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Title: Me and Mr. Darcy: A Novel
ISBN: 034550254X
Author:
Alexandra Potter
Publicate Date: 2007-06-12
Publish: 2007-06-12
List Price: $12.95
Average Customer Rating: 3.0
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $2.15
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $0.20
Amazon Merchant Price: $11.01
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Delicious without trying
Most of the Jane Austen books try too hard to BE Jane Austen. I like that this one didn't do that. It was happy just being obsessed with her. The characters are likable and relatable. The situations are funny (there is one scene involving luggage that to this day makes my sides hurt from laughing) but without being campy.
I would recommend this book to anyone! Especially those who love Jane Austen, but maybe not the style of writing (think movie lover, not book lover). I will gladly read again.
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2: Finally something entertaining from the Jane Austen bandwagon
There are very few books that I have enjoyed (or would even bother picking up) in this new Jane Austen kick that seems to be sweeping people away. Don't get me wrong. I'm a huge Austen fanatic! And this is one of the few books where I felt like I could just sit and relax with a fellow Austen fan. You can't be expecting a great piece of literature from this book...but as chick lit goes, the character was endearing (and not over the top like a lot of chick lit main characters tend to be) and the plot was cute enough to make you continually smile and turn the page. I absolutely recommend!
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3: plodding, predictable plot, mildly amusing, not very romantic
There is apparently no end to the Jane Austen craze. We have had prequels and sequels to 'Pride and Prejudice' to say nothing of Bridget Jones and her ilk. It seems that any aspiring author can find an audience and make a couple of bucks by trading on the Austen name, the Austen characters and the Austen plots. All that is lacking is the Austen talent.
Following on the success of 'The Jane Austen Book Club,' now comes Alexandra Potter with her modern "chick lit" take on P&P. I bought this book at Washington National Airport for a flight to Fort Lauderdale and had finished it well before the pilot told us to switch off all electronic devices for landing. Did it make me laugh? Not really (maybe a half smile on a couple of occasions). Did it make me cry? No. Did it make me feel anything at all -- sad, happy, amused, diverted, stimulated? No, none of the above. Did it prevent me from falling asleep? Barely.
Feisty New York bookstore manager Emily albright, who thinks she's plain but will discover she is really beautiful, takes a Jane Austen tour of England with a group of older women and one dashing British reporter called Spike (yes Spike!)Among his attractive traits, he smokes and has a beer belly. But he has a lovely British accent. (So do I, where are you Emily?)
Oh those lovable Brits driving on the wrong side of the road with their quaint language and their villages and weird food! Much merriment is to be had from observing their strange customs. I laughed and laughed.
Emily soon finds herself reliving the plot of Pride and Prejudice, a witty conceit. At the same time, she has occasional weird flashbacks to the year 1813 where none other than Mr. Darcy himself is waiting to woo her. Who will she choose? The adorable Spike in our own times or the stiff but devastatingly attractive Darcy back in the Napoleonic era, who we discover to our horror is a sexist who disapproves of women working outside the home? The suspense is killing and far be it from me to spoil the tense climax for any reader who picks up this book.
The more people try to copy Austen, the greater her genius seems and the paler each imitation is by comparison. The particular example seems to me an especially cynical and exploitative effort. It's writing by numbers. It's predictable and pedestrian -- but I could forgive that if it were even mildly amusing or romantic. But it's not. Sorry!
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4: Perfect summer read
I am a huge fan of Pride and Prejudice - I have read the book every summer since it was on my summer reading list in high school and I own both the BBC and Keira Knightley DVDs. No one can ever compare to Jane Austen! That being said, I thought Alexandra Potter's book was thoroughly entertaining and perfect for summer reading - it's fast, it's funny and I really liked Emily. As far as some reviewers comments about why Darcy would like her - he's apparently somewhat of a figment of her imagination - she wouldn't dream up someone who doesn't like her!
I thought the other characters were also engaging - in a fluffy summer-reading sort of way. Stella, Freddy, Rose, Maeve. Miss Steane was a quirky addition, too. There were portions of the book that I was laughing out loud - much to the annoyance of my daughters!
I wasn't reading this book expecting "GREAT LITERATURE" like Pride and Prejudice, and found a humorous, engaging story that I will recommend to my friends.
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5: Makes a good point
I've always loved Jane Austen, but she only wrote six novels and I can only read them so many times. So what's a gal to do? Pick up a novel related to Jane Austen. Still waiting for the next Jane Austen mystery novel by Stephanie Barron to be published, I picked this book up on a whim. It seems to be a cross between chick lit and magical realism.
The other reviewers on Amazon made some good detailed points about the novel's weaknesses regarding the characters: Emily is rather sarcastic and the third leg of the love triology is a foul-mouthed, slovenly journalist. However, these characters are in line with the theme of the novel.
Emily discovers that romantic characters are fun to dream about but real people have real flaws, whereas, imaginary characters belong to an imaginary world. It was fun seeing the author's vision of Mr. Darcy transported into the modern world and how his romanticized faults may not play out so well in the real world. (I won't detail them and spoil the read.)
There is some rough language in this novel and modern-style romantic relationships, which may offend some readers who prefer the chaste behavior of the Jane Austen novels. But if you want a fun beach read, a book which could take a little sand or suntan lotion spilled onto it, you might find this a different perspective on Mr. Darcy to consider. And it might cause some single women to consider whether they are looking for a real man to have a relationship with--or an unachievable illusion.
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