Reviews for Pride and Prejudice

The average rating for Pride and Prejudice based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-06-18 00:00:00 Sean Nelson "I have been meditating on the very great pleasure which a pair of fine eyes in the face of a pretty woman can bestow." Some of my happiest, and most looked-forward-to days of the year are the ones that I reserve for the re-reading of Pride and Prejudice. To quote Austen herself from Sense and Sensibility: �if a book is well written, I always find it too short,� explains perfectly how I feel about this book; no wonder she called this �my own darling child,� for, for me, P&P is perfect in every conceivable way. It�s the kind of book, the moment you finished reading, you are tempted to start over again immediately. However, reviewing this is another matter� I�m excited, enraptured, but at the same time agitated, knowing that it�s impossible to do justice to the author nor to the book. "But such of us as wished to learn never wanted the means. We were always encouraged to read, and had all the masters that were necessary." During my first reading of Pride and Prejudice, I had known I was hugely underqualified to review this book, though at the same time I had hoped, if I read all of her books, I might, in time, write an acceptable review for this masterpiece. Now that I�ve read them all, and also P&P for a second time, all I can say is I still don�t consider myself remotely qualified to write an objective review. But it is impossible not share one�s opinions after reading this: this book, for me, is as best as it could get. So, for the time being, I�ll have to be content with writing what I consider to be a subjective overview, which, I�m certain, does not do much justice. However, I hope that someday my sense in classical literature would become good enough to truly appreciate how remarkable this book is. "You shall not, for the sake of one individual, change the meaning of principle and integrity." "Importance may sometimes be purchased too dearly." "What praise is more valuable than the praise of an intelligent servant?" Starting with the plot, which has been thoroughly analyzed, criticized, and commented upon by thousands of readers, is surprisingly, at a glance, not that original, especially if you see this as a pure romance novel. True, there are many complications resulting from multiple relationships (or marriages), but overall, there are many similarities. But what this special is Austen�s narrative: the sly humor, witty observations, unique lens through which she views the society, and the deeper understanding of morals of characters, are all perfectly concocted using her flawless writing style. And then there�s Elizabeth; aside from inheriting traits like humor and wit from Austen, she is lively, curious, confident, but without becoming �too perfect� (like some of the Austen�s other protagonists). She is as delightful as it could get. Rest of the characters are also similarly entertaining, with each one infused with a myriad of qualities to keep the story interesting. I don�t think there was a single poorly written character in this book, and that�s the first time I�ve ever said that about a book. And I don�t wish a single thing had turned out differently in this story. With the exception of some of the children�s books, that�s also a first for me. Sometimes it�s hard to believe, that this has been written over 200 years ago, or this ever becoming dated. Unlike with most romance novels, you will not see the reasoning, or common sense become lost in the middle of the story, which I think will help maintain that timelessness. "Affectation of candour is common enough � one meets with it everywhere. But to be candid without ostentation or design � to take the good of everybody�s character and make it still better, and say nothing of the bad�belongs to you alone." This second reading of the book only strengthened above opinions from my first read. If anything, everything felt even clearer, making the reading experience further satisfying. The only minor exception came with Lydia�s plotline. Compared to my opinion from the first reading, where I had been a bit angry with her, has been somewhat shifted a little towards sympathy this time. Obviously, same couldn�t be said about Wickham though. I also felt like that every single word here is essential during this second read. Although I didn�t skip a single word during the first time, I believe I enjoyed each sentence a lot more this time. "Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us." Until now (that is till I finish my second read), I�ve never watched any of the TV or movie adaptations of this book. To be honest, I didn�t want to have any negative impact towards the perfect imaginary picture Austen had created. But after this second read, I decided to watch the 2005 movie, the 1995 TV series and the 1980 series, and couldn�t resist sharing some of my thought. As much as I appreciate the effort, the 2005 movie did not prove to be a worthy portrayal, at least for me. Maybe it�s the modern characters, or what had to be removed due to time restrictions, or deviations from original book, but at the end of the day, I cannot say I loved it that much. But the 1995 series was quite the surprise! It literally had almost every single dialog from the book, with a few exceptions at the end. It did add up to five and a half hours of play time, but that was totally worth it. If you loved the book, and haven�t watched the series, do watch it immediately. As for the 1980 series, though I loved it a lot, it fell a tiny bit behind the 1995 series. But both those series are commendable portrayals. �Nothing is more deceitful,� said Darcy, �than the appearance of humility. "The misfortune of speaking with bitterness is a most natural consequence of the prejudices" As for this review, I�m going to label this as a work in progress, which I�m hoping to update after each re-read. "The distance is nothing when one has a motive;" The happiest, wisest, most reasonable end!

Review # 2 was written on 2018-03-01 00:00:00 Russell Palatianos Old books get a bad rap...but do they deserve it? Check out my latest BooktTube Video - all about the fabulous (and not so fabulous) Olde Boies. The Written Review : To summarize: Mister. Darcy. *cue the long, sustained high-pitched squealing * This was truly as glorious as I remember. Every time I reread this novel, I love it more. The romance , the high society , the witty banter. Gah. I just adore it all. "And your defect is to hate everybody." "And yours," he replied with a smile, "is willfully to misunderstand them." Elizabeth Bennet (second eldest of the five Bennet sisters) is the one with a clear, level head. Jane is the beautiful one, Mary is the look-at-me-I'm-so-pious one, Lydia is the I'm-so-dumb-that-I'm-probably-going-to-get-murdered one and Kitty is the well-she's-just-kinda-there one. Now, back in the day...there was one, singular goal for all women above the age of 16. GET YOURSELF A MAN before you reach 25 and become a SPINSTER *cue high-society ladies fainting*. Mrs. Bennet (their mother) has taken this so completely to heart that she thinks of nothing else. After all, It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy moved into town and immediately Mrs. Bennett set her dasterdly plans in motion (on behalf of her mortified children). She will do whatever necessary to get a rich man to put a ring on it (oh Beyonce, your words are applicable in any century). A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment. Only, there is a snag in her otherwise flawless plans. Elizabeth is not going to roll over to whatever man is thrust her way. To her mother's ever-living-disappointment, Elizabeth has all the spunk and backbone of a truly glorious woman: I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine. Truly a great read, no matter the century. Plus Jane Austen is totally my soul sister. I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! -- When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library. Audiobook Comments As with most old-timey books, It is far easier for me to listen to them than to read them. I like hearing the odd phrases and ancient unused words much more than struggling through the hard copy. I really enjoyed this audiobook and the narrator did a fab job of characterization. The 2018 ABC Challenge - P YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Snapchat @miranda.reads Happy Reading!