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A review by jenbsbooks
P & P & LOL!: a Novella Retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice...Through Texts! by Kirstin Odegaard, Kirstin Odegaard
3.25
I liked this - a contemporary variation, all texts. This might have seemed more unique if I hadn't watched (and LOVED) the youtube series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, which was a modern retelling through a vlog. That series was so in my head, that I think I was superimposing some of this with those visuals. The LBD just featured three Bennett girls (Jane, Lizzie and Lydia ... there was a cousin Mary, small role, and Kitty ... was a cat). We saw Charlotte, Bing Lee (and I've never been able to find anything I loved more than the conversion of his name that way!) Darcy, Caroline, Wickham, Collins, Georgiana. No Mr. and Mrs. Bennett officially though. Almost all with Lizzie leading the way.
Here, there was quite a bit from the parents and all five sisters, and we got to see conversations between Darcy/Bingley (Will and Charlie, much more casual) and Caroline. Add in Charlotte and Collins and George Wickham. More insight than we see in the original or the LBD.
While some of the texts DID seem like texts between other individuals, others seemed to stretch that possibility, at least for me. Funny little quirks, like lack of punctuation from Mrs. Bennett, and ALL CAPS FROM KITTY. Can you save drafts in text? I know you can in email, but I don't have drafts in text as far as I know. The saved drafts were a great insight into Elizabeth's thought process. The relationship between Lizzie and Darcy didn't seem as true to the original (with Darcy being interested much earlier on, with quite a bit of interaction and "flirtation" ... he thinks she's flirting, and so did I, based on her texts. Elizabeth wasn't as likeable here in this installment than in other variations. The Georgie/Lydia situation was a bit of a shift. Mary and Collins still come off as not speaking (texting) quite normally (their language still a little dated, but then they are odd).
So - I liked it, it was cute, a fun updated presentation.
Available on KindleUnlimited, text only. Even though it's fairly short, it took me a while to get through, as I just don't have as much "eye" time for books. I wonder how this would adapt to audio ...
Here, there was quite a bit from the parents and all five sisters, and we got to see conversations between Darcy/Bingley (Will and Charlie, much more casual) and Caroline. Add in Charlotte and Collins and George Wickham. More insight than we see in the original or the LBD.
While some of the texts DID seem like texts between other individuals, others seemed to stretch that possibility, at least for me. Funny little quirks, like lack of punctuation from Mrs. Bennett, and ALL CAPS FROM KITTY. Can you save drafts in text? I know you can in email, but I don't have drafts in text as far as I know. The saved drafts were a great insight into Elizabeth's thought process. The relationship between Lizzie and Darcy didn't seem as true to the original (with Darcy being interested much earlier on, with quite a bit of interaction and "flirtation" ... he thinks she's flirting, and so did I, based on her texts. Elizabeth wasn't as likeable here in this installment than in other variations. The Georgie/Lydia situation was a bit of a shift. Mary and Collins still come off as not speaking (texting) quite normally (their language still a little dated, but then they are odd).
So - I liked it, it was cute, a fun updated presentation.
Available on KindleUnlimited, text only. Even though it's fairly short, it took me a while to get through, as I just don't have as much "eye" time for books. I wonder how this would adapt to audio ...