Book Review - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Gorgeous prose with droll observations, but it proved a very slow read.

I finally understand why so many people adore Austen's most famous novel. Pride and Prejudice is both beautifully written and accessible on a surprisingly personal level. My favourite aspect by far was the neatly-worded sarcasm and brisk dialogue. While Elizabeth and Darcy's exchanges are key to the plot, I was more consistently impressed by the depiction of Mrs Bennet and Mr Collins. Both these characters are ridiculous in their own credible ways but share a mutually endearing lack of self-awareness.

My main frustration is with the lack of activity. While I appreciate that women of Austen's time were very limited in their movement (at least until married off), I soon got bored of all the balls and garden walks, and yearned for the Bennet sisters to go anywhere but another bloody drawing room. I much preferred the interactions in a moving carriage and wished these had occurred more often.

This partly accounts for why it took me so long to finish Pride and Prejudice. Other reasons included unpicking the tapestry of exquisite descriptions and genuine frustration at how indirect Elizabeth and Darcy were with each other. Again, the significance of the title is not lost on me, I just think there could have been more complex reasons for the miscommunication of their genuine feelings.

Let the Janeites call me 'lowbrow'. I still agree that Pride and Prejudice is a very important and charming novel and feel proud to have read it. However, please do not think too harshly on my petty prejudices.