit spent and vulnerable at the moment, so please bear with me. You see, I decided I wanted to get more literated by reading the "classicals" in between my steady flow of science fiction, mystery and horror. The question was where to begin.

After sherlocking through my Easton Press collection, I started by pulling out my Dickens and reading A Tale of Two Cities which I thought was jaw-dropping AMAZO and left me feeling warm, satisfied and content. It also made me made retrospectively pleased that I named my youngest daughter Sydney.

After Two City “Tale”ing, I decided to give this book a whirl as I kept seeing it on GR lists of "goodest books ever." However, I must admit I was hesitant going in to this for two big reasons. One, I thought it might be a bit too romantical for me. The second, and much more distressing, reason was that Twilight was on many of the same lists as this book. Austen fans should pull a nutty over that one.

So needless to say I went into this thinking I might hate it. Well, for the 999,987th time in my life (at least according to my wife’s records)...I was wrong!!! I absolutely loved this book and had a mammoth, raging heart-on for it from the opening scene at the breakfast table when Father Witty (Mr. Bennet) is giving sly sarcasm to Mrs. Mommie Put Upon. I literaphorically could not get enough of this story. I was instantly captivated by the characters and Elizabeth Bennet, the main protagonist, immediately became one of my all time favorite characters. Mr. Darcy joined that party as soon as he showed up in the narrative as I thought he was terrific as well.

Overall, the writing could not have been better. It was descriptive, lush and brilliant. The story could not have been more engaging or intelligent and the characters could not have been more magnificentastic. Elizabeth and Fitz are both smart, witty, self-confident and good. Austen could not have written them better. Oh, and I am sorry if this is a bit of a minor spoiler but I need to add that George Wickham is a cock-blocking braggadouche of startling proportions. I needed to say that and now I feel better.

This one has made it onto my list of All Time Favorite novels and is truly one of the classics that lives up to its billing. A FINAL WORD TO THE GUYS: ...Guys, do not fear the Austen...embrace the Austen...HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!!

I reread Pride and Prejudice (1813) again and maybe will reread all of the novels of Jane Austen in 2021, but this one, my favorite, is the great one, one of the best novels ever, and I have now reread it a second time this year, in part because I read it with a friend this summer and because we read it in a class I am teaching in Fall 2021 using primarily Young Adult Literature. I began with this book as a kind of precursor to YAL, of special interest perhaps to young people, and then we'll read almost exclusively YAL. I/we are also reading spin-off books such as Pride by Ibi Zoboi, Unmarriageable and others, even a board book version I own! We also read a comics biography of Jane Austen, and will read a range of comics romances.

I own the Colin Firth and Keira Knightly versions of this novel and really enjoy them. I own numerous copies of this book, which became the foundation of my MA Thesis in 1984 on what social criticism I thought Jane Austen was trying to accomplish through the romances in her novels (I was initially going to write about each of the books, but pared it down to Pride, Emma and Persuasion, finally). ISometime in the early eighties I first read P & P for a graduate class and thought after reading it quickly that it was a pretty good romance; when I showed up at the class on the history of the novel, taught by a film and novels professor, Irv Kroese, he opened the class by reading the first sentence:

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

And he proceeded to lecture our small seminar for an entire hour--I'm not kidding--on the first sentence (okay, maybe it was the whole first paragraph) and how it changed the face of literature forever. The irony, the layering, the complexity, no novels had had quite this tone, these purposes, before. I went home after that class and reread it slowly, and just a bit more carefully, and began to see how great it is.

I listened to it again this summer, and it was thoroughly entertaining for me all over again. The Bennett family is hilariously anguishing in its quest to get all of the daughters financially set--which is to say, "well-married," in a year. Some boy crazy family, this one, you might say, but underneath that surface hilarity around marriageability are some serious questions about the options available to young women, even middle-class young women, in the first decade of the nineteenth century. The questions are occasioned in part by the appearance of some seemingly sophisticated and possibly wealthy young men to the rural village where the Bennett family (including their FIVE daughters) live.

Other questions ensue; the book, initially titled First Impressions, examines the way both pride and prejudice impede the development of, well, everything, though principally, in this book, romantic relationships. You marry for love, not money, many of us will agree, but it's, well, complicated. "What do you hope to do in your life, young man?" a father asks a potential suitor of his daughter. That principle of making sure a future is secured for your daughter--because she has little power herself in this society--is relevant.

There are some great comic characters in this book through which we examine different aspects of society, including both Mr. and Mrs. Bennett. Mister Bennett at one point says:

"An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. Your mother will never see you again if you do NOT marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you DO."

So, there's four principal relationships we can use as a matter of comparison and contrast for the purpose of moral guidance in this matter of conducting relationships:

* Mr. Collins is rich and a buffoon, but Elizabeth's cousin, who says she is not romantic, but practical, marries the old guy for a financially secure future. Reasonable, but not our ideal life.

