I’m about to review a book that I’ve not read, and that I have no intention of reading. The book is Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld – a modern, American retake on Pride and Prejudice.

Without further ado, I give it no stars.
This is entirely, but I feel reasonably, based on a conversation I had with a colleague at work that went something like this:
Day One
[As soon as she arrives at work, Anika runs up to my desk waving Eligible in front of me. She is very excited].
‘Have you read this? It’s great! I’ve been reading it on the train and I was laughing the whole time’. [Which is quite a statement as she lives west of Timbuktu and has to commute for hours every day]. ‘IT IS HILARIOUS. Everyone else on the train thought I was mad, but I couldn’t stop laughing out loud. Mr Bennett is a hoot’.
Day Two
‘This book has really gone downhill….. Get this – Liz Bennett was out jogging and she bumped into Darcy so they went back to her apartment and THEN HAD HATE SEX’. [At this point, my heart actually stopped beating. I am rendered speechless]. ‘It’s probably still worth a read for Mr Bennett; he has the best lines’.
Day Three
‘I’m so annoyed I spent money on this book! Really disappointing. I’m not diametrically opposed to bringing a book into the modern age, but there is only so much you can throw at a book to make it modern. The only thing missing from this plot was a terrorist attack! This is the worst by far of all the books in The Austen Project’.
Dear Unsuspecting Reader, please heed Anika’s journey of disappointment. I know I shall – she had me at ‘hate sex’.
Hate sex?!? I think I just fainted! It must be bad if it’s the worst of them – I can’t imagine anything worse than Trollope’s Sense and Sensibility. Hmm… except maybe McCall Smith’s Emma…
That’s a really interesting point. Part of austen’s appeal is that she was a pioneering female writer. Couldn’t they have found modern pioneering women to write these. I’m sure they exist…
As silly and over the top as this book was, I actually rather enjoyed it. 🙂 I put aside my Austen purist (i.e. literary snob) tendencies and let the story entertain me.
It’s got lots of great reviews on Goodreads… So maybe that’s what you need to do…