the same day i went book reviewing

I am still writing reviews of books I've read lately or even books I've read some years ago. One of the best love stories I have ever read was from my namesake, Jane--Austen, that is. And her work? Let's just say darcy, Elizabeth, pride, prejudice; ring any bell? :)


Pride and Prejudice


At last, a classic. And a normal love story, too (that’s a bonus). The almost-two-centuries-old love story of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy is still captivating readers’ interest as it did on the time it was released. The timeless line “she is tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me” started it all.

Lizzy’s family’s lack of propriety (excepting her sister Jane, and sometimes her father) and her prejudice on the misplaced pride of the wealthy and aloof Mr. Darcy constantly gets in the way of what could have been an acquaintance that would benefit them both early on.

The story has a simple plot with simple conflicts set in a time when everything was simple. The only complications provided (aside from one side’s pride and the other side’s prejudice) were from Miss Caroline Bingley and Mr. George Wickham (and Lizzy’s uncontrollable younger sister Lydia). Color was added to the story through these characters and by Mr. Darcy’s good friend, Mr. Bingley, Lizzy’s sister, Jane, and Mr. Collins, Charlotte and Lady Catherine.

But of course, all’s well that ends well. After everything that happened between them, around them as well as their circle of family and friends, and inside them, at the end of the day, they found their way to each other. The end of the novel showed us a married Mr. and Mrs. Darcy and one couldn’t help but believe in the fact fairy tales are real… sort of.

Of course, a lot found themselves either in love with Mr. Darcy and wishing they could find their own Darcys, or applauding the level-headedness and strength of Lizzy Bennet. It caused spin-offs in books, attempting to finish the just-beginning fairy tale of Darcy and Lizzy, as well as TV series and movies. I couldn’t blame them; I fell in love with the story as well and I have read some of the spin-offs, wanting to have an idea on what might have been should the author made this novel into a series (just like so many books today).

Oh well, the fact that the story still shines as one of the best love stories ever written in the two hundred years of its existence proves that love doesn’t really have to take that much effort, and so as a good novel.