Yes, I do read all kinds of books.
Yes, this is a romance novel and yes, it is a very good read.
I was really surprised that it was such a page turner. I wasn't expecting that at all, and from a romance book written in 1813. The hardest part I had with reading this book was overcoming Jane Austen's writing style because it wasn't like any kind of writing style I had read before. It was truly that different, but once I got settled into her mindset the story that unfolded was highly engrossing. I must also confess to having seeing the amazing BBC miniseries staring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle before reading the book and the BBC did such a great job of the adaptation that visually I saw the series as I was reading it. It was that perfectly cast. But Jane Austen set the stage for what the BBC did and what a great job she did of setting that stage. Entering her world was like being transported back into that time of manners, propriety, and the art of conversation that are so foreign in our society today.
One of Jane Austen's greatest strengths is her art of conversation. She weaves a great web of sentences, arguments, counter-arguments, and tact that it was truly a delight to read. She doesn't spend time describing things, places, or people but lets her readers imagine what they will about those things, places, or people. When she does describe things, which is rare, that means there's a reason for it, so special attention needs to be paid when that type of description is written. Her major concern is what's happening inside people and the chess board of society and the culture around that society that is what she is focused on the most. In between all of this she throws in all kinds of questions about class-ism, wealth, education, and any combination of those words that it staggers the mind that such a simple story about love could have so many layers of depth.
Some of my favorite scenes, as I am sure Austen intended them to be were the scenes with Darcy and Lizzy together, which I didn't realize weren't that many, but when they were there they were vibrant with life and made me want more scenes with these two characters: when Darcy first proposes to Lizzy and near the end when Darcy and Lizzy take their walk and realize finally that are in love. My favorite scene of all is when Lizzy visits Darcy's home Pemberley and gets a whole new perspective on Darcy from his staff and the grounds itself help to soften her attitude towards Darcy. This is the first time in the book that Austen breaks into the narrative to the describe the settings of Pemberley, which goes into describing Darcy himself. Austen did such a great job of showing how Lizzy went from complete hatred of Darcy into the love that blossomed in her heart. I fully bought into the transformation of her, none of it reeked of falsehood, but was written in a genuine realistic way as Lizzy came to a lot of knowledge of Darcy - as the reader did also - through second hand information that helped to flesh out a lot of the misunderstanding that had transpired before. Reading this and watching the love grow between these characters was a delight to read that as the book started to end I wanted them to get together.
And that is sign of a good writer and a good romance novel.
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