People of Interest · One-Star Generals
Pride and Prejudice
It is a truth universally acknowledged that not everyone who went to the trouble of reviewing Jane Austen's masterpiece on the internet was entirely satisfied with it.
Jane Austen completed Pride and Prejudice in 1797, revised it for publication in 1813, and by any measure produced one of the most technically accomplished, quietly devastating and enduringly pleasurable novels in the English language. Roughly 210 years later, the internet provided a mechanism by which anyone could share their view of it. The results have not uniformly reflected well on the reading public.
★☆☆☆☆I dont get what all the fuss is about. Its literally just a bunch of women talking about who they want to marry. Nothing happens for like 300 pages and then Elizabeth marries Darcy and thats it. My English teacher made me read this for school and I feel like she owes me an apology.
— Goodreads, 1 star
★☆☆☆☆The language is completely incomprehensible. I read the same sentence twelve times and I still don't know what anyone is saying. Why couldn't she just write normally? I looked it up and apparently this is considered "wit." If this is wit I would hate to read something boring. Also Darcy is incredibly rude in chapter one and I never forgave him for it, unlike apparently everyone else in the world.
— Amazon reviewer, 1 star
★☆☆☆☆Elizabeth is SO annoying. She keeps judging everyone and acting like she's better than everybody and then she realises she was wrong about Darcy and suddenly that's character development?? If I acted like that my friends would not put up with me for five minutes let alone wait around while I changed my mind over several hundred pages. Not relatable AT ALL.
— Goodreads, 1 star
★☆☆☆☆This book is basically just people going to parties and talking about other people going to parties. I kept waiting for something to happen. There is a bit where a soldier runs off with someone's sister and I thought FINALLY we're getting somewhere but then everyone just writes letters about it. I read 400 pages of people writing letters about things that happened off the page. I want my weekend back.
— Amazon reviewer, 1 star
★☆☆☆☆Why is this considered a romance?? Darcy is rich and arrogant and he insults Elizabeth the first time he meets her and then proposes by listing everything that's wrong with her family. In what universe is that attractive behavior. I actually preferred Wickham and I KNOW he's the bad one. At least he was fun at parties. Two stars taken off for the proposal scene alone. Actually, one star taken off. I only have one star to give.
— Goodreads, 1 star
★☆☆☆☆Apparently this is a classic about the position of women in society and the limited choices available to them in the early 19th century. But the only solution any of these women can think of is to get married. Has anyone considered getting a job? I know it was 1813 but still. Zero points for ambition. Mrs Bennet in particular needs to take a long hard look at herself.
— Amazon reviewer, 1 star
★☆☆☆☆My book club chose this. My book club and I are no longer speaking. Every single character is either irritating, stupid, pompous, or has a ridiculous name. Mr Collins alone should be grounds for a refund. I admit the last fifty pages were quite good. But I had to read 350 pages of Mr Collins to get there. This is not a reasonable transaction.
— Goodreads, 1 star
★☆☆☆☆I've seen the film (the Keira Knightley one) and it was fine. This is the same story but much longer and with less Matthew Macfadyen. I do not understand why we need both. One star for historical interest. If Jane Austen had just written the screenplay she would have saved everyone a lot of time and herself a lot of hand cramps.
— Amazon reviewer, 1 star