katiemoten's review
2.0
This collection is basically exactly what it says it is: it's a sort of tongue-in-cheek engagement with Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice in the early 21st century. I thought it was ok, but not great.
It comes from a pop culture perspective rather than an academic one, so it's not meant to be taken very seriously, and that's ok, but the quality varies a lot in the essays. Some of them seem a bit too silly to be taken seriously. I think maybe if there had been a more academic tone, the quality would have been better.
There are a lot of themes explored here. Among the variety of approaches to the subject, some authors write about movie adaptations, some focus on Mr Darcy, some explore what was happening during Austen's time as she was writing the novel, and some even write alternative stories for some of the characters. Some of these were quite interesting, but, again, I think if the tone had been more serious, these would have been better.
I think this collection is really dated as well. There's too much swooning over Darcy and too much cattiness about the female characters. I mean, Lydia gets called a slut. Can we please just not? In the era of #MeToo, I'd like to think this book would be written completely differently, with a lot more empathy to characters like Lydia.
So, sadly, a disappointment for me. I think it's of its time, but I think writing about Austen and her characters has moved on. I like to hope it has anyway.
It comes from a pop culture perspective rather than an academic one, so it's not meant to be taken very seriously, and that's ok, but the quality varies a lot in the essays. Some of them seem a bit too silly to be taken seriously. I think maybe if there had been a more academic tone, the quality would have been better.
There are a lot of themes explored here. Among the variety of approaches to the subject, some authors write about movie adaptations, some focus on Mr Darcy, some explore what was happening during Austen's time as she was writing the novel, and some even write alternative stories for some of the characters. Some of these were quite interesting, but, again, I think if the tone had been more serious, these would have been better.
I think this collection is really dated as well. There's too much swooning over Darcy and too much cattiness about the female characters. I mean, Lydia gets called a slut. Can we please just not? In the era of #MeToo, I'd like to think this book would be written completely differently, with a lot more empathy to characters like Lydia.
So, sadly, a disappointment for me. I think it's of its time, but I think writing about Austen and her characters has moved on. I like to hope it has anyway.
balletbookworm's review
3.0
Solidly in the middling category. The essays were rather uneven (a blindingly terrible essay about Austen and war was followed by one by Jo Beverly who clearly did all HER research) and the back half of the book was Pride and Prejudice fanfic, some good, some not very good. Fun to read though.
janetlun's review
It's edited by Jennifer Crusie, but the 24 short pieces are by a variety of authors. It's a mix of essays and short stories in response to Price and Prejudice. I suppose the short stories qualify as fanfic, as they take the characters from the novel. Some of the stories are set in the world of P&P, and others transport the characters to modern time. Crusie is a smart, funny writer, so it's no surprise that she's put together a smart, funny collection. I'll never look at Mary Bennet the same way again.
somechelsea's review
3.0
I was disappointed in this collection - there seemed to be no middle ground between overly academic (and frankly, boring) essays, and the ones that didn't do much more than point out that every woman in the world thinks Colin Firth is hot. Yeah, I know. (Yeah, I'm the oddball who liked McFadyen better.)
[author:Adam Robert]'s Jane Austen and the Masturbating Critic was the most frustrating (and simultaneously content-light), but Lani Diane Rich's squealing teenage girl-esque diary (My Firth Love) was the most unredeemable. The Original Chick Lit Masterpiece was interesting, and I enjoyed all of the essays in Jane's Untold Stories. I'll probably end up buying this at some point, but only because I can't help myself when it comes to Jane. And I refuse to pay full price for it. So there.
[author:Adam Robert]'s Jane Austen and the Masturbating Critic was the most frustrating (and simultaneously content-light), but Lani Diane Rich's squealing teenage girl-esque diary (My Firth Love) was the most unredeemable. The Original Chick Lit Masterpiece was interesting, and I enjoyed all of the essays in Jane's Untold Stories. I'll probably end up buying this at some point, but only because I can't help myself when it comes to Jane. And I refuse to pay full price for it. So there.
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