egads gently nudges you to pick up this novel because she realizes that last week she was a bit bossy with her edict to read a book.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a deep enduring affection for the novels of Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, and Elizabeth Gaskell. I have spent countless hours reading, rereading, studying, and writing about their works, and yet I always find some new nugget each time I open one of their books. I also adore watching and critiquing the film and television adaptations (*waves to the Mr. Thornton fan club), and have enjoyed the many conversations here about both the books and films. Korean dramas have a lot in common with my favorite 19th century fiction, but that is a whole other thesis waiting to be written.
What I want to talk about here is a modern day retelling of one of my favorites, Pride and Prejudice. There are a plethora of these retellings to be found in your local library. Some are good, some are not, but one thing is certain: If I stumble upon it, I will check it out. The more of them I read, the more I find that the most successful of these novels are the ones that use the source material not so much as blueprint for their story, but rather as inspiration. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy are iconic characters and to try to shift their 19th century selves into the 21st century takes more than just replacing their pelisses and cravats with yoga gear and t-shirts.
This brings me to the book I’m nudging you to read: Pride by Ibi Zoboi. Not so much a faithful and exacting modern retelling of Austen’s novel, Pride, is better described, as the author does, as a remix.
This contemporary remix puts us in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York where we meet Zuri, a high school student. Zuri has a plan: graduate from high school, attend Howard University, and collect the “wisdoms found in old, dusty books written by wrinkled brown hands…and take them with me back home to sprinkle all over Bushwick like rain showers.” Boys? Boys are not in her plans.
Well, until the wealthy family of the cold (Remote? Aloof? Standoffish? Or is it rude?) Darius Darcy moves in across the street. In classic Austen fashion, they have the necessary prickly beginning to their relationship, but as always, this is what makes their inevitable coming together that much better.
Pride does at times, try a bit too hard to stay true to the source material by inserting characters and scenes, but I forgive it, because Zuri and Darius find their own selves without being constrained by the specters of Elizabeth and Darcy. I just plain liked these two kids struggling to define their place within their changing families, neighborhood, and the wider world. And while their romance centers the novel, what I found most compelling is the relationship between Zuri and her home.
Like Austen, Zoboi is able to conjure the particularities of place and time, but this place instead of being set within the bubble of Austenian England, is the changing, gentrifying Brooklyn. Zui and Darius are on the cusp of changing their lives as they move forward to adulthood, but so is the neighborhood changing as wealth begins to infiltrate and transform the streets Zuri loves.
I could go on, but would rather you read and meet the Benetiz family and their neighbors yourself. Additionally, I would like to start a conversation about your favorite modern retellings of classic novels. Why do you like them? What makes them work for you? And which ones fell completely flat?
Ooooh, that sounds interesting. I might have to check that out. Is this a YA or adult novel? Either way, never thought there’d be a Pride and Prejudice set in Bushwick 😂.
I didn’t mean to sound snarky. Sorry. I do think people dismiss YA too easily, but some really great writing is aimed at the young adult market, but that YA designation seems to be a brick wall that some readers won’t bother to scale. *steps down from soapbox*
No worries 😉. I get it. People do really look down on certain genres like YA and fantasy, both of which have some literature. It’s a shame they get such a bad rap.
This sounds really good! Pride and Prejudice is one of my favs and I was actually going to head to the bookshop today so I will be on the lookout for this one
I just finished a P&P adaptation two weeks ago (read it in 2 days) called Ayesha At Last a modern retelling that keeps the broad structure of the story while rearranging the archetypes of the secondary characters in a way that worked well in the setting. It was set in modern Toronto in the South Asian Muslim community, so I identified strongly with the story and the setting as a South Asian Muslim myself. But what surprised me the most was that despite being able to identify strongly with these characters, it also gave me insight to the parts of my community that I have had a hard time understanding as an American born and raised Muslim, despite strong ties to my South Asian roots and community. As someone who doesn’t cover her hair and whose parents aren’t going to be schilling her with a resume to all the available bachelors (UGHHHH) it was a way for me to understand how and why women who do participate in those traditions think and feel. But more than that, it was a great way to show western audiences that so much of what we experience is the same as them. We are not the other.
