Book Review: Pride and Prejudice
So, I've just finished reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen for the second time. It's an assigned book for school, but it doesn't stop me loving it.
This story follows roughly one year in the life of Elizabeth Bennet, and the life of a twenty year-old girl in 19th Century England. It could be labelled as a romance novel, but to call it that kind of takes away all the other great bits in the book. A strong plot is the developing romance between Elizabeth and Darcy but it is not the only plot, nor does it take up more than 60% per cent of the text. There isn't much plot, for the sheer reason that this follows someone's every day life. Since when does life have a plot? To all the people who complain of the lack of plot, think about your own lives and wonder when was the last time a bomb went off or a mass murderer killed your father. Sorry for the rant, but there are people in my class who are saying that they hate this book because nothing happens. I feel that not all stories have to be plot based, but character based books are just as good.
I particularly like the characters in this book. Like I said, this is a character based book, and it's very clear that there is no good guy or bad guy. There are just those with intelligence and those who are frivolous and gossipy. I will say I love Darcy, since he's like the scruffy prince (as my sister described the guy in Enchanted). Also, the way the story is written is extremely clever. I'd hazard around 80% of this book is dialogue. Excluding the monologues Elizabeth expresses in her head, I love how the witty characters display taciturnity until they have some amazing joke to crack. That's another thing about this book; it's funny. I'm not just saying it, this is a very funny book. It's also very insightful to the times and the gender significances back then.
Probably the only thing I don't like about this book is the abrupt change in Elizabeth's character. I can understand that she changed with falling in love, but I read one chapter where she was normal and then the next she was fretting and worried that Darcy wouldn't care for her anymore. I think that could have been better done, but otherwise, I loved everything else. Oh, and I dislike Mrs Bennet, but that's because her character just makes me dislike her. This is a pro though.
I will give this a chocolate cake rating (8.5/10) because I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Especially because this was the second time I had read this and I enjoyed it just as much as the first time ^^
On to reading A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolfe and encountering the views of a feminist.
This story follows roughly one year in the life of Elizabeth Bennet, and the life of a twenty year-old girl in 19th Century England. It could be labelled as a romance novel, but to call it that kind of takes away all the other great bits in the book. A strong plot is the developing romance between Elizabeth and Darcy but it is not the only plot, nor does it take up more than 60% per cent of the text. There isn't much plot, for the sheer reason that this follows someone's every day life. Since when does life have a plot? To all the people who complain of the lack of plot, think about your own lives and wonder when was the last time a bomb went off or a mass murderer killed your father. Sorry for the rant, but there are people in my class who are saying that they hate this book because nothing happens. I feel that not all stories have to be plot based, but character based books are just as good.
I particularly like the characters in this book. Like I said, this is a character based book, and it's very clear that there is no good guy or bad guy. There are just those with intelligence and those who are frivolous and gossipy. I will say I love Darcy, since he's like the scruffy prince (as my sister described the guy in Enchanted). Also, the way the story is written is extremely clever. I'd hazard around 80% of this book is dialogue. Excluding the monologues Elizabeth expresses in her head, I love how the witty characters display taciturnity until they have some amazing joke to crack. That's another thing about this book; it's funny. I'm not just saying it, this is a very funny book. It's also very insightful to the times and the gender significances back then.
Probably the only thing I don't like about this book is the abrupt change in Elizabeth's character. I can understand that she changed with falling in love, but I read one chapter where she was normal and then the next she was fretting and worried that Darcy wouldn't care for her anymore. I think that could have been better done, but otherwise, I loved everything else. Oh, and I dislike Mrs Bennet, but that's because her character just makes me dislike her. This is a pro though.
I will give this a chocolate cake rating (8.5/10) because I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Especially because this was the second time I had read this and I enjoyed it just as much as the first time ^^
On to reading A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolfe and encountering the views of a feminist.