Pride, Prejudice And Jasmin Field (2001) - Plot & Excerpts
I had convinced myself before reading this book that I would only give it two stars based on the cover and concept, but surprised myself by liking it more than I thought I would. I'm going through books that people have given me and actually reading them now that I have the time, so this was another on the "laundry list." It's a modern spin on Pride and Prejudice, where the protagonist, Jazmin (or Jazz; she even has a nickname like Elizabeth Bennett does [Lizzy:]! Meticulous attention to detail, as you can see already...), is a women's magazine columnist who ends up in a play-version of Pride and Prejudice directed by a famous and arrogant actor who's doing the whole gig as charity work to enhance his reputation. Not surprisingly, she ends up getting cast as Lizzy while he ends up being Darcy, and the storyline of Pride and Prejudice plays out in the actors' and cast's lives as they rehearse the play. It was interesting to see how Melissa Nathan translated the storyline into a modern context (while not copying Bridget Jones too heavily), for those who've read Pride and Prejudice before, anyway... without the prior read, I don't know that the story would have as much attraction, or maybe even make sense in all its references to the original. It was fun to match up who was who character-wise (even though the casting in the play made it obvious for most, there were a few "surprises" outside the cast, and most of the characters seemed pretty true modern versions of their counterparts), and to see especially how Nathan dealt with translating the concept of the Bennett/Field family losing their honor, since having a daughter who runs away with a man just isn't doing it scandal-wise anymore. The down-side to its being based on the original was, of course, that everything in the book was pretty predictable, down to the Josie-incident, and events so closely colluded to the book sometimes that it seemed unlikely that the characters wouldn't have at some point said, hey, isn't it weird that everything we do exactly conforms to Pride and Prejudice?! I think what made the book more enjoyable for me than anything was that it's written all in Britishicisms, which was entertaining in itself. However, the main character, Jazz, is supposed to be very witty (the more I read, the more difficult I realize it is to make your characters witty), but most of her jokes/comebacks fell flat for me. It could be, though, that some of them were genuinely good and I couldn't appreciate them, because despite having lived in England for a year, some of the lingo was genuinely indecipherable. The book did get one laugh out of me (unfortunately I can't remember what part), and I do think that Jazz's claim that she writes well about when she's feeling nervous applies to Nathan, too. It could be that I've experienced what it's like to act in front of an audience before (albeit on a small scale), but her description of the opening night left me feeling jittery even after I finished the book - not in a "my head's feeling so dizzy and there are a million faces in the audience O___O" kind of way, but in a pretty realistic way that describes the silly and anxious euphoria of the cast and the blur of it all. I don't know if I would ever give this a re-read, but it's a good distraction book that kept my interest.
The blurb doesn't even begin to sum up this book. It's a lot deeper and tangled than it sounds up there. All for better.The modern story retelling of Jane Austen’s classic ends in the same fashion. Lizzy and Darcy of this book, who are highly opinionated about each other, clear their differences and fall in love.Like Darcy, Harry Noble seems like a man who thinks too highly of himself. And like Lizzy Bennet, Jasmin Field is prejudiced and hates him the minute she sets eyes on him. Their initial encounter isn’t too pretty.There is also a snotty sister, like Ms. Bingley, trying to court our Darcy-slash-Harry. But what distinguishes this book from the classic is its use of language, the sarcasm, modern, comic tone, the supplementary characters, their voices, their pasts and their stories as they unfold.Acting up showed a lot of different point of views but did not mix them up. The strongest and probably the most sarcastic voice was of Jasmin Field.There are tons of sub plots wired into one another. At the beginning it gets a little confusing and overwhelming with all those names that are thrown at us when we’re introduced to the huge cast of the play. But the writers eases our way into each one of their heads and by the end of it, they all become as real as fictional characters go.I like the fact that apparently the most handsome director alive on planet is not without flaws. When we finally learn about his fears, shortcomings (like poor driving and conversation skills), he feels more real making the story believable and much more agreeable.Random thoughts: It’s by far one of my favorite chic lit I have read in a long time. It held my attention throughout. I tend to wander off after about 50 pages if the book fails to grip me. I can’t finish a book if it doesn’t pique my interest. And I read this one in single sitting.Overall: Predictable at times, it’s still unputdownable for its amazing writing style, hilarious scenes and super fast pace. I love the fact that we get to see the doom of every single character. Yes, Every Single. The book gave me joy and laughter more than my money’s worth.Stars: 5/5Highly, highly recommended
What do You think about Pride, Prejudice And Jasmin Field (2001)?
I enjoyed this book. The storyline mirrored Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I just found it a little hard to believe that the main character of this book, couldn't recognize how eerily similar her life was playing out to that of Pride & Prejudice, the very play she was cast in as Elizabeth Bennet! [OK, she realized at the last minute.:]One thing that annoyed me a bit was that the main character,Jasmin, was almost always referred to as Jazz. And her sister, Georgia, [who coincidentally ended up portraying her sister Jane in the play:] was referred to as George. I had to keep reminding myself that George was the sister and not some male character.There were a couple other little things that bothered me.[One being that a pregnant character was smoking a cigarette!:]Even though I basically knew how this was all going to end,I still found myself reading the last 100 or so pages before I could get to bed. A little disappointed by the ending...was hoping for a little bit more.Also the prologue and epilogue made no sense whatsoever to me.Do you have to be British to "get it"?
—Tammy
Boring, boring, boring. She didn't even /try/ to have any innovations on the plotline or the characters. I think she even stole some of the lines from the original book. Those she didn't she still attempted to sort of paraphrase in modern speak, very, very awkwardly. There was no independence of spirit here. Just a slavish, and very bad and insulting attempt at imitating Jane's plot. And boiling it down to its simplest and most brainless parts. ie: the two romances, with none of the interesting character ideas or wit or the side characters that Jane created. Dude, they even have them be in a /play/ of Pride and Prejudice, cast as their respective roles. Just in case you didn't get by the title what this was all about!Friends: Stop giving this to me for my birthday. I must've been given four copies of this by now. Even Goodwill is going to start rejecting them when I hand them over.
—Kelly
his Pride & Prejudice read alike is written by a young woman in London. It was P&P set in modern times and using fame rather than money coming between people. The people meet while acting in a P&P play. It was nice that several times these folks were laughing at themselves--showing insight into the parallels they were acting/living. The story was good in and of itself, but I get a little distracted with this type of book trying to figure out as each person is introduced--is she Charlotte Lucas, is this going to be Lydia...? etc. The twists of the story got a little hard to keep up with toward the end, but I think that's because the author did a good job of propelling me forward, and I tend to read faster to the ending of any novel. But it was pretty good if you like single girl with good sense, career and hopes kind of stuff. Mostly chick lit, with echoes of Jane's observations on relationships and society. I may read this one again.
—Nicky
