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Reviews tagging 'Infertility'
Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice by Curtis Sittenfeld
7 reviews
zoiejanelle's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
here’s a horrible secret… i have never read Pride and Prejudice. this is my first experience with it (outside the 2000s movie) and i am genuinely obsessed. this is definitely not the type of book i would normally go for, so i am very proud i actually read it!
this book was recommended to me by my Children’s Book Council mentor and took me a few months to get to. boy am i glad i did. it was a perfect time capsule of 2013 culture—from the white, republican parents, to the confusion about trransgender people, to the classism and social hierarchy, AND the fashion/fitness trends… this was a trip.
equal parts cringey and charming, the story itself was fun to read and experience alongside the quirky cast of characters. i loved the tweaks that the author made to each character, but that the overall story remained largely the same. of course, i loved darcy most ardently. wink.
because of the slight transphobia and extremely datedness of the book, i cant give it a full five stars. it was extremely slow (but so is the original, i hear) and very character driven, so i got lost at a few points trying to determine where the story was headed. however, i cringed, i laughed out loud, i cried, i swooned, and i shouted… and those are all signs of a good book.
bonus—this semi-viral tweet came from my listening to this audiobook:
“instead of enemies to lovers, i'm looking for haters to lovers. two people with bad attitudes whose relationship is wholly based off their mutual, yet completely unjustified, disrespect for one another. two people who antagonize each other until it somehow turns into love.”
this book was recommended to me by my Children’s Book Council mentor and took me a few months to get to. boy am i glad i did. it was a perfect time capsule of 2013 culture—from the white, republican parents, to the confusion about trransgender people, to the classism and social hierarchy, AND the fashion/fitness trends… this was a trip.
equal parts cringey and charming, the story itself was fun to read and experience alongside the quirky cast of characters. i loved the tweaks that the author made to each character, but that the overall story remained largely the same. of course, i loved darcy most ardently. wink.
because of the slight transphobia and extremely datedness of the book, i cant give it a full five stars. it was extremely slow (but so is the original, i hear) and very character driven, so i got lost at a few points trying to determine where the story was headed. however, i cringed, i laughed out loud, i cried, i swooned, and i shouted… and those are all signs of a good book.
bonus—this semi-viral tweet came from my listening to this audiobook:
“instead of enemies to lovers, i'm looking for haters to lovers. two people with bad attitudes whose relationship is wholly based off their mutual, yet completely unjustified, disrespect for one another. two people who antagonize each other until it somehow turns into love.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Infertility, Eating disorder, Classism, Sexual content, Sexism, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Racism, Misogyny, Infidelity, and Fatphobia
Minor: Vomit, Homophobia, Abortion, Cursing, and Medical content
shayanelacey's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is a reread. I don't think I liked this book the first time I read it (admittedly years ago) but lots of my friends were recommending Curtis Sittenfeld novels and I thought I might give it another go and it felt much more fun the second time around. If I had to guess, I'd imagine that during my first read, I was hyperfocused on the fact that it's a retelling of Pride and Prejudice, and didn't quite know how to react to the choices made in the retelling (starting with "Chip" Bingley).
On this read, it felt more like a satirical romp that I thoroughly enjoyed. Even if some of the addressing of social issues felt a touch clumsy at times and I'm not sure the social commentary always landed as sharply as intended.
On this read, it felt more like a satirical romp that I thoroughly enjoyed. Even if some of the addressing of social issues felt a touch clumsy at times and I'm not sure the social commentary always landed as sharply as intended.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infertility, Homophobia, Transphobia, Racism, and Classism
pattyreader's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
A superficial rewrite of Pride and Prejudice, the characters are never developed and serious topics such as being transgender, facing discrimination, eating disorders, body dysmorphia, infertility and abortion are dismissed as minor, irrelevant or with voyeurism. This rewrite is the furthest from what Jane Austen wrote.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Alcohol, Body horror, Body shaming, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Outing, Transphobia, Eating disorder, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship
amandalawrance's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Infertility
isotope_s's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This Pride and Prejudice retelling focuses most on Liz's relationship with her sister's and family; which is generally not the focus of retellings so it was quite refreshing. Liz make's actual attempts to get along with her siblings and help her mother.
The romance I could probably do without entirely, it quite literally was the weakest point of the book. This reads much more like a fiction book with a romantic plot; it's very reflective.
This book gives both Kitty and Lydia the most satisfying and fair treatment. They're actual well rounded characters who grow and change over the book. Lydia full on apologizes to Mary for what she's said in the past which is maybe the most character growth/arc Lydia has ever been able to experience.
I think despite being quite offensive at parts every character has a full arc, even Mrs. Bennet for how ridiculous and insensitive this book made her. The epilogue with Mary was kind of out of left field--but kind of nice too because Mary never gets any sort of arc. Kind of bad ace rep, but I've seen Mary as ace for a while now, so it's nice to see it in a book.
"Phyllis and Bob’s daughter had all sorts of procedures, and what did she end up with but little Ying from Shanghai.” Yeah this is a super turn off and extremely offensive. It doesn't even need to be here. As if adopted kids are less than children who have the privilege of staying with their birth parents. "Ah yes, adoption, what a nice consolation prize". Fuck you. This quote almost made me drop the book and it's only 6% in.
The romance I could probably do without entirely, it quite literally was the weakest point of the book. This reads much more like a fiction book with a romantic plot; it's very reflective.
This book gives both Kitty and Lydia the most satisfying and fair treatment. They're actual well rounded characters who grow and change over the book. Lydia full on apologizes to Mary for what she's said in the past which is maybe the most character growth/arc Lydia has ever been able to experience.
