REVIEW: 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen; and 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

When I was reading Pride and Prejudice, I thought about what I might say to spark the conversation in my review.  I even read some Spark Notes afterward so I could be SMRT, but what I realized is -- Pride and Prejudice is a beloved, beloved classic.  It's probably one of the most analyzed books out there.  I don't know what I could say about it that other people have not already said.

I enjoyed it thoroughly.  I thought I liked Jane Eyre.  Turns out no.  Jane Eyre has nothing on Pride and Prejudice.  Two different stories, yes.  Two different messages.  But as far as romances go, and as far as readability goes, Pride and Prejudice outdid Jane Eyre by as far as you could possibly go.  Pride and Prejudice even outdid Little Women.  The motifs were easier to read, the dialogue made it quite engaging.  And it was real.  I could relate more to Pride and Prejudice.  The characters were genuine.  The class system was completely characteristic of Regency England.  The characters had faults, and then acknowledged those faults rather than completely rid themselves of them (whereas, in Jane Eyre, Jane seemed pretty much perfect, and in Little Women, the girls' acknowledgment of faults too easily led to their problems' resolutions).

So anyway.  Seeing as how I had nothing completely groundbreaking to say about Pride and Prejudice, I thought I'd go ahead and double up.  As soon as I was finished reading Pride and Prejudice, I started Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith.  I thought a comparison might make a more interesting blog post.  So here goes nothing.


I was worried about reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies because I'm not really a zombie fan.  I don't read Max Brooks.  I thought Shaun of the Dead was funny, but a little sickening.  I have no desire to see Night of the Living Dead.  However, I would say if you liked the movie Zombieland, you'd probably enjoy Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, in terms of zombie quantity.  I was glad Grahame-Smith kept the bulk of the book as Pride and Prejudice.  It wasn't overrun with zombies and gore like I pictured.  The romance of Darcy and Elizabeth remained untainted.  There were a few good fight scenes that really gave the novel character, and only one change I wasn't sure I appreciated.  There were lots of ball jokes.  Overall, I found it to be a creative new twist on a novel some people might think stuffy (although I have to say those people are wrong).

Austen surprised me, too.  Pride and Prejudice kept me on my toes.  The twist with Lydia towards the end made my heart skip a beat.  I was glad to find Elizabeth so well defined, and both her and Darcy so true to their characters, even after all had been discovered and both pride and prejudice set aside.  Their personalities didn't do a complete 180 once they realized their flaws and their misgivings.  The novel was full of entertaining characters that moved as great vehicles for Darcy and Elizabeth's romance -- Mr. Collins, Charlotte, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Wickham, Lydia, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner...even Georgiana Darcy.  The only character I don't really get is Mary.  I think I'll have to do more reading on her.

I guess what I enjoyed most about reading the two novels back to back was that I almost felt like I was reading the same novel twice.  And funnily enough, I think I caught things while reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies that I missed while reading Pride and Prejudice.  It really does always help to read things multiple times -- and I was happy that Pride and Prejudice and Zombies allowed me to re-enjoy Austen's masterpiece, but also give me a fun and quirky new way to do it.

So for both novels?  Obviously, I rate Pride and Prejudice higher than Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  But both were my epitome of summer fun.




 NEXT UP: Lady Gaga: Behind the Fame by Emily Herbert.  I am totally going to this Lady's concert on Wednesday -- what a mood booster!

REVIEW: 'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Bronte

Well, hello!  It really has been too long.  I apologize to everyone out there who may have been waiting for a blog post.  I should have mentioned in my welcome statement that I have a horrible tendency to take lengthy recesses with no apparent warning or reason.

But now that I'm back (for now), I can finally discuss my relationship with Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.  This book took me a month or so to finish.  This does not mean I did not enjoy it.

I will say it was hard to read Jane Eyre properly without the environment of a classroom.  I always get more from classics like this where there can be a group discussion after every few chapters or so.  I considered checking SparkNotes, but somehow that felt like cheating.  Halfway through, I decided to skip the literary aspect of it entirely and began reading for enjoyment only.

I say I had a relationship with Jane Eyre because this book drew me so closely into Jane's mind I felt we were in fact friends, or at the very least acquaintances.  I found Jane's narrative engaging, and Bronte's writing style attractive.  My problem with literary classics has always been that I would get lost in backstory -- I felt an author would take too much time explaining something (a gesture, a bit of dialogue, the scenery), when it was just as easy to skip a few sentences and get on with the narration.  Not so with Jane Eyre.  There were only a few instances where I would put the book down and wonder when I was ever going to finish it.  My biggest issue this time around was picking the book back up after I had put it down for the night.  It's not a book that you can use to take a few minutes out of your busy day, read a few lines and put it back down until the next time you have a free moment.  The writing is not pithy by any means, so I would have to make time out of my day to fully absorb myself, if I was going to pick up the book at all.  Once I read a few paragraphs, though, it was hard to stop.

I wouldn't say love stories are normally at the top of my list when I'm deciding on a book to read (although now that I think about it, most of my favorite books do involve some sort of love story), but this one felt near perfect.  And I think I feel that way because I could see Jane's strength of character, and I knew she wasn't in love with Mr. Rochester because he wanted her, or because it would be beneficial for her financially, or even because it was her first real crush.  The love was authentic because Jane is authentic.  I felt Jane's love for Mr. Rochester as deeply and as truly as if it were my own.  This is sort of embarrassing to admit, because who wants to marry a guy who kept his first wife in a closet?  But all the talk of being fit for each other, and complementing each other so perfectly...well, it made me feel all wishy-washy.  And I loved it.

I think I will read Wide Sargasso Sea again so I can fully appreciate the other side, and maybe gain some more insight into Jane Eyre as well.




But UP NEXT: No Turning Back: The History of Feminism and the Future of Women, by Estelle B. Freedman (finally, I am in the mood for it!)