In terms of writing, I will say the last act moves a bit quickly and feels a little rushed, but overall that wasn’t enough to ruin it. The book was published in Canada last year, and has already been optioned for TV or a movie (can’t remember) and just came out here in the US two weeks ago. I can’t recommend it enough.
You just tipped this from my wishlist to my cart. The familial and societal constructs in Pride and Prejudice seem to be ripe for adaptation from non-Western-centric cultures, and I am here for it. With the added benefit of a familiar story base it also provides a platform for an often resistant audience to stories outside of the so-called mainstream cultural experience. Hopefully, they then jump to works further broaden that reading experience.
Do it! I literally was counting the days until it was available here. I am kicking myself for not buying it when I was in Toronto last year just after it came out. I really look forward to what this writer has to offer in the future. Yes, she is a bit green in some parts, but it’s such a solid debut that shows so much promise for her future.
The thing I loved best about this was that it was very clear that the writer never felt beholden to the original story. She kept the core in tact (man and woman hate-to-love and misunderstandings) but she changed certain things to make the story her own. I won’t give it away, but there is something that happens early on that is what shapes the story into something new, which makes it feel really fresh and stands out. I know there are other South Asian adaptations of the story, but this is the one that stood out the most for me. I think the lovely thing about Austen is that because her stories are so grounded in the middle class and in telling the stories of people she is ripe for adaptation across cultures and times.
I downloaded Ayesha at Last on my kindle app, and am halfway through already. I’m loving that we get Khalid’s pov because otherwise he would seem even stiffer and more foreboding than Darcy.
I really don’t think the story could work without his POV. His character growth is almost more important in this story than Ayesha’s. We know where she falls short and needs to improve, but with a character like Khalid who lives by a set of rules that is so foreign, that insight is necessary for us to see how radical (no pun intended) his growth is, and how he can change his views and yet keep his core values in tact.
Lol. I bought this as soon as it was available in the States…..and now it has sat unread in my library. Well I started it, just have to get back to it.
Love the cover. Have seen such mixed reviews for thos one that I haven’t tried it yet. Recently bought Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin that is also a retelling. Though haven’t got to it yet.
After I watched North and South years ago I haunted the local book store for a copy. I think I finally picked it up at B&N, and now it taunts me because I still haven’t read it.
My goal for summer should be to finally read it, The Lies of Locke LaMora, and maybe a re read of Anne of Green Gables or Jane Eyre.
Read it – so good. I read it in two days. I also need to finish Locke Lamora (I read like 95% of it and just never had time to finish it – I even have the second book). I’m so behind on my reading goal this year. I’m finishing my reread of Good Omens right now so I can hopefully binge the series soon, and then I need to finish Sarah Dessen’s latest. I don’t know why, but I always read a lot when it’s summer. I did an Anne reread a few years ago and I forgot how much I loved that book, though Emily of New Moon always appealed to me more.
Thank you for this recommendation @egads I will certainly look this up and have also enjoyed remakes and retakes on all those authors.
When I was in my 30’s newly divorced, going to school part-time to get my BA – I had a Women and Literature class. I wasn’t sure what to make of it, but I do love literature and reading. However I’d never read any of the ‘classics’ and so was hesitant when the professor said our homework was to read the first half of Pride and Prejudice – yawn…. I thought it would be so hard to read..
I will never forget that first line of the book and read it in my car during lunch at work and could barely put it down to go back to my desk. I was HOOOKEDDDD!!!! Of course I read the whole book before the next class and then started to gobble up all the books by the books by Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters. I’ve never looked back and honestly can’t tell you how many times I’ve read Pride and Prejudice.
