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Summary: My favorite novel!
Review: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite novels. I was the first novel of Jane's that I've read and I could not put it down. The suspence and humor of this book makes it great.... you must read it.
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Summary: Scared of the Classics? Here's a Good One to Start With
Review: For anyone who has ever thought, "I really should read the classics," 'Pride and Prejudice' is a wonderful place to begin. Why? First, the work is very readable, even though it was written well over a hundred years ago. Second, it's not too long and the chapters are very short. (I hope I'm beginning to convince you...) Third, maybe you'll see yourself in the book or someone you know. Fourth, Austen takes a humorous, entertaining, and throught-provoking look at human nature, which has not changed and probably never will. Austen's heroine, Elizabeth Bennett, is a bright, intelligent young lady who is delighted to see her older sister Jane meet and fall for an English gentleman. At the same time that her sister meets someone, Elizabeth meets a brash, arrogant man named Darcy. Darcy's manner quickly irritates and disgusts Elizabeth beyond belief. There's no way this couple could ever get together, right? :) Austen does a masterful job of telling an intelligent story that works as social commentary, a study of human nature, class distinctions, and so much more. So many subtle shades of human pride, prejudice, arrogance, condescension, and forgiveness are present in the book as they are in real life.
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Summary: Just ok...
Review: I found this book to be a little slow. There are a lot of boring talks and not much action. The story line is okey but like I said SLOW. And from the beginning you know who is going to marry who! So if you are look for a book full of romance and excitment - this isn't it! Not a bad story but not good either!
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Summary: Audiobook well worth buying or renting
Review: ...I also strongly recommend that an interested reader try listening to the audio version of this novel. If you think the prose of Austen dry, I assure you that you will find a good reading of it a revelation indeed. Among the versions I recommend strongly are the version read by Irene Sutcliffe (Audio Partners/ Cover to Cover, or Chivers in the UK), and that by Kate Reading (Books on Tape, available from them). I found the Reading version very good overall, and outstanding for the portrayal of Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Mrs Bennet. The best scene, in my opinion, was that of Lady Catherine confronting Elizabeth in the garden at Longbourn. However, I found Elizabeth less easy to distinguish in certain other scenes from her sister Jane, and the men done not as well as I would have hoped. Mr Darcy was a disappointment, in that Kate Reading read his dialogue in a less stately manner than I had expected. However, the reading of the novel was overall very good as I have said. I noticed many little details and phrases that I had overlooked in many readings of this novel, and that I had also ignored in my stay at the Republic of Pemberley (a website dedicated to Austen). I have not yet had the pleasure of listening to the Irene Sutcliffe version, but I plan to buy it very soon. ... If you are rushed for time, or spend a lot of time in your car (or listening to tapes), or if you want to experience Austen in a different light, do try either reading.
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Summary: The freshness and perfection of form are astonishing.
Review: It is almost 200 years since "Pride and Prejudice" was first published. It ought to be the equivalent in literature of those faded, dried flowers that used to be found pressed between the pages of the old family bible. Instead it is redolent of freshly cut flowers still carrying a sprinkling of morning dew. The freshness and the perfection of form are certainly astonishing. Jane Austin is as good as story teller as ever picked up a pen, knowing exactly how to construct plots, and what incidents and dialogues to detail in full and what to briefly summarize. Her "world" is small but intricately constructed. Every characteristic, quality and idea has a precise and fixed value, all being ranked strictly and sternly according to decorum, logic and morality. Despite its architectural perfection, however, a recent re-reading reveals one or two construction features that are questionable. How could it be, for example that Fitzwilliam Darcy could have such a dragon for an aunt? I also wonder about the friendship between Darcy and Bingley. How did it begin? It is obviously important to each, but we are given nothing of its history. Jane Austen lived long enough to see this book published and enjoyed amongst her own family and a small readership. Her mother entertained family members with it, reading it, in Jane Austen's estimation, a little too quickly. Distinguished British actress Lindsay Duncan reads it with perfect timing and inflexion in this highly recommended audio tape format, which presents the novel in an unabridged version of just over twelve hours.
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Summary: One of the Greatest Books Ever Written
Review: Jane Austen is a literary genius. Her writing is full of delightful irony and witty dialogue. There are so many things that I love about this book that it is hard to know where to start. You have to love the characters of Elizabeth and Mr. Bennet they both have such a great sense of humor that they keep me laughing the whole way through. Elizabeth is such a feisty and intelligent character, and she is so full of energy and love of life that you cannot help but fall in love with her--I can definitely understand why Mr. Darcy falls in love with her despite her poor connections. I also surprisingly love the character of Mr. William Collins, who is so absurd and stupid that I cannot help but laugh myself silly over the things he does and says. His marriage proposal to Elizabeth is one of my most favorite events in the book. Another classic scene is Lady Catherine deBourgh's confrontation with Elizabeth over Mr. Darcy. She is another rather absurd character, and it is really great that Elizabeth has the tenacity to stand up for herself to that woman. There is only one thing in this book that really depresses me--the fate of Charlotte Lucas. As much as I love to laugh at Mr. Collins I would absolutely hate being married to him. I really feel sorry for Charlotte Lucas despite of the fact that she is able to arrange things so that she spends as little time in his company as possible. Also having to put up with Lady Catherine's constant lecturing and prying must also be hard. Despite this one semi-depressing aspect, this book really is as close to perfection as one can get. Another really good aspect of this book is the fact that in many ways it is a very accurate portrayal of what a woman's life was like in the early nineteenth century.
