Review: A bit of a stretch
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 04 5, 2013
While imaginative and very, very different from any other P & P variation I might have read before, it is not believable on any level and not a pleasant reading experience. It is a bit more of a soap opera than I'm comfortable with. Parts of it are slow and go around and around the same plot point for what seems an eternity. Other parts are rushed. Few parts are realistic or believable either on their own or in reference to P & P. There are times when the characters are parodies of the originals, and subtlety never makes an appearance.The plot is awkward for many reasons:--Elizabeth and Darcy as star-crossed lovers is not very typical, but I suppose it could be made to work under some conditions. (Actually, I would like to see that concept done well someday.)--Caroline Bingley as a psychopath is a bit overdone and does not make for pleasant reading. She is, in effect, the most important character, the one that drives all the action and around whom all events unfold. All the other characters are, for the most part, just reacting to Caroline or events triggered by Caroline.--The trips to India are not a believable plot device when you consider what such a trip entailed in the 19th century in terms of time, danger, and difficulty. Surely, Scotland or Wales would have been more realistic and I see no reason why the problems could not have been solved a little closer to home.  (At one point, we have Elizabeth, Darcy, Caroline, Georgianna, Lydia, and Fitzwilliam all in India).While I appreciate the author trying (and succeeding at) giving the reader a completely different and original approach, I think she tried a little too hard.