Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is the story of Elizabeth Bennet, her four sisters, and their search for rich husbands. Ok, it’s a bit more than that. It’s a story of first impressions, filled with irony (I’m positive I’m using the word correctly for once) and a witty humor that I appreciated. It’s also Mrs.’ favorite book and it’s easy to see why she enjoys it so much. Although I knew the story going in and had even been dragged to . . . I mean, seen the Keira Knightley movie version, Austen’s storytelling kept me turning the pages.

Now, it doesn’t surprise me that I enjoyed Pride and Prejudice. It appears on many of the top book lists I’ve perused over the years. Indeed, one of my favorite sportswriters, ESPN’s Keith Law, ranks it #30 on his top 100 list posted on his blog (incidentally, he had Slaughterhouse-Five at #50). And he actually ranks two other Austen novels higher – Persuasion at #23 and Emma at #3 – so I might have to add those to my ever expanding reading list.

So what did I like about Pride and Prejudice? Well, Austen’s strengths are her well written dialogue and the interesting characters she creates. Elizabeth is an intelligent and witty female lead (although seeing as she ends up with the rich guy perhaps she has everyone fooled and is just a golddigger), and her exchanges with Mr. Darcy are as entertaining as they are uncomfortable (mostly for him - hey, I know what it’s like for a headstrong woman to resist your initial advances). But the real stars are Elizabeth’s parents Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, and her cousin Mr. Collins, who all provide the comic relief that set the book apart. While Mr. and Mrs. Bennet don’t provide the best example of a happy marriage for their children, their interaction is priceless. And how can you not feel for Mr. Bennet in a house full of women (5 daughters!)? And of course we can’t forget Mr. Collins, his attempt to woo Lizzie, and his total lack of self-awareness (it’s too bad Austen didn’t write a sequel starring him).

My only knock on the book is the last chapter where Austen spends several pages wrapping everything up with a neat little bow. Do I really need to know what happens to the characters in the future and how happy they are and how often they visit each other? Probably not. She could have easily ended with the penultimate chapter and called it a day. But that’s just a small critique and certainly doesn’t distract from a well written and fun read. [This is Mrs. highjacking Mr.'s post: I like how Jane Austen tells you what happened. Some of us don't like to leave it to our imagination. I hate books that don't wrap it all up. And yes, I have to get the last word in.]

Finally, as Mrs. mentioned, we simultaneously watched the BBC mini-series. Since I was reading the book ahead of each part I can say with confidence that the mini-series stays true to the novel, with most of the dialogue coming straight from Austen’s pages, which I think is a testament to the strength of the dialogue in the book. If you have 5 hours and enjoy early 19th century Britain (as well as Mrs. fave Colin Firth), it’s well worth the viewing.

Next up: Thomas Cahill’s The Gifts of the Jews