* The untrustworthy Wickham and the flighty Lydia. This couple in the scheme of things is fun, witty, but not deeply committed to each other, financially irresponsible, so not the model for marriage.

* The most admired couple, Jane and Bingley. This is the thoroughly good couple. Steady. They are maybe a tad boring, but good, so good, so this is an ideal for Austen. They marry for love, and the money is well, very good to boot.

* And the least warm, the most proud, the most prejudiced, but the most interesting (and smartest, most insightful) couple, Elizabeth and Darcy? Eventually, they'll marry for love, and then, again, a lot of money just happens to be part of the bargain. This is, after all, a romantic comedy, so we can expect crazy good things to happen against all odds. Oh, and here's his first proposal, astonishing Elizabeth even more than Collins did in its audacity:

“In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” Elizabeth’s astonishment was beyond expression. She stared, coloured, doubted, and was silent. This he considered sufficient encouragement, and the avowal of all that he felt and had long felt for her, immediately followed. He spoke well, but there were feelings besides those of the heart to be detailed, and he was not more eloquent on the subject of tenderness than of pride. His sense of her inferiority—of its being a degradation—of the family obstacles which judgment had always opposed to inclination, were dwelt on with a warmth which seemed due to the consequence he was wounding, but was very unlikely to recommend his suit."

But it is Darcy's very different letter to Elizabeth later that turns the tide: Man changes his manners; woman changes her mind. This is a wonderfully insightful and funny novel that I recommend everyone read!

Just a few words to express how I loved Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. So much has already been said, that I feel almost redundant.

'Pride and Prejudice' for me is above all about women’s choices in marriage, or the possibility of love versus choosing for money or social position. During Austen's time, marriage was the only option a woman had, except if she was rich enough to disregard the expectations of society; except if she was willing to live as a poor relation, which usually meant being used as an unpaid servant. Of course, there was always the option of becoming a governess, but that represented not only miserly wages, even worst it implied becoming barely respectable and existence in an ambiguous class oblivion of social invisibility and no autonomy. What could be worst? Thus, let’s not criticize Austen’s contemporaries who saw marriage as their only choice, let’s even try to understand Mrs. Benet predicament:
n  

”If I can but see one of my daughters happily settled at Netherfield,” said Mrs. Bennet to her husband, “and all the others equally well married, I shall have nothing to wish for.”

n
But we have to remember that woman’s necessity was not one-sided:
n  

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

n
But, alas, that has probably been said before. What else can I mention here? That Jane Austen was ahead of her time, and her heroine, the witty and charming Elizabeth Bennet, makes us fall in love with her by her accurate view of the world:
n  

There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit or sense.

n
And let’s not forget Mr. Darcy, for I am a romantic at heart, and he conquered me with his truthful statement, and even more crucial for me, ended up changing for Elizabeth:
n  

In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.

n
What I most liked about Elizabeth and Darcy’s relationship is that it is not a simple romantic tale, but I loved how they overcome his pride and her prejudice and grow up gradually from a mutual antipathy to an understanding. And that does not happen overnight but over a period of over a year.

All this, and much more if I wished to be even more redundant is what makes this novel so popular and enduring. It was refreshing to have a story that despite questioning prevailing values makes us smile. Highly recommended.
____

[4.5]