My first Austen’s book was Northanger Abbey… and I laughed so much 😁😁 I could never understand why people found it boring. Austen has great sense of humour and I love her for that.
My Victorian lit professor made us read Northanger Abbey because she hated how underrated it is. It’s great how it plays with and pokes fun at gothic conventions and how silly yet sweet the heroine is. It really felt like Austen was having fun writing it.
egads aka Dame Maggie
June 16, 2019 at 7:37 AM
egads gently nudges you to pick up this novel because she realizes that last week she was a bit bossy with her edict to read a book.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a deep enduring affection for the novels of Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, and Elizabeth Gaskell. I have spent countless hours reading, rereading, studying, and writing about their works, and yet I always find some new nugget each time I open one of their books. I also adore watching and critiquing the film and television adaptations (*waves to the Mr. Thornton fan club), and have enjoyed the many conversations here about both the books and films. Korean dramas have a lot in common with my favorite 19th century fiction, but that is a whole other thesis waiting to be written.
What I want to talk about here is a modern day retelling of one of my favorites, Pride and Prejudice. There are a plethora of these retellings to be found in your local library. Some are good, some are not, but one thing is certain: If I stumble upon it, I will check it out. The more of them I read, the more I find that the most successful of these novels are the ones that use the source material not so much as blueprint for their story, but rather as inspiration. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy are iconic characters and to try to shift their 19th century selves into the 21st century takes more than just replacing their pelisses and cravats with yoga gear and t-shirts.
This brings me to the book I’m nudging you to read: Pride by Ibi Zoboi. Not so much a faithful and exacting modern retelling of Austen’s novel, Pride, is better described, as the author does, as a remix.
This contemporary remix puts us in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York where we meet Zuri, a high school student. Zuri has a plan: graduate from high school, attend Howard University, and collect the “wisdoms found in old, dusty books written by wrinkled brown hands…and take them with me back home to sprinkle all over Bushwick like rain showers.” Boys? Boys are not in her plans.
Well, until the wealthy family of the cold (Remote? Aloof? Standoffish? Or is it rude?) Darius Darcy moves in across the street. In classic Austen fashion, they have the necessary prickly beginning to their relationship, but as always, this is what makes their inevitable coming together that much better.
Pride does at times, try a bit too hard to stay true to the source material by inserting characters and scenes, but I forgive it, because Zuri and Darius find their own selves without being constrained by the specters of Elizabeth and Darcy. I just plain liked these two kids struggling to define their place within their changing families, neighborhood, and the wider world. And while their romance centers the novel, what I found most compelling is the relationship between Zuri and her home.
Like Austen, Zoboi is able to conjure the particularities of place and time, but this place instead of being set within the bubble of Austenian England, is the changing, gentrifying Brooklyn. Zui and Darius are on the cusp of changing their lives as they move forward to adulthood, but so is the neighborhood changing as wealth begins to infiltrate and transform the streets Zuri loves.
I could go on, but would rather you read and meet the Benetiz family and their neighbors yourself. Additionally, I would like to start a conversation about your favorite modern retellings of classic novels. Why do you like them? What makes them work for you? And which ones fell completely flat?
ash27
June 16, 2019 at 9:03 AM
Ooooh, that sounds interesting. I might have to check that out. Is this a YA or adult novel? Either way, never thought there’d be a Pride and Prejudice set in Bushwick 😂.
egads aka Dame Maggie
June 16, 2019 at 9:15 AM
YA, but definitely worth the adult reader’s time just like most YA.
ash27
June 16, 2019 at 9:30 AM
Ok, cool. I read YA too, so that doesn’t bother me. But I do like to know before I start reading, since it lets me know what to expect.
egads aka Dame Maggie
June 16, 2019 at 9:39 AM
I didn’t mean to sound snarky. Sorry. I do think people dismiss YA too easily, but some really great writing is aimed at the young adult market, but that YA designation seems to be a brick wall that some readers won’t bother to scale. *steps down from soapbox*
mugyuljoie is preciousss
June 16, 2019 at 9:50 AM
I think the best new books over the last 10 years or so have been YA.
ash27
June 16, 2019 at 10:18 AM
No worries 😉. I get it. People do really look down on certain genres like YA and fantasy, both of which have some literature. It’s a shame they get such a bad rap.
stpauligurl
June 16, 2019 at 2:01 PM
I’ve read some really good YA – not even knowing it was that kind of book.
