Review for Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen!
Quick View Review
Characters: ***** (5/5)
Plot: **** (4.5/5)
Writing Quality: ***** (5/5)
Amazon Rating: **** (4.5/5)
Full Review
Elizabeth Bennet is the second of five sisters, and being a girl during the 19th century means that by the time she’s 20, she should be married and dependent. That’s all Elizabeth’s mother wants in life: to see her daughters married to families that will be able to provide for them.
But Elizabeth is different from the rest of her sisters: she’s determined that she will only marry if she’s in love, and her independent stubborn spirit endlessly bothers her mother.
At the beginning of the story, we witness the wealthy men Bingley and Darcy move into the Bennets’ neighborhood. Bingley immediately connects with Jane, Elizabeth’s one older sister, but Darcy is seen as overly proud and none of the women want anything to do with him. However, Darcy finds himself strangely drawn to Elizabeth. Follow Elizabeth’s journey in English society and the romantic journey of a young woman in the 19th century in this classic timeless love story!
All I have to say about this book is wow. Wow wow wow wow. Beautiful, humorous, elegant, and simply perfect, I’m not all surprised that this book is so well-known and loved by people of all ages. Austen’s writing was surprisingly simple while also perfectly reflecting the style of her time.
The characters went beyond my expectations. Elizabeth was a young girl who I thought would fit perfectly into today’s society: her personality was modern and independent, which is absolutely not what I thought I was going to get from her. I could relate to her on so many levels (I mean, she was a bookworm!), and I loved witnessing her develop and grow over the course of the book. The other thing I loved was that Austen truly empowered Elizabeth: Lizzie controlled her relationships and wasn’t going to let anyone take away her independence. After all, she triggered Darcy’s perspective change and allowed him to open up to connecting with other people. It’s a real rarity to see such empowerment and confidence during a time when women were often put down and seen as inferior.
The plot was simple yet incredibly detailed. There were so many layers and I loved how every little detail and anecdote had a huge impact on the relationship that was explored and developed throughout the novel.
The writing, of course, was exceptional. It’s hard to expect anything less from an author of a classic. I absolutely fell in love with the beautiful simplicity yet tremendous elegance Austen managed to achieve with this novel. I truly think that finding something like the writing in this novel is incredibly difficult, as most of the classics I have read are hard to read and understand.
Overall, this book 100% deserves its title as one of the best ever. It’s a story that will be forever relevant and hopefully forever loved, as it showcases independence in a woman during a time when strength and empowerment were rare. I recommend this book to teen girls, as it is mostly a girl’s story and will be more relevant and impactful to women, but boys, I say you give this book a shot.
Make sure to come back next Wednesday for a new review!
Happy reading!
Jordan
