i didn't like pride and prejudice

[kelby_lake]

I can understand why it wouldn't appeal to men. I've only flicked through it but I liked it. It wasn't how I expected it would be.

[Gladys]

Haven't some men a sense of humour too?

[JBI]

I can understand why it wouldn't appeal to men. I've only flicked through it but I liked it. It wasn't how I expected it would be.

It does appeal to men, men just don't appreciate it. I can see no reason why a man who is honest with himself should have difficulty enjoying any work, be it written by man or woman. That's like saying women shouldn't read Faulkner because he was male. {edit}

[kelby_lake]

You misunderstand! I never said they shouldn't read it, I'm just saying that it has more of a 'feminine wit' and feminine appeal.

[amanda_isabel]

Haven't some men a sense of humour too?

The only question is if their sense of humor holds together in front of Jane Austen's

I enjoyed P&P despite some of the (headache-inducing) passages, and I admit I was sorry to read the last page. (It's kinda hard to let go of Mr. Darcy, lol!) But hey, I don't think there is one single thing that appeals to everyone universally.

And, an observation: This thread was begun with, "I hope there are not people enjoying this book" or something like that. A little too much, in my opinion, but hey, that's what it is: an opinion.

[Equality72521]

It's easy to see why some men don't like Pride and Prejudice, but there are a few who do enjoy it. It is more of a feminine wit but it can appeal to both sexes.

"i REALLY hope there are not people out there who actually enjoy reading pride and prejudice. Because that is sad. I found more intelligent social comment in the Daily Star. For gods sake, this book makes me want to stab my self repeatedly with something rusty. It makes me wanna scratch out my eyes. Reading it gives me the slow numbing sensation of bleeding to death."

This was the first post in this thread and it's a bit extreme. I mean, I can understand someone not liking the novel, but I think wanting to stab oneself repeatedly with something rusty is kind of far. I dislike a lot of books, but Pride and Prejudice is definately not a book that should make someone want to kill themselves, but whatever melts your butter.

[Jozanny]

Quite a heated thread, so much so that I am a tad nervous posting to it, but what I will post is that I am closer to a centrist position than the love/hate camps.

I enjoy Austen, but only up to a point. She doesn't vary much from the formula

girl meets boy
girl has long association with boy
boy has head turned, girl licks wounds (or boy)
wounds cleared up
girl marries soul mate

That said, Emma remains an over-riding favorite, with one caveat: Her marriage to Knightly was never intended to be taken seriously (I agree with Wayne Booth here)-- but for me, the faux pas ending gives the novel a grandiose conflation which weakens it.

I will pass on the feminist debate--but I don't think it matters. Her talent transcends the isms of modern advocacy.

[black butterffl]

This was the first post in this thread and it's a bit extreme. I mean, I can understand someone not liking the novel, but I think wanting to stab oneself repeatedly with something rusty is kind of far. I dislike a lot of books, but Pride and Prejudice is definately not a book that should make someone want to kill themselves, but whatever melts your butter.

nicely said my friend good work

[Dobie]

No book (movie, picture, song, etc...) that someone somewhere enjoys is a bad book. A person has not the right to make that decision, however, anyone may express their opinion as an opinion, not a fact.

Personally, I LOVE P&P. I didn't find any part of it boring, slow, or hard to read.

I can, however, appreciate even the books my teenage boys read because they like them.........though they are definitely not my cup of tea.

Read what you like, and let others do the same without insult.
Remember.........somebody somewhere thinks your book is stupid too!

[aBIGsheep]

I didn't find any part of it boring, slow, or hard to read.

For the most part, that's all that this book is to me.

But that's just me of course. The wording in the book is so odd; its all over the place. You could take out almost 4 words (give or take a few) in the sentences and it'd be so much easier to understand.
Its the same thing with the dialogue. Most of the book is comprised of dialogue and its really easy to lose track of who's talking if you try and read quickly.

But what do I know. I'm just another guy.

[Dobie]

For the most part, that's all that this book is to me.

But that's just me of course. The wording in the book is so odd; its all over the place. You could take out almost 4 words (give or take a few) in the sentences and it'd be so much easier to understand.
Its the same thing with the dialogue. Most of the book is comprised of dialogue and its really easy to lose track of who's talking if you try and read quickly.

But what do I know. I'm just another guy.

Hey,........That's OK.......Don't beat yourself up for something you can't change....I LIKE guys! (most of the time)
Anyhow, some things might change with age.
Though I read a lot when I was,say,....a schoolgirl, I wasn't quite as fond of this book or others like it. I still read many of the same things (Koontz, Jeffrey Archer,.....etc), but I read a lot more Historical Fiction than I did then.
You know what? I didn't like beer the first time I had it either. Now,.....well,.....I guess I've acquired a taste!

[kiki1982]

At some points it was hilarious, particularly in the beginning. Laughing out loud during reading was especially hard on my husband... It became really a little too long when you knew Elizabeth had refused Darcy and you wanted to know what happened next... Maybe it would have been better if I hadn't known what had to happen afterwards (the wedding of Darcy and Elizabeth). I read the pages before her visit to Pemberley with great eagerness to arrive at the page where Darcy came on again...

I can understand that some people don't like it. It is really kind of drawn out, without action, but the characters make up for that. It is a great course in the system of courtship. The system is featured in other books, but never so much described as this! That's what probably made the survive for so long.

[Gladys]

At some points it was hilarious, particularly in the beginning.

Particularly towards the end.

[Amanda29]

Yes, some men do like P & P. My husband does. He's 43 yrs. old, but he liked it even as a younger man. He's a history buff, who enjoys not only learning about historical time periods, but also reading (their modern-day) lit.

If you've ever studied Jane Austen's works, then you know that her books were considered humorous parodies of the day, meant to poke fun at certain attitudes and to show the snobbiness that could be found in most of the British social classes.

I agree with what several people have said on this post. These types of historical books, written in early 19th century English, are not everyone's cup of tea. It is difficult to read if you don't have the patience. Also, for those who like a clean copy when they read, these books tend to be elaborate in their wording - a bit fussy.

For all it's worth, I have to say that Pride and Prejudice is my fav from all of Jane's works.

[smile_yay456]

I agree i would like to burn every copy there is :P
Hmmm maybe not but its so dull .. but then maybe thats because i am being forced to study it at Alevel !!