I think despite being quite offensive at parts every character has a full arc, even Mrs. Bennet for how ridiculous and insensitive this book made her. The epilogue with Mary was kind of out of left field--but kind of nice too because Mary never gets any sort of arc. Kind of bad ace rep, but I've seen Mary as ace for a while now, so it's nice to see it in a book.
"Phyllis and Bob’s daughter had all sorts of procedures, and what did she end up with but little Ying from Shanghai.” Yeah this is a super turn off and extremely offensive. It doesn't even need to be here. As if adopted kids are less than children who have the privilege of staying with their birth parents. "Ah yes, adoption, what a nice consolation prize". Fuck you. This quote almost made me drop the book and it's only 6% in.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, Infertility, and Transphobia
lenaricharz's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Antisemitism, Body shaming, Cursing, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infertility, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Racism, Transphobia, and Eating disorder
nothingforpomegranted's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Like most devoted bookworms out there, I have a particular passion for Pride and Prejudice and all that Jane Austen has contributed to the literary world over the past two hundred years.
Unfortunately, Curtis Sittenfeld's Pride and Prejudice retelling for The Austen Project just didn't cut it for me. Though Sittenfeld did an admirable job adjusting the Pride and Prejudice story to modern times in Cincinnati, incorporating characters and events in surprising but logical ways, her renditions of Liz, Darcy, and the rest of the Bennet family and cast were flat and unsatisfying.
We begin with the arrival of Chip Bingley, one-time star of find-love reality show Eligible in Cincinnati, where Liz and Jane Bennet have been visiting from New York after their father's heart attack only to discover the family house and financial situation in near ruin. While Liz prioritizes her job as a writer for a women's magazine and trying not to worry about her fourteen-year affair with her married best friend, Jasper Wick, Jane is pursuing motherhood through artificial insemination, which gets complicated when she enters a whirlwind flirtation with Chip Bingley himself.
Of course, the true star of a Pride and Prejudice retelling should be one Fitzwilliam Darcy. Sittenfeld's Darcy is an accomplished neurosurgeon with massive California estate and a seeming commitment to bachelorhood. In fact, I quite liked this version of Darcy, and I appreciated Sittenfeld's acknowledgement of how much Darcy smiles in the original book (I certainly like him more than Sittenfeld's whiny, clueless Liz); however, as the book reached its climax, so much happened so quickly, and Darcy's sudden confession felt so much more unexpected and dramatic than the original.
In short:
Jasper Wick sucks and the fact that Liz pined over him for over a decade is a shame, particularly for a character based on one of the most independent, feisty women in literature.
Bingley and Jane were done very well. I loved Jane's modernized storyline, and I thought they both exhibited their characteristic naive sweetness in a charming way.
Lydia and Ham were intriguing and sympathetic, which is a bold move given the drama surrounding Lydia's storyline in the original. It's not clear to me whether Sittenfeld wanted this partnership to be as damning as Austen's, so I want to give her the benefit of the doubt and accept this as an interesting shift in the retelling.
Mary weirdly got the last word, and I don't really understand what she did to deserve it.
The discriminatory language--racist, homophobic, body shaming--was appalling, especially given this book's relatively recent publication date. Nearly every page had some sort of inappropriate comment or language, and it poisoned me against so many of the characters.
Unfortunately, Curtis Sittenfeld's Pride and Prejudice retelling for The Austen Project just didn't cut it for me. Though Sittenfeld did an admirable job adjusting the Pride and Prejudice story to modern times in Cincinnati, incorporating characters and events in surprising but logical ways, her renditions of Liz, Darcy, and the rest of the Bennet family and cast were flat and unsatisfying.
We begin with the arrival of Chip Bingley, one-time star of find-love reality show Eligible in Cincinnati, where Liz and Jane Bennet have been visiting from New York after their father's heart attack only to discover the family house and financial situation in near ruin. While Liz prioritizes her job as a writer for a women's magazine and trying not to worry about her fourteen-year affair with her married best friend, Jasper Wick, Jane is pursuing motherhood through artificial insemination, which gets complicated when she enters a whirlwind flirtation with Chip Bingley himself.
Of course, the true star of a Pride and Prejudice retelling should be one Fitzwilliam Darcy. Sittenfeld's Darcy is an accomplished neurosurgeon with massive California estate and a seeming commitment to bachelorhood. In fact, I quite liked this version of Darcy, and I appreciated Sittenfeld's acknowledgement of how much Darcy smiles in the original book (I certainly like him more than Sittenfeld's whiny, clueless Liz); however, as the book reached its climax, so much happened so quickly, and Darcy's sudden confession felt so much more unexpected and dramatic than the original.
In short:
Jasper Wick sucks and the fact that Liz pined over him for over a decade is a shame, particularly for a character based on one of the most independent, feisty women in literature.
Bingley and Jane were done very well. I loved Jane's modernized storyline, and I thought they both exhibited their characteristic naive sweetness in a charming way.
Lydia and Ham were intriguing and sympathetic, which is a bold move given the drama surrounding Lydia's storyline in the original. It's not clear to me whether Sittenfeld wanted this partnership to be as damning as Austen's, so I want to give her the benefit of the doubt and accept this as an interesting shift in the retelling.
Mary weirdly got the last word, and I don't really understand what she did to deserve it.
The discriminatory language--racist, homophobic, body shaming--was appalling, especially given this book's relatively recent publication date. Nearly every page had some sort of inappropriate comment or language, and it poisoned me against so many of the characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Body shaming, Transphobia, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Deadnaming, Fatphobia, Infertility, Medical content, and Medical trauma
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