The Bennet family is enjoying their seaside home in Salcombe when Mrs. Bennet hears that the nearby magnificent villa Netherpollock has been taken by a young man of great fortune. She is determined that one of her daughters will go out with him, until Mr. Darcy glides into the harbour on his yacht and she decides he would be the better catch."
Review: As far as Austen knock offs go, this one was pretty silly and fun-spirited. In this modern twist, Darcy and Elizabeth first meet on Darcy's fabulous yacht. All of the families are vacationing on the seaside coastal town of Salcombe, so they get a lot of opportunity to rub shoulders at beach outings, swim competitions, and house parties. Darcy isn't quite as snobby as I pictured him in the original or other remakes, but just more reserved. Everyone is much sillier, and many of the girls have this valley girl-like dialect (such as using the word "like") going on that threw me a little. I was trying to picture the British accent, coupled with a valley girl spin. I was stumped.
This book was short and pretty cheeky overall. The familiar tension between Darcy and Elizabeth was a little watered down, as were the other relationships in the story. Mr. Collins was my one exception, in that his complete inability to swim really heightened what a nuisance and a fool he was, and I loved it. On the whole, this was a silly little read that makes for a funny take on Pride and Prejudice. I missed the romantic tension that came from all the misunderstandings, but think it's a funny take on a classic that didn't involve death or the afterlife!
*FTC Disclosure: This review was based on an advanced copy of the novel provided by Sourcebooks.
It is like a game... How many fan fiction books about Pride and Prejudice are possible!
ReplyDeleteDoesn't appear on your blog history that you've read Stephanie Barron's ongoing Jane Austen mysteries series. These should appeal to you.
ReplyDeleteAs well, since you recently were in England, you also might like Barron's mysteries "The White Garden" (2009) suggesting a plausible cause of Virginia Woolf's death and "A Flaw in the Blood" (2008) proposing the origin of Hemophilia in Queen Victoria's descendants.
Carla
P.S.
ReplyDeleteYou will enjoy Barron's blog on the Jane Austen mysteries at http://stephaniebarronbooks.blogspot.com/ Note the Jane Austen challenge this year for the entire year.
Barron's website as a whole is very engaging as well: http://www.stephaniebarron.com/books.php
Carla
This was silly and must be read in the spirit of a spoof.
ReplyDeleteKailana--Too true. I keep thinking it will fade soon. We'll see how long these remakes are still popular! Some of them I really like, while others just fall flat.
ReplyDeleteCarla--You're such a great pal here!!! I wish you had a blog that I could follow you back at, so I could have more dialogue. :) If you do, email me! I'd love to catch up more. I'll admit that I'm not much for mysteries, but I'll definitely go check those out. Thanks Carla!
LaurenAnn--Too true! Once I got over the silliness, I kind of got into it more like a YA novel. Wouldn't you say it had that YA feel?