-from the introduction by David M. Shapard, regarding protagonist Elizabeth Bennet
Does a book club need to read at least one classic every year? Maybe. This one was suggested for 2021. As the leader of Page Turners some 13 years, I have always tried to finish each book club selection. This one had me wondering if I wanted to break that habit! I felt I was slogging through the first half but then began to like it a bit more. I began to think of all the books in my queue that I really WANT to read and yet I felt compelled to finish this one. I rated it a 2.
I did come to like Elizabeth, sometimes called Lizzy. She was a spunky one, independent enough to seem ahead of her time. Her sister Jane was likeable, as well.
My eBook was an annotated version so it included footnotes about the language usage and historic significance of some references. I saved the notes to read last and actually enjoyed them more than the novel itself!
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Page Turners had an enthusiastic discussion with several members finding interesting points to make about the characters, plot and themes. A question offered by Penguin Classics had us thinking of how Hollywood and television have borrowed the premise of two people with a mutual dislike finally becoming romantically attached. Think Hallmark movies!
One participant reminded us that Bridget Jones's Diary was an updated version of P and P. I DID enjoy that story.
The fact that Longbourn, the Bennet property, was entailed, meaning it could only be inherited by a male relative, remined me of "Downtown Abbey," the setting of which is actually some 100 years later.
It was mentioned that Austen's style and somewhat archaic language was off-putting to some. One of our members related it to reading Shakespeare---challenging but worthwhile if you can get into it.
The group's average rating was 3.7 with half the group voting 4 or 5---a surprise to me. Personally, I am looking forward to anything but classics in the next few months!
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