Is The Golden Compass series designated as YA? LOVED them.
ash27
June 16, 2019 at 5:16 PM
@stpauligurl
Yep, they are YA! I love that series as well.
RaOnAh loves Jay B 💚
June 16, 2019 at 9:20 AM
Sounds great. I love Pride and Prejudice and adaptations of it 💕
Cori
June 16, 2019 at 9:59 AM
This sounds really good! Pride and Prejudice is one of my favs and I was actually going to head to the bookshop today so I will be on the lookout for this one
SnarkyJellyfish
June 16, 2019 at 10:22 AM
I just finished a P&P adaptation two weeks ago (read it in 2 days) called Ayesha At Last a modern retelling that keeps the broad structure of the story while rearranging the archetypes of the secondary characters in a way that worked well in the setting. It was set in modern Toronto in the South Asian Muslim community, so I identified strongly with the story and the setting as a South Asian Muslim myself. But what surprised me the most was that despite being able to identify strongly with these characters, it also gave me insight to the parts of my community that I have had a hard time understanding as an American born and raised Muslim, despite strong ties to my South Asian roots and community. As someone who doesn’t cover her hair and whose parents aren’t going to be schilling her with a resume to all the available bachelors (UGHHHH) it was a way for me to understand how and why women who do participate in those traditions think and feel. But more than that, it was a great way to show western audiences that so much of what we experience is the same as them. We are not the other.
In terms of writing, I will say the last act moves a bit quickly and feels a little rushed, but overall that wasn’t enough to ruin it. The book was published in Canada last year, and has already been optioned for TV or a movie (can’t remember) and just came out here in the US two weeks ago. I can’t recommend it enough.
egads aka Dame Maggie
June 16, 2019 at 10:34 AM
You just tipped this from my wishlist to my cart. The familial and societal constructs in Pride and Prejudice seem to be ripe for adaptation from non-Western-centric cultures, and I am here for it. With the added benefit of a familiar story base it also provides a platform for an often resistant audience to stories outside of the so-called mainstream cultural experience. Hopefully, they then jump to works further broaden that reading experience.
SnarkyJellyfish
June 16, 2019 at 11:37 AM
Do it! I literally was counting the days until it was available here. I am kicking myself for not buying it when I was in Toronto last year just after it came out. I really look forward to what this writer has to offer in the future. Yes, she is a bit green in some parts, but it’s such a solid debut that shows so much promise for her future.
The thing I loved best about this was that it was very clear that the writer never felt beholden to the original story. She kept the core in tact (man and woman hate-to-love and misunderstandings) but she changed certain things to make the story her own. I won’t give it away, but there is something that happens early on that is what shapes the story into something new, which makes it feel really fresh and stands out. I know there are other South Asian adaptations of the story, but this is the one that stood out the most for me. I think the lovely thing about Austen is that because her stories are so grounded in the middle class and in telling the stories of people she is ripe for adaptation across cultures and times.
egads aka Dame Maggie
June 16, 2019 at 8:35 PM
I downloaded Ayesha at Last on my kindle app, and am halfway through already. I’m loving that we get Khalid’s pov because otherwise he would seem even stiffer and more foreboding than Darcy.
