Comments | hesychasm: Reading Wednesday

hesychasm

Reading Wednesday

Jan 30, 2013 19:59

Meme from my flist:

What are you reading now?

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Generally I am an Austen watcher rather than an Austen reader (defriend me now, I know). This might be the only one I've actually read by her, and that was years ago. It's wonderful on re-read -- I mean, what can I say that hasn't already been said? But I've been ( Read more... )

books, lizzie bennet diaries, book review, movies

Comments 8

aud_woman_in January 31 2013, 07:13:50 UTC

And then read Colonel Brandon/Elinor epistolary fanfic

Oh my goodness, I must check this out. In the 1995 movie version, I really wanted to see Elinor and Brandon get together, but that's what they get for casting Rickman.

hesychasm January 31 2013, 17:06:49 UTC

Right? I mean, the chemistry is definitely great between the actors, but I also just always felt that the characters had a great, intimate friendship and knew each other way better than their canon counterparts. Anyway, it's a decently written fanfic and I like the epistolary format, so I do recommend it.

ropo January 31 2013, 07:52:00 UTC

I love Jane Austen movies, but when I read the books I end up hating all the characters, even the nice ones. I hated Elizabeth Bennet, for goodness sake! Ugh, so annoying. I don't know if it's the language that trips me up, but there you have it. It's still enjoyable to read, but for some reason that's the way it is for me.

hesychasm January 31 2013, 17:10:31 UTC

Heh, I definitely think it helps to have seen the lines spoken by living breathing humans (the opposite is actually true for me with Shakespeare -- I do better reading there).

Actually, one of the things I like about the Lizzie Bennet Diaries is that they make it pretty clear that Lizzie has some horrible prejudices about how women are "supposed" to behave, which really hurt her sister Lydia. And they have Lydia point out that it fucking sucks for Lizzie to agree with Darcy and Caroline Bingley that her family is something to be ashamed of -- I've always hated that aspect of the story and found that it made Elizabeth's character unlikable to me.

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hesychasm February 1 2013, 03:09:15 UTC

Both books are indeed great! :D

vonniek February 1 2013, 03:28:30 UTC

I'd love to hear your thoughts on Lizzie Bennet Diaries (especially in the light of the shit that went down today on the videos). I'm actually kinda thrilled at how unlikable Lizzie comes across in this one in addition to how sympathetic Lydia is. I mean, Elizabeth Bennet is judgey -- it's her defining characteristic, which it says right there on the tin -- but most adaptations downplay that except for her snap judgment of Darcy. But the series goes to pains to show that this flaw of hers colours her every interactions with Lydia (and Charlotte sometimes) and boy, she does not come across well. This makes her first reaction upon hearing about Lydia and Wickham -- "this is my fault" -- much more meaningful, I think. Especially since Elizabeth's reaction to the news in the book is "Lydia is ruined and we are all ruined with her." I mean, different time period, etc., but it's still refreshing ( ... )

hesychasm February 1 2013, 03:46:33 UTC

I'll copy what I said to littlerhymes in the DW version of this post, and then add a bit more in response to you ( ... )

vonniek February 1 2013, 04:40:04 UTC

As a storytelling device, the vblog format leaves something to be desired, yes. For me, long-standing familiarity of the source does so much fill-in-the-blanks that the limitation of the format doesn't hinder my enjoyment overmuch. Plus as you said, the increased focus on the relationship between Lizzie and her sisters and Charlotte is such a joy that it went a long way to mitigate some of the issues I had. Also awesome: diversity ( ... )