i am no longer mentally ill after reading this book

Hace un tiempo atrás tuve la suerte de ser uno de los cinco ganadores de un concurso organizado por Penguin Clásicos en Facebook en el que los lectores teníamos que decir cuál había sido el primer libro clásico que habíamos leído.
El premio era un lote de los cinco libros más votados y un mes después recibí en mi casa "Don Quijote de la Mancha" de Miguel de Cervantes, "Cumbres borrascosas" de Emily Brontë, "La isla del tesoro" de Robert Louis Stevenson, "Crimen y Castigo" de Fiódor Dostoievski y éste de Jane Austen que curiosamente Penguin nunca publicó en Argentina.
Como soy un lector de clásicos es lógico que me debía una lectura de "Orgullo y prejuicio" dado que era el único de los cinco que no había leído.
Los admiradores de Jane Austen se enojarán conmigo, pero realmente, la lectura se me hizo más pesada que las mil páginas de "La montaña mágica" (libro que realmente disfruté) y me dio la impresión que este libro es una enorme redundancia de quinientas páginas y lo que más me sorprendió era que la temática queda siempre clavada en los acercamientos y desengaños amorosos de dos de las cinco hijas del señor y la señora Bennet, agravado por las pacatas costumbres de la sociedad victoriana que mantenía férreamente atada las pasiones de las damas de esa época.
Todo gira siempre en lo mismo: en una carrera entre las chicas solteras de distintas clases sociales por ganarse el amor de un apuesto joven que oh casualidad, es millonario y está a la caza de una dote que le asegure futuro y posición social.
Los diálogos me resultaron anodinos y redundantes y responden a los caprichos y vanidades de jovencitas virginales que idealizan el amor pero que no lo consiguen. Los hombres no se quedan atrás y Austen los dota de frivolidad y machismo para vapulear a las damas a su antojo.
De las cinco hermanas Bennet son Elizabeth y Jane las que acaparan más páginas, dejando atrás a Mary, Kitty y Lydia.
Tal vez ya no estoy para leer este tipo de novelas y en ciertos momentos me pregunté si era necesario perder el tiempo leyéndola habiendo tantos autores interesantes, pero, a sabiendas de que era un regalo, un premio, hice el esfuerzo.
Y naturalmente, me fue imposible no comparar "Orgullo y prejuicio" con verdaderas novelas románticas de peso como "Cumbres borrascosas" o "Jane Eyre" e incluso con "Agnes Grey". Siento que Jane Austen no consigue plasmar en sus personajes lo que las hermanas Brontë lograban con creces en los suyos.
Para ser sincero: Elizabeth Bennet no es Jane Eyre y El Sr. Darcy dista mucho de acercarse al Sr. Rochester, mientras que el malvado Sr. Wickham se encuentra a años luz de un personaje tan fuerte como Heathcliff en "Cumbres borrascosas".
Los forcejeos amorosos de Elizabeth Bennet con el Sr. Darcy o la relación de Jane con Charles Bingley se tornan redundantes y cuando a Austen se le agotan, utiliza el plan B de la huida de la pequeña Lydia con el Sr. Wickham. Me da la sensación que a este libro le sobran al menos ciento cincuenta páginas.
De todos modos, debo reconocer que el personaje de Elizabeth Bennet está muy bien logrado por Austen, aunque no tenga ni el temple de Jane Eyre ni la tenacidad de Agnes Grey y esto es innegable para mí.
Como anticipé, lamento esto que escribo que pueda generar rechazo en los lectores más entusiastas de Jane Eyre pero me gusta decir la verdad. Algo similar me pasó con "Nueve cuentos" de J.D. Salinger al que considero muy flojo así también como no pienso leer "Lolita" de Vladimir Nabokov, escritor que detesto por renegar de uno de sus padres literarios más importantes como Fiódor Dostoievski, que forma parte de aquellos de los que aprendió a escribir.
Pero volviendo a "Orgullo y prejuicio", considero que está bien escrito, pero no es ni brillante ni alcanza niveles sublimes más allá de algunas frases inteligentes que me encontré por ahí. De todas maneras, dista mucho de la soberbia técnica narrativa utilizada por de cualquiera de las hermanas Brontë.
Hace mucho, cuando leí "Cumbres borrascosas" dejé bien en claro que elegiría ese libro antes que cualquiera de los de Jane Austen y ahora lo confirmo.
Más aún: Charlotte Brontë dijo una vez sobre "Orgullo y prejuicio":"¿Por qué le gusta tantísimo la señora Austen? Eso me tenía desconcertada... No había leído Orgullo y prejuicio hasta que leí esa frase suya: entonces lo hice. ¿Y qué descubrí? El daguerrotipo preciso de un rostro corriente; un jardín bien cercado y bien cuidado, pero ninguna mirada de una fisonomía brillante y viva, ni campo abierto ni aire fresco, ni colina azul ni hermoso arroyo. No me gustaría vivir con sus damas y caballeros, en sus casas elegantes pero cerradas".
Por alguna razón, la descripción de la sociedad inglesa que utiliza Jane Austen desprestigia de alguna manera a las mujeres de su época, que con excepción de Elizabeth o Jane son tontas, frívolas y demasiado inocentes. y por esta razón concuerdo con Charlotte Brontë.
Mark Twain fue mucho más lapidario todavía, afirmando sin piedad ni contemplación:"Cada vez que leo Orgullo y prejuicio de Jane Austen, me entran ganas de desenterrarla y golpearle el cráneo con su propia tibia".
Tal vez esta última frase sea demasiado cruel para una de las escritoras más importantes de la literatura inglesa, aunque proviniendo de la ironía de Mark Twain puede ser considerada hasta graciosa.
No siempre se pueden adular libros por más que se los considere "clásicos".
Una una sola estrella es mi puntuación para un libro cuyo único momento de interés es el enardecido contrapunto entre Elizabeth y Lady Catherine de Bourg y aunque pido mis disculpas a quienes admiran a Jane Austen, dejo bien sentada mi posición sobre "Orgullo y prejuicio".

A quintessential novel of manners. Fine moral intelligence and subtle psychological insight expressed in a straightforward, epigrammatic style. I read it for the first time forty years ago, and I am still half in love with Eliza Bennet.

Here is another awesome edition I’ve added to my collection