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| 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen (Penguin, 1999) |
When Elizabeth Bennet meets Mr Darcy for the first time, it's hardly a match made in Heaven. His superior attitude and disdain for those around him leave her repulsed and she can think of no one else she's less likely to marry. Chance encounters thaw first impressions, however, but just as the couple begin to realise the change in their feelings, the foolish actions of Lydia, the youngest Bennet sibling, threaten to ruin the family's reputation completely and destroy any hope of happiness her four sisters may have...
I am completely in love with this book. It's a coming-of-age novel that's laugh out loud funny, charming, subtle and fun. It may be 200 years old, but it's still fresh and surprisingly relevant. The context may change but people really don't.
I loved spending time with the Bennets and Elizabeth particularly. I felt sorry to have to leave them at the end, so much so that I rewatched the famous 1995 BBC adaptation as soon as I could. Have to be honest, though, while it left me feeling warm and fuzzy, I did enjoy the book more.
I don't need to recommend 'Pride and Prejudice' to you - there are many, far better qualified people around to do that. I think the real lesson of this is pretty much the message of the book itself; first impressions can be wrong and life is a voyage of discovery about yourself as well as other people. I thought I'd never be able to read the work of one of Britain's great authors, but I've learned that I can. I genuinely believe that some books have their time for each person, and when I came back to 'Pride and Prejudice' after five years, I was ready for it in a way that I wasn't in 2012. Go figure.
So, if there's a book you've tried and still feel sad about not getting on with, there's no harm in giving it another go. You might still hate it. Equally, you might find you fall in love with it. At the end of the day, you won't know unless you try. So why not?
Now, what next...
