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Excessively Diverted: The Sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

Excessively Diverted: The Sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

List Price: $14.95
Your Price: $14.95
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: An Insult
Review: This book had little to no redeeming qualities. The characters were an insult to Jane Austen's. None but the most two dimensional characters were even close to the ones portrayed in Austen's work. Indeed, the most complex characters of Pride and Prejudice were reduced to the same level as those that were mocked in the original story. Also, the very hearts of some of the main characters were changed. Indeed, one of the villains of the original story became a soft hearted, emotional doll in this one, with no reason behind the transformation. Add to that, the glaring mistakes with both spelling and grammar, this book has almost nothing to recommend it.
However, to all of that, we must add something even worst. This story has no life. There is no passion, no feeling, no motive. There is nothing to make the reader want to turn the next page. Indeed, nothing at ALL happened in the first 50 pages of the book, and nothing of any great consequence happens in its entirety. This book seems to have been written by a child, with no idea about real life. No problems ever arise in this book for the characters to over come, nothing that can make the characters grow or endear them to the reader.
In conclusion, if someone is looking for a very easy read, something in the 5th grade level, and has never read any of Jane Austen's stories, this is the book for you. However, and one who is even remotely familiar with Austen's work should run. Run far, and run fast, away from this book.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Excellent and Satisfying Sequel
Review: This book is a wonderful continuation of Pride and Prejudice. Like Pride and Prejudice, it has an outstanding and very satisfying ending--like a fairy tale. It is well written and captures the narrative quality of Jane Austen's novels as well as the engaging dialogue between Elizabeth and Darcy. It is a great read, I highly recommend it!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Greatly in need of an Editor
Review: This book is better than a lot of Austen sequels if you can get past the long sentences and the atrocious punctuation. I found this so difficult to do that I ended up editing the book myself as I read it. There were a few times that I disagreed with the author's characterizations, but most of them did not effect the plot. Charlotte Lucas Collins, for example, would have been much more devious in attempting to divert Mr. Collins from mistakes.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Very Excessively Good
Review: This book is the best sequel to Pride and Prejudice that I have read. I love the way it feels like Jane Austen wrote this book. I think my favorite part of the book is the ending. It left me with a satisfieing feeling and I would like to know what the author would write as a sequel to this book.
I recommend this book if you enjoyed Pride and Prejudice. The characters have the same just and energy that Austen's did. Also, it offers many new events and many fun delights. I wholely recommend this book to any and all!
Enjoy!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: This book is pretty bad
Review: This is not a good book. Based on the plot and characters of Austen's original P&P, the storylines are positively unbelievable and over the top (as noted in detail by other reviewers). As for style, I don't understand why the author continually puts two or three sentences in a paragraph, then simply puts a comma between each sentence so they all run together. My edition is brand new, but some paragraphs were intermittently printed in a larger font than the rest (?)

Also it was humorous that where Austen originally left it to the reader to divine subtle points about her characters' personalities and traits, Shapiro comes right out and tells what the trait is. In case you didn't know Mr. Collins is a buffoon, she will state it in plain English for you. Kind of like telling a joke and then explaining the punch line.

Overall the book was mildly entertaining if you have nothing else to read and can't get enough of Austen sequels.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: This book is pretty bad
Review: This is not a good book. Based on the plot and characters of Austen's original P&P, the storylines are positively unbelievable and over the top (as noted in detail by other reviewers). As for style, I don't understand why the author continually puts two or three sentences in a paragraph, then simply puts a comma between each sentence so they all run together. My edition is brand new, but some paragraphs were intermittently printed in a larger font than the rest (?)

Also it was humorous that where Austen originally left it to the reader to divine subtle points about her characters' personalities and traits, Shapiro comes right out and tells what the trait is. In case you didn't know Mr. Collins is a buffoon, she will state it in plain English for you. Kind of like telling a joke and then explaining the punch line.

Overall the book was mildly entertaining if you have nothing else to read and can't get enough of Austen sequels.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Excessively Disappointed
Review: This sequel suffers mightily from weird punctuation. Having to re-read, slow down, back up and start again simply to get the gist of the narrative is very frustrating. Call me old-fashioned but a few hundred extra commas, placed correctly, would have greatly improved this book. Jane Austen created complete, authentic finely-drawn characters; Ms. Shapiro coarsens them all. Even Lady Catherine could not have stopped so low! Add to all this the shallow, weak plot and you have one very disappointing book that cannot hold a candle to the original. "Sequel" is too strong a word.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Excessively Mundane and Bizzare
Review: This was a most disappointing book. It had an extreme amount of quotes from P&P and I tired of reading what P&P fans already knew. I expected a new story, not re-runs. I was also disappointed because we had so little time with Jane and Bingley. The author's plots were bizarre and unlikely. All of the quicky relationships and weddings were uninteresting and unrealistic. Caroline Bingley staying with the Darcys? Mary at Rosings? Kitty as Godmother? I was hoping to read about Elizabeth as mistress of Pemberly but our time was wrapped up in another "traumatic" (mundane is more like it) episode with the Wickams. Couldn't the author come up with her own ideas? Don't waste your time on this weak attempt. I recommend Pamela Aiden and hopes she writes a sequel when she completes her Gentleman trilogy.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Excessively Mundane and Bizzare
Review: This was a most disappointing book. It had an extreme amount of quotes from P&P and I tired of reading what P&P fans already knew. I expected a new story, not re-runs. I was also disappointed because we had so little time with Jane and Bingley. The author's plots were bizarre and unlikely. All of the quicky relationships and weddings were uninteresting and unrealistic. Caroline Bingley staying with the Darcys? Mary at Rosings? Kitty as Godmother? I was hoping to read about Elizabeth as mistress of Pemberly but our time was wrapped up in another "traumatic" (mundane is more like it) episode with the Wickams. Couldn't the author come up with her own ideas? Don't waste your time on this weak attempt. I recommend Pamela Aiden and hopes she writes a sequel when she completes her Gentleman trilogy.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Excessively Mundane and Bizzare
Review: This was a most disappointing book. It had an extreme amount of quotes from P&P and I tired of reading what P&P fans already knew. I expected a new story, not re-runs. I was also disappointed because we had so little time with Jane and Bingley. The author's plots were bizarre and unlikely. All of the quicky relationships and weddings were uninteresting and unrealistic. Caroline Bingley staying with the Darcys? Mary at Rosings? Kitty as Godmother? I was hoping to read about Elizabeth as mistress of Pemberly but our time was wrapped up in another "traumatic" (mundane is more like it) episode with the Wickams. Couldn't the author come up with her own ideas? Don't waste your time on this weak attempt. I recommend Pamela Aiden and hopes she writes a sequel when she completes her Gentleman trilogy.


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