Customer Reviews

Pride, Prejudice And Jasmin Field

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...then Pride, Prejudice and Jasmin Field will delight! I admit I have never read the original classic by Jane Austen (no wet noodles, please), so all the events written in PPJF were a complete surprise. Reading the reviews before me, it seems there were many who were looking for a good knock-off. Since I've never read the former, I have no idea how well the parallel is drawn; my review will only observe PPJF by itself.

It all starts with a play: an adaptation of Pride and Prejudice performed by a bunch of non-actors for a celebrity audience in order to earn money for breast cancer research. Jasmin (or Jazz if you're her friend), sister George and best pal, Mo, are all auditioning in front of the criticizing and directing eye of Academy Award winner, Harry Noble. Things get started on a rocky path, and as soon as rehearsals begin, Jazz can't imagine seeing the pretentious and callous Harry Noble any more than she has to.

There are many side stories in this novel involving many of the characters: the ins and out of co-star love, love with your enemy, tabloid scandals, the search for the truth behind an unpleasant personality, the reality of an ideal marriage, and self-realization. The novel weaves well together and is very readable and fun. The ending was a little too rushed and tidy for my taste, but I still had a great time reading this book.

As mentioned before, I've never read the original Pride and Prejudice, so I don't know how Nathan's contemporary version compares. As a stand-alone novel, I was very pleased with what I read and glad that I didn't recognize the characters from a previously told story. Lighthearted, simple, and great weekend entertainment, Pride, Prejudice and Jasmin Field is a exciting teaser of more things to come from Melissa Nathan.

Because Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is one of my very favorite books, I was both excited and skeptical about Melissa Nathan's debut novel -- wanting it to be good, but not wanting to set my expectations too high.

I was pleased to find the style and the contemporary retelling worked well. The author has a quiet humor that works nicely, and the characters were interesting. The Darcy-update, actor Harry Noble, is a likeable and compelling lead; the female protagonist, Jasmin 'Jazz' Field is also nicely written. The book is not flawless. While Austen was always consistent in her POV -- we consistently saw and heard and thought the same things Elizabeth Bennett saw and heard and thought -- the text here is sometimes jarring in its change of perspective, even between paragraphs. The occasional cussing is also disconcerting. There are some clumsy, and unnecessary, contrivances to make the story mirror Austen's exactly.

Despite those problems, I enjoyed the book very much and was excited when the protagonists finally 'found' each other, just as I am each time I re-read the original.

Nathan is a gifted writer, and I will definitely read her next book.

If you are in any way a student of literature, or have any appreciation for the subtle art of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, drop this book and run!

First of all, I confess I was prejudiced (no pun intended) right from the start because it drives me mad when authors give all their characters "cool" and "trendy" names. In real life, characters like these would not all be called Jazz and Mo. They just wouldn't. Note that Helen Fielding in "Bridget Jones' Diary" was fairly successful in spanning the variety of modern British names. This book, on the other hand, is the British equivalent of writing a novel about American professionals and naming them all Krystyl or Alixz.

And if only that were its only sin. This book tosses subtlety, character development, realism, and Jane Austen's novel right out the window. Characters seem to have been drawn by choosing the Austen character's most salient trait and blowing it up to billboard size, while failing to provide any redeeming qualities. The Jane Bennet character, sister of the heroine, is beautiful as was Jane in Austen's novel. Because she is beautiful, and because she must reenact Jane's misfortunes, she is also stupid and kind of loose.

But the worst by far is the main character, "Jazz," who is to Elizabeth Bennet what Justin Timberlake is to Yo-Yo Ma. Elizabeth in P&P is confident, slightly outspoken, an independent thinker, and not as good a judge of character as she thinks. Jasmin is loud, brassy, rude, sluttish (in the true sense of the word), and downright tacky. Ms. Nathan needs to learn that you do not create an Elizabeth Bennet character by describing a depth-free, loud woman who offends everyone - that's how you get a Caroline Bingley or a Lady Catherine.

Lest you think I hated this book because I'm an Austen purist, that is not the case. I love Clueless, I love the not-entirely-faithful Miramax Mansfield Park, and I laughed myself sick through Bridget Jones. If you enjoy reading books about Ab Fab-esque British singles who swear a lot and seem to hate anything that smacks of class or education, by all means read this book. But it is being touted as a "Pride and Prejudice" update, and it is not that. It's a shallow imitator. Avoid it.

To sum up: this book is only a delightfully fresh look at "Pride and Prejudice" if you thought P&P had too many big words and too much pesky character development, and not nearly enough references to Britney Spears.

I was initially very sceptical about reading a book based upon an established classic - I tend to avoid any type of re-writes, "based-upons" or sequels written by other than the original authors. However, I was delightfully surprised with "Pride, Prejudice and Jasmin Field". It was a little slow-going at first but I soon began to enjoy the paralleling stories of the real characters vs. the characters they were playing in a stage production of the original Jane Austen classic. Some people may find it somehow intellectually offensive for a writer to use such a format but I honestly found it to be a very entertaining and heart-warming read. The book has even prompted me to re-read the original, it having been close to 30 years since I have done so.

This most excellent novel from Melissa Nathan is NOT an Austen rewrite - you can hand this to your girlfriends with just as much assurance of enjoyment as one of Sophie Mason's novels (Society Girls/Playing James etc).

