Reviews for Pride and Prejudice
Review - Pride and Prejudice
My review after my second reading of the novel.
What I liked about the book: It’s hilarious throughout. The characters are fantastically drawn — to the extent that they become friends of the reader who can almost predict how they will respond to given situations. And, as in any really good novel, the characters you like end up well and those you don’t like end up poorly.
What I didn’t like about the book: A very minor complaint — as with the author of any 19th-century English novel, Jane occasionally gets lost in a sentence and never quite comes out of it. And as with every 19th-century novel, Pride and Prejudice includes a string of coincidences which have the characters running into each other in all sorts of unlikely places or finding they’re related to all sorts of unlikely people.
Did it suffer from familiarity? A little bit. There was certainly no suspense, which was something of a drawback. My rating (for this reading only) dropped from a 10 to a 9 because of this, but it’s still on my top ten list.
The most interesting quotes:
• Mary wished to say something very sensible, but knew not how.
• “That’s very true,” replied Elizabeth, “and I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine.
• “Oh! certainly,” cried his faithful assistant, “no one can be really esteemed accomplished, who does not greatly surpass what is usually met with. A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half deserved.”
“All this she must possess,” added Darcy, “and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.”
“I am no longer surprised at your knowing only six accomplished women. I rather wonder now at your knowing any.”
• “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.
• To his wife he was very little otherwise indebted, than as her ignorance and folly had contributed to his amusement.
• “And you are never to stir out of doors, till you can prove, that you have spent ten minutes of every day in a rational manner.”
Recommendation: Beyond question one of the great novels of all time. If you haven’t read it, do so immediately. Watch the movies, but read the book first.
Further Comments: I was unable to read it this time without picturing the actors and actresses from the most-recent movie as the various characters, but this was no shortcoming because I was struck again and again with how well-cast that movie was. Donald Sutherland as Mr. Bennet, and Brenda Blethyn as Mrs. Bennet were particularly brilliant.
What I liked about the book: It’s hilarious throughout. The characters are fantastically drawn — to the extent that they become friends of the reader who can almost predict how they will respond to given situations. And, as in any really good novel, the characters you like end up well and those you don’t like end up poorly.
What I didn’t like about the book: A very minor complaint — as with the author of any 19th-century English novel, Jane occasionally gets lost in a sentence and never quite comes out of it. And as with every 19th-century novel, Pride and Prejudice includes a string of coincidences which have the characters running into each other in all sorts of unlikely places or finding they’re related to all sorts of unlikely people.
Did it suffer from familiarity? A little bit. There was certainly no suspense, which was something of a drawback. My rating (for this reading only) dropped from a 10 to a 9 because of this, but it’s still on my top ten list.
The most interesting quotes:
• Mary wished to say something very sensible, but knew not how.
• “That’s very true,” replied Elizabeth, “and I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine.
• “Oh! certainly,” cried his faithful assistant, “no one can be really esteemed accomplished, who does not greatly surpass what is usually met with. A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half deserved.”
“All this she must possess,” added Darcy, “and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.”
“I am no longer surprised at your knowing only six accomplished women. I rather wonder now at your knowing any.”
• “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.
• To his wife he was very little otherwise indebted, than as her ignorance and folly had contributed to his amusement.
• “And you are never to stir out of doors, till you can prove, that you have spent ten minutes of every day in a rational manner.”
Recommendation: Beyond question one of the great novels of all time. If you haven’t read it, do so immediately. Watch the movies, but read the book first.
Further Comments: I was unable to read it this time without picturing the actors and actresses from the most-recent movie as the various characters, but this was no shortcoming because I was struck again and again with how well-cast that movie was. Donald Sutherland as Mr. Bennet, and Brenda Blethyn as Mrs. Bennet were particularly brilliant.
Reviewed by Roger on 2006-08-09 07:59:04