Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Pride & Prejudice books are so not Pride & Prejudice

I seem to be on a themed reading binge right now.  I just read Prada and Prejudice and am currently reading Me and Mr. Darcy.  Anyone recognize what's going on here?

I know there have been the fan fiction pieces that are basically sequels of the original.  But these two (as well as Austenland, which I read earlier this year) take modern girls and somehow throw them into the P&P world.  (Side note: There's also Pride and Prejudice and Zombies which has been incredibly popular at the bookstore.)

Prada doesn't actually relate to the P&P storyline.  It's about a fifteen year old American girl visiting London for a summer trip when she falls (in Prada shoes) and wakes up in Regency times, the times of P&P.  And then, for good measure, the male lead is a match for Darcy's demeanor.  The other two have main characters that take Jane Austen trips to England.

The point?  While the stories are cute concepts, the writing is no where near is good as the original.  The authors make use of bad techniques, such as having a main character describe her appearance while looking at a mirror.  So over done and it's a cop out.  The characters are so typical: is every Jane Austen fan a single girl who claims to be so over love and relationships, but as soon as a Darcy-ish guy comes along, she falls hard?  And I know with chick lit it's easy to pick out who the heroine is going to end up with, but come on, at least give the reader a couple options instead of just the one obvious guy.

I also started wondering if a book has ever been written that is very similar to P&P, but set in modern day and in high school.  You know, a la The Taming of the Shrew and 10 Things I Hate About You?  For example, with Bingley and Darcy being newcomers in town; that wouldn't work in a regular town today so much, but new students in a high school?  There would totally be a riot amongst the girls.  Hmm... :)

1 comment:

Mandy Hubbard said...

Hey! So, I came across this in a round of shameless googling. *g*.

Anyway, love it or hate it, I'm glad you're discussing my book.

I just thought I'd share that I never, ever expected that my book could touch the original PRIDE & PREJUDICE with a ten foot pole. :-) Austen is quite possibly the most well-loved author ever, evidenced by the sequels and spin-offs and time travels. I'm not sure any other book/author has been recreated or revisited as often as she has.

So while I would have loved for you to fall head over heels (pun intended), it's totally okay that you didn't, and I appreciate you simply taking note of my book. I have to say that I was a bit naieve about the idea that true Austen fans would pick up PRADA & PREJUDICE--especially readers who aren't normally into YA-- but I've been stunned at how many Austen spin-offs are purchased together with Prada on amazon, or reviewed/discussed on Austen sites.

And a last note-- I do know of an agented writer (not yet published) shopping a modern day Pride & Prejudice in which Mr. Darcy is a teen basketball player-- the big man on campus at school, so to speak....the propsoal is swapped with a invitation to prom, etc.