Austen Time

Whoopeeeeee!!  I have managed to do something that I never thought I would.  OK, I've not reached the 450 book target that I had when I started this blog (See Once Upon a Time...), but I have finally read 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen.  I honestly never thought I would (see Lost to Austen?) so I am genuinely thrilled to have finished it and that it stood up to expectations.

'Pride and Prejudice'
by Jane Austen
(Penguin, 1999)

Just in case you're an extraterrestrial learning about Earth culture (welcome, by the way, and please be nice.  We're not as bad as we seem sometimes.)... 

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...

Sorry, Ma'am

I, like many people, have often looked at the Royal Family during state functions or PR opportunities, as they shake hands with complete strangers and do their best to be interested in what they have to say, and thought to myself "What are they really thinking?".  Finally, in 'Gin O'Clock' by the Queen of Twitter, we might find out.

'Gin O'Clock' by The Queen
(of Twitter) (Hodder, 2012)

Following in the ink blots of her illustrious ancestress Queen Victoria, HM Elizabeth II has decided to publish her memoirs.  But, being a modern queen in modern times, rather than writing them in a leather bound journal, she's made full use of the latest technology, tweeting her thoughts to her adoring subjects.  (At last we know what she keeps in her handbag - a smartphone complete with Twitter ap!).  'Gin O'Clock' is a collection of her messages from December 2011 until June 2012, a time of weddings, visits and - if this is to be believed - an awful lot of wild parties and fried breakfasts.

I bought this book last year because my reading was getting far too serious and I wanted something to cheer me up.  Like more than a million other people, I'd followed @Queen_UK and found the quips funny enough to want to read 'Gin O'Clock'.  After all, I've read several books based on blogs, some of which I've really enjoyed.

Unfortunately, I don't think the humour really translates.  In losing it's immediacy and context in the big news of the day, I think the satire has lost it's edge.  I found myself scrabbling around in my memory trying to recall what was going on at the time, which didn't help really.

Also, after a while some of the jokes also wore a bit thin.  Nick Clegg's colouring in, Prince Edward's campness and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall's interesting fancy dress choices also lost their sparkle after about 100 pages.  That's why it's taken me so long to read it (probably about eight months).  I found the best way to enjoy it was to put it down long enough to have forgotten the running jokes.

I also found the structure rather annoying.  Each part starts with a tweet, which is then covered in more detail.  Trouble is that a few lines in the tweet is often repeated as part of the prose, so something that was funny when first read becomes irritating very quickly.

'Gin O'Clock' does have its very funny moments and unlike some satire it's not really mean or cruel, more cheeky and upbeat.  Unfortunately there weren't quite enough for me.

So I guess we'll just have to keep wondering what is going on in the heads of our Royal Family.  Or at least hope that Her Majesty is as gracious and loving as she says she is and I don't end up writing my next post from the Tower...  It's been nice knowing you!