Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice by Curtis Sittenfeld–492 pages
Book Blurb:
This version of the Bennet family—and Mr. Darcy—is one that you have and haven’t met before: Liz is a magazine writer in her late thirties who, like her yoga instructor older sister, Jane, lives in New York City. When their father has a health scare, they return to their childhood home in Cincinnati to help—and discover that the sprawling Tudor they grew up in is crumbling and the family is in disarray. Youngest sisters Kitty and Lydia are too busy with their CrossFit workouts and Paleo diets to get jobs. Mary, the middle sister, is earning her third online master’s degree and barely leaves her room, except for those mysterious Tuesday-night outings she won’t discuss. And Mrs. Bennet has one thing on her mind: how to marry off her daughters, especially as Jane’s fortieth birthday fast approaches.
My Review: 4.5 stars
After reading Eligible, there is no doubt I’ll be re-reading Pride and Prejudice so I can further examine the similarities between the two books. I probably read the latter 35 years ago, so yes, the dust bunnies in my head make it hard to recall!
The satirical nature of this book was so well done as Sittenfeld transformed 19th century issues into today’s cultural complexities. Manners, marriage and money were pretty similar but the additions of technology, race, gender issues and solo parenting made for some delicious storytelling.
The fictitious show Eligible, was a wonderful tactic to use as a parallel to how marriage has become a game. The novel reads like pure chick lit but has such deeper meaning if you’re willing to dig in. You’ll notice that her writing is sharp, smart and filled with wit, with an immense vocabulary to boot!
If a book club is willing to read both Eligible and Pride and Prejudice, there is no doubt a fascinating discussion would ensue.
Quotes I liked:
Such compliments–they were thrilling but almost impossible to absorb in this quantity, at this pace. It was like she was being pelted with magnificent hail, and she wished she could save the individual stones to examine later, but they’d exist with such potency only now, in this moment.”
-“He’s a lawyer in Atlanta, and he’s very active in his church,” Mrs. Bennet said. “If that’s not the description of a man looking for a wife, I don’t know what is.”
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