Thoroughly modern, Jasmin writes a social column and loves to observe others,perpetuating the Austen tradition of acerbic wit and social commentary, whilst having a perfect belief in her own superiority.

As a journalist she is innured to the many charms of Stars, and is highly amused when she is invited to take part in an amatuer production of Pride & Prejudice.

Harry Noble is directing the production, and as an Oscar winning movie star, Jasmin expects every flaw she sees (and there are many, beginning with his pulling the London Underground to a halt upon their first encounter).

When Mr Noble casts Jasmin, her sister, and friends in the play it soon takes over their lives...

The delightful irony of the main cast being unable to see their similarity to their roles, and the delightful way the author swims along with the plot as her characters serendipitiously fall in line with Austens original novel.

Now other authors could have stomped all over this script, wrecking the humorous and individual flavor, never allowing the plot to blossom.

The story accompanies the original & one is constantly delighted in discovering the similarities, for it has such charm on it's own that even anticipating the possible changes, one eagerly anticipates seeing just how true Nathan holds to the original cast & plot.

Delightfully done!

Kotori 2005

If you, like me, never get tired of Austen's greatest love story, no matter how many film adaptations you've seen or book adaptations you've read, add this novel to your collection. This is a very witty, romantic, and well-written book that you'll want to savor, but you'll find you simply can't put it down. Henry Noble is a perfect modern Darcy and Jazzy, although perhaps a bit more abrasive here and there than Elizabeth Bennett, makes a charming and believable heroine. All the supporting characters are fleshed out and compelling as well. I loved this book and plan on reading it again.

I think some readers expect this book, "Pride, Prejudice and Jasmin Field" to be about THE "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen and find themselves disappointed. This book is about a journalist, Jasmin Field (also known as Jazz) who auditioned for roles in the play, adapted from Jane Austen's book. Here, she met the abominable Harry Noble, dashing Hollywood star whom she absolutely cannot bear. But, of course, at the end they fell in love. Simple. That is the main theme of the book and other characters such as her sisters, Georgia and Josie, and best friend Mo also play center roles in the life of Jasmin Field.

The book deals a lot with Jazz's relationships with her sisters and best friend, and how she needs to come to terms with herself that you may not agree with the choices that people make but you at least need to respect that. Her world suddenly "crashes" when she realized that her career and family's reputation were at stake and for the first time, questioned her judgment and beliefs. This book is simple, and easy to read. It is relaxing, funny at times and offer insights into the life of a journalist, who writes with passion and who values her own opinion highly. The author, Melissa Nathan's writing is clear, precise and avoids jargons that might confuse the readers.

How could I not read this modern-day adaptation of Pride and Prejudice? The allure of spending more time with Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy was simply too great to pass up, and, in many ways, Melissa Nathan did not fail me. Her writing is crisp and fast-paced. Her settings are inspired - the ofttimes clashing worlds of theater and journalism cleverly defining the personalities of the main characters: Her Darcy character is a celebrated, aloof actor and her Elizabeth is a journalist, a cynical observer of life and society. Her characters are likeable, and what happens to them teases me along to the final denouement.
But to be totally candid here, I must offer some constructive criticism. I believe Ms. Nathan fell into her own trap. She told the story of Pride and Prejudice too well to the point of practically retelling the original book. It became apparent to me when Harry Noble (Mr. Darcy) first proposes to Jasmin Field (Lizzy,) and Ms. Nathan allows them to act and react exactly as their characters do in the theater production - and they don't consciously recognize this!?? Perhaps there was one reference to this fact, but it was quickly brushed aside and ignored. And this borrowing from the original happens again and again throughout the last half of the book; tidy little coincidences that anyone who knows P & P well - as these two characters surely do - would scoff at and realize they weren't being honest. And in a way, neither was Ms. Nathan; she was not adapting from Jane Austen but purloining, and, thereby, shorting us an otherwise delicious read. Afterall, if I want to read P & P, I shall pick up the real thing. For Pride and Prejudice and Jasmin Field, I had hopes for better.
I do recommend this book. The girl has talent. And I do hope that Melissa Nathan writes another one. I sense that she can be truly original when she puts her mind to it!

I love Jane Austen, but I'm not the type of fan that automatically looks upon the authors of the sequels and adaptations as automatically evil. This book makes no pretense about trying to be anything other than what it is, which isn't deep earth shattering literature. But it's good. If you like Pride and Prejudice, and the BBC miniseries, and you look on this type of adaptation thing as a testament to the universiality of the book, rather than with immediate disdain, then go for it. I thought it was very well updated for the times, and I could very easily see Jazz being exactly a modern day Lizzie. I read it rather quickly, and though he's not Darcy, I found the Harry Noble character very appealing. So if you're a Austen fan with an open mind, I would definitely say go for it.

Call me an Anglophile or call me Madonna, either way, when it comes to writers from the other side of the pond, I am always willing to give it a go.
This novel was a breath of fresh air. The characters were very well developed and the tension between Jaz and Harry was paced nicely throughout the book. The thing that made the relationship believable was that the author let it develop between the two characters at a realistic pace, rather than the usual: meet -make out - make love - get mad - break up- resolve - the end secenario that is the base outline for romance novels.
If you like this one try Marian Keyes's "Watermelon."