SnarkyJellyfish
June 16, 2019 at 9:02 PM
I really don’t think the story could work without his POV. His character growth is almost more important in this story than Ayesha’s. We know where she falls short and needs to improve, but with a character like Khalid who lives by a set of rules that is so foreign, that insight is necessary for us to see how radical (no pun intended) his growth is, and how he can change his views and yet keep his core values in tact.
Beverly
June 16, 2019 at 1:02 PM
Lol. I bought this as soon as it was available in the States…..and now it has sat unread in my library. Well I started it, just have to get back to it.
Dorotka
June 16, 2019 at 2:57 PM
I have just ordered it from Amazon 😆 I need some right book for my after-surgery healing period next week 😉
Dorotka
June 16, 2019 at 10:40 AM
I quite enjoyed Pride, Prejudice and Jasmine Field by Melissa Nathan. Though I read it many years ago.
Beverly
June 16, 2019 at 12:59 PM
Love the cover. Have seen such mixed reviews for thos one that I haven’t tried it yet. Recently bought Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin that is also a retelling. Though haven’t got to it yet.
After I watched North and South years ago I haunted the local book store for a copy. I think I finally picked it up at B&N, and now it taunts me because I still haven’t read it.
My goal for summer should be to finally read it, The Lies of Locke LaMora, and maybe a re read of Anne of Green Gables or Jane Eyre.
SnarkyJellyfish
June 16, 2019 at 1:18 PM
Read it – so good. I read it in two days. I also need to finish Locke Lamora (I read like 95% of it and just never had time to finish it – I even have the second book). I’m so behind on my reading goal this year. I’m finishing my reread of Good Omens right now so I can hopefully binge the series soon, and then I need to finish Sarah Dessen’s latest. I don’t know why, but I always read a lot when it’s summer. I did an Anne reread a few years ago and I forgot how much I loved that book, though Emily of New Moon always appealed to me more.
stpauligurl
June 16, 2019 at 1:58 PM
Thank you for this recommendation @egads I will certainly look this up and have also enjoyed remakes and retakes on all those authors.
When I was in my 30’s newly divorced, going to school part-time to get my BA – I had a Women and Literature class. I wasn’t sure what to make of it, but I do love literature and reading. However I’d never read any of the ‘classics’ and so was hesitant when the professor said our homework was to read the first half of Pride and Prejudice – yawn…. I thought it would be so hard to read..
I will never forget that first line of the book and read it in my car during lunch at work and could barely put it down to go back to my desk. I was HOOOKEDDDD!!!! Of course I read the whole book before the next class and then started to gobble up all the books by the books by Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters. I’ve never looked back and honestly can’t tell you how many times I’ve read Pride and Prejudice.
Valley Girl is my favorite retelling of Emma…
Dorotka
June 16, 2019 at 3:19 PM
My first Austen’s book was Northanger Abbey… and I laughed so much 😁😁 I could never understand why people found it boring. Austen has great sense of humour and I love her for that.
SnarkyJellyfish
June 16, 2019 at 3:50 PM
My Victorian lit professor made us read Northanger Abbey because she hated how underrated it is. It’s great how it plays with and pokes fun at gothic conventions and how silly yet sweet the heroine is. It really felt like Austen was having fun writing it.
stpauligurl
June 16, 2019 at 7:46 PM
I never read that one but now it will be on my list. thanks for the description!
egads aka Dame Maggie
June 16, 2019 at 8:29 PM
Northanger Abbey is Austen’s love letter to the gothic novel. It’s so fun.
egads aka Dame Maggie
June 16, 2019 at 8:30 PM
Sometimes I wish I could read them all again for the first time. Isn’t it marvelous to find a new author to love when you least expect it?
stpauligurl
June 16, 2019 at 9:37 PM
Yes – it reminds me of reading Maya Angelou for the first time. My mom and I went through all her books. Finding new authors is always a joy…
Anisa
June 16, 2019 at 3:52 PM
Thanks for this recommendation! It sounds awesome, putting it on my list.