So my favorite book is and probably always will be Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. With that being said I like to read variations of the story and see it from other authors perspective, which is exactly what you get with Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld. Curtis takes the story and essence of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and puts a modern spin on the story that will have you drawn in from the first sentence.
The description was taken from the Goodreads website:
"This version of the Bennet family and Mr. Darcy is one that you have and haven't met before: Liz is a magazine writer in her late thirties who, like her yoga instructor older sister, Jane, lives in New York City. When their father has a health scare, they return to their childhood home in Cincinnati to help and discover that the sprawling Tudor they grew up in is crumbling and the family is in disarray.
Youngest sisters Kitty and Lydia are too busy with their CrossFit workouts and Paleo diets to get jobs. Mary, the middle sister, is earning her third online master's degree and barely leaves her room, except for those mysterious Tuesday-night outings she won't discuss. And Mrs. Bennet has one thing on her mind: how to marry off her daughters, especially as Jane's fortieth birthday fast approaches.
Enter Chip Bingley, a handsome new-in-town doctor who recently appeared on the juggernaut reality TV dating show Eligible. At a Fourth of July barbecue, Chip takes an immediate interest in Jane, but Chip's friend, neurosurgeon Fitzwilliam Darcy, reveals himself to Liz to be much less charming. . . . And yet, first impressions can be deceiving."
Elizabeth or Liz as she is known in this book is in the career she loves, and in a city she loves. When her and Jane have to go back home to take care of their father, they come home to see their home is falling apart and their sisters aren't doing anything to help out. When Jane meets the handsome Chip Bingley, Liz is introduced to his best friend Fitzwilliam Darcy, which you can just imagine how that goes. Each character embodies the essence of the original characters, but they are brought into a more modern world. Normally with variations the author will try to make the characters their own, and the reader doesn't get the feeling like they are the same characters that they have come to love and know. However, Curtis takes Austen's characters into a modern world without them losing the characteristics that made readers everywhere fall in love with them.
If you are a fan of Pride and Prejudice you need to read this book, because I know you won't be disappointed.
Happy retelling adventures my friends!
Image taken from the Goodreads website.
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