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Summary: Penguin gives a classic edition of a readable classic novel
Review: I particularly love the opening sentence of this novel -- "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." Indeed this opening sentence has been claimed as the greatest in English literature. It certainly sums up the central concerns of the main female characters and the tensions of the novel in extremely short order. I wish the same could be said of the closing chapters of the novel, as they are in my opinion one of its major flaws, they tend to drag. The other that always strikes me when I reread this novel is how superior and full of pride seems the novels heroine, Elizabeth Bennet. For indeed the novel is well titled, it is full of characters who display both pride and prejudice. When we first see Darcy, our hero, he is described as a "fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mien." We also hear he has "ten thousand a year" -- more than enough to raise the avarice of those that might wish to marry for money. Not enough, however, for Elizabeth who clashes with Darcy who answers his snobbish indifference to her with angry pride. From this point we have a novel that unfolds as Elizabeth and Darcy go through far reaching assessments of themselves and thier social pride and prejudices. Through this they also gain different views of each other, dragging the reader along. Elizabeth Bennet was Austen's favourite of her own heroine's, it is not hard to see why. She is sharp witted, intelligent, reasonable and a thoroughly modern woman. Her attitude to Mr Collins is a perfect example, while he praises her "modesty" and "economy" she denies these and at the same time spurns the then middle class ideal of a woman as submissive and domestic. When she tells Lady Catherine that she could certainly marry Darcy as "he is a gentleman, and I am a gentleman's daughter" she is rejecting her attitude of class through social and family connections.
The novel has all of Austen's typical strengths, good characterization, compelling plot, a sharp wit and a wonderful eye for the detail of the life of English rural gentry. This novel and "Emma" compete as the favourite among readers (I'm an "Emma" fan myself) while it competes with "Mansfield Park:" among critics as her best work. When you're deciding which edition to buy I would recommend the "Penguin Classics" edition for Vivien Jones' excellent introduction (which should be read after the novel unless you already know the entire plot from a previous read or a movie.)
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Summary: =D
Review: Pride and Prejudice is only the second Jane Austen book that I have read, but certainly not the last! Though the numerous characters and complex sentences provide the reader with a challenge and requires some concentration, the end result is definitely rewarding. Complicated characters and complicated relationships leave the reader constantly on their toes, and you never know what to expect next. What's so wonderful about this book is that the characters are so real. There are so many memorable characters in this story about Mrs. Bennet attempting to marry off her five daughters, and these characters aren't perfect, merely human, making them easy to relate to as well as laugh at. In reading this book, you see yourself in the same tough situations and awkward moments as them and realize that we sometimes forget that we don¡¦t have to be flawless. Everyone is proud and prejudiced at sometime or another; we aren't perfect, and it's okay! Though perhaps an easier read than Emma, Pride and Prejudice is similar in that it is also full of the same brilliant dialogue and subtle humor. This book is great for anyone who is interested in a romantic comedy that will that twirl you around with its genius and surprises.
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Summary: My all-time favorite book
Review: This was my second Austen novel, my first being Sense and Sensibility. I liked the first, but was blown away by this one. I adored all the characters, and although I knew (like everyone else) the whole time what would happen in the end, I was still overjoyed when the novel was resolved. However, I was dissappointed. I didn't want it to ever end! That's the mark of a good book. When you're done with it, you wish you had never read it just so you could read it for the fist time again. That's exactly how I felt with this novel. I could read it forever. I would reccomend it to anyone who remotely enjoys reading.
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Summary: ?????
Review: Jane Austen's, Pride and Prejudice, is an intriguing, nerve riveting structure pieced together with utmost meticulousness. Like a metropolitan skyscraper towering over its suburban brothers, Jane Austen's novel prevails as possibly one of the most powerful novels to fall into a reader's hand.
The witty heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, prevails as the most interesting and involved character. She mesmerizes the reader with her wit and grace. Although Mary is the dullest of a girl, the remaining cast and her are a most interesting bunch. The third person omnipresent narrative allows the reader to peak at every character; in the process revealing the Mr. Bennet's hilarious sarcasm and views on his wife along with Mr. Wickham's and Mr. Darcy's true positions and personalities, which I could never bring across to you with as gracefully as is done by Jane Austen, so you will just have to read the book.
As Austen introduces the players of the marriage game, which proves to be the center around which the plot is set, she presents the two themes that control the novel and are the title of it, pride and prejudice. Victorian society prevailed as the perfect setting to play out the two themes, as it was an era when social and economical status made a person who he/she is. Age, money, family name, and economical differences steer almost every single conversation and decision throughout the novel. They create for a most suspenseful scene; will Darcy, Bingley, Jane, Liz, and the rest of the cast surpass the boundaries set by pride and prejudice, and come together or will they let those boundaries keep them apart. Only one way to find out how sad or happy the ending is; you must read!
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