Customer Reviews

A Man of Few Words

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this book on a whim with I admit rather low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it is a very cleverly written story. This is not a P&P alternate story -- in other words, it doesn't take the plot in a new direction but rather follows the original P&P with the difference that it's written primarily from Darcy's point of view. The authors call it "an Addendum to Pride and Prejudice as told by Fitzwilliam Darcy to Jane Austen and and Katherine Woodbury" and includes a foreward purporting to be written by Darcy himself in which he says that he would like to set the record straight because he is not comfortable with how he is portrayed in much of the Austen fan fiction. Darcy's quite adamant that he's not as "gregarious as Tom Jones" nor "as licentious as a Restoration rake" to reiterate just a few of the many misconceptions.

Some stories like this are not much more than a series of quotations directly from the original which gets old very quickly. In this case, the Woodbury's have found creative ways to paraphrase original text and also add some of what was left out of the original story. We get first hand information about what Darcy was thinking at the Meryton Assembly and why he hates meeting people, how much he enjoyed verbally jousting with Elizabeth at Netherfield, and how he's frustrated because he doesn't understand what motivates women (especially his sister and Elizabeth) to behave the way they do. In addition, there are new scenes -- Darcy and Georgiana talking about Wickham, Darcy discouraging Charles Bingley from pursuing Jane Bennett, and Darcy handling Wickham to convince him to marry Lydia. It seems that Austen left out some really great stuff!

Mostly, I found it quite interesting to watch Darcy struggle to understand his own feelings. From Meryton to Rosings to Pemberley and finally back to Meryton, we see a portrait of an intelligent young man who has no idea who he really is until he is rejected by the woman he thinks he loves. As he finds a way back into Elizabeth's life, he also finds himself.

Lots of fun, very enjoyable -- I recommend this for all Austen fans.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003X27P78/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_img

For a man of few words, Fitzwilliam Darcy seems very talkative lately, in several books that purport to show what happened in Pride and Prejudice from his point of view. This version is delightful. Like the other, related, books, the best way to read it is to read it, then to reread Pride and Prejudice (unless you just reread in connection with a different new book), then read it again.

Darcy seems more on the defensive and more self-analytical than he does in most books. He is willing to see himself as others see him, and he doesn't like what he sees. He eventually comes to realize that he and Elizabeth will complete each other, because each has talents and abilities the other lacks, as well as the similarities they have both noticed.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, will recommend it to all my Janeite (see Kipling's short story "The Janeites") daughters, stepdaughters, and daughters-in-law, which includes all of them. I found no errors of writing, of fact as compared with Austen's novel, or of grammar and mechanics, other than those clearly inserted deliberately. I strongly recommend it to all readers who are interested in knowing more aobut these characters we have all come to know and love.

I'm a P&P addict and I enjoyed very much this book, easy to read, ironic, faithful to the story and to Jane Austen's style. I read it with a smile on my mouth, which usually appears only when I read P&P! I rated it four stars and not five, just because I deem it a little too hurried, and it contains here and there some imprecisions, talking about characters not introduced before, which may be puzzling to readers who don't know P&P by heart. Anyway, for P&P addicts is almost perfect. Maybe they will not enjoy the last few sentences, but thinking about them...yes, Darcy's nature has been caught perfectly!

This is a very clipped version of Darcy's story...and reads like a police report at times. I also must believe that Darcy's version would of betrayed more emotion than this book. I was really looking forward to reading Darcy's thoughts as he blunders his way through his 1st proposal to Elizabeth. I've always imagined Darcy to be driven by passion (and a bit of maddening obsession) at this point that he blindly stumbles through the proposal. In this version it seems very intellectual and well thought out, and though I agree that is who Mr. Darcy is at this point in the P&P story that is not what is behind his words to Elizabeth. One of the very reasons it goes so badly is that this offer is COMPLETELY out of Darcy's character! I like to think Mr. Darcy was somewhat obsessed with Elizabeth while he was falling in love and would of thought of her constantly but in this book the author doesn't reveal any of that emotion. Even when Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are together the Darcy voice seems too analytical when in fact his love for Elizabeth is the exact opposite of that-it's not in the Darcy character which is what makes it so powerful. Anyways, I've probably written more on this subject than the author so I'll bid adieu!

This Mr. Darcy is almost a geek. He is objective and factual, socially inept, interested in facts not people. He is also dour and self-absorbed per the original P&P. I got a kick out of the comment that Longbourn to Netherfield was three to four miles, and Darcy's response was that it was three point four miles. He continually mistakes the need for factual information with interesting conversation, and totally misreads people as a result.

The writer was very good at sticking to the plot of the original Pride and Prejudice and no trace of the artistic licence in the movie versions. She also did a good job of showing how Darcy's character evolved throughout the story. The author missed a huge opportunity to give Darcy's perspective on the three walks in Rosings Park prior to the Hunsford proposal.

I have few criticisms on the premise itself, and technically the story is good. The main criticism I have is that the story seemed over simplistic and was not particularly engaging. I read it in a few hours and kept expecting it to do more for me, but the entertainment value was not what it could have been.

There are several better versions of Darcy's side of P&P available, but since I only paid 99 cents, I can't complain too much.

This was a pleasant diversion, and a quick read. It's not Austen, but what do you want for the price? I found it enjoyable.

I had a hard time connecting with Darcy's character in this book. Story line went from one encounter with Elizabeth to the other and quoting a lot of the book, only giving some analytical thinking and not the emotion I was wanting. What transpired when he was away from Elizabeth? What was he feeling? What was the motivation behind his love for Elizabeth and his actions? If you want a more emotionally thinking Darcy I suggest "Darcy's Story". I could connect with his character more and see it logically connect with Austen's P&P.

This was just terrible. I could barely get through the first couple pages. It just lists out the plot from Pride and Prejudice and recounts from Mr. Darcy's point of view each meeting with Elizabeth. It isn't engaging, it isn't insightful, it is just plain boring.