Eligible

3.5 stars The good news is that Eligible is not one of the Gone Girl or The Girl On The Train wannabes that are pervasive these days. The other news is that while it is a satisfying read, it is not even a shadow of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the classic satire on the social mores of early 18th century England. I am a Sittenfeld fan and although she managed to inject a lot of humor into this novel, it falls very short of being a satire on 21st century America. Eligible is set in present-day America with most of the story taking place in Cincinnati, the hometown of the Fred and Sally Bennet family. Instead of landed gentry, the Cincinnati Bennets belong to a country club, the center of their social life. They live in a very large home that Fred’s parents sold to him for one dollar. Due to Sally’s shopping addiction and Fred’s mind numbing irresponsibility, the house now has two mortgages, they are behind on payments and on the verge of bankruptcy. Jane is almost 40 years of age, and Liz is right behind her. They live in New York City, each with her own apartment and own career. Each still single. Mary is approximately 30, living at home with her parents and working on an online college degree, her third degree. She has never held a job and her solitary behavior leads her younger sisters to assume she is gay. Every Tuesday she has a mysterious outing, refusing to tell anyone where she is going. Kitty is 26 and Lydia 23, also living with Fred and Sally. They are as spoiled and irresponsible as Austen’s characters of the same names. Not innocent and no longer living in a protected world, the Bennet girls are often potty mouthed and despite close encounters of many kinds, none of them has found love. Jane has embarked on intrauterine insemination (iUI), realizing the “expiration date” on her ovaries is fast approaching. Liz has been carrying on an affair with a married man – Jasper Wick – for quite some time. He has explained that he cannot divorce his wife until her grandmother dies, otherwise his wife will not get her inheritance. The usually levelheaded Lizzie has been gaga about the guy since they met 14 years prior, otherwise she would never have accepted such a story. Fred Bennet’s quadruple cardiac bypass brings the two older girls back to Cincinnati for an extended stay. Here, the two elder Bennet girls meet Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy. Except in this version they are Dr. Chip Bingley, ER physician, and Dr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, neurosurgeon. Chip Bingley has appeared on the TV reality series, “Eligible,” and is universally known for dissolving into tears when he has to pick between two women on his last episode. He is very handsome and well-bred man, but has not really found his way in life and waffles about practicing medicine. He has a difficult time making up his mind, period. Darcy on the other hand, is thoroughly confident and sure of every opinion he possesses. New to Cincinnati, Liz overhears him telling Bingley that Cincinnati and the people in it are second rate. Although she harbors the same sentiment to some degree, she takes umbrage.Liz’s friend Charlotte Lucas is employed by Proctor and Gamble, has a very lucrative career with them, and is about 70 pounds overweight. Although Charlotte hits it off with Liz’s Cousin Willie, a dot com multimillionaire, actually a step cousin, after Liz turns down his offer to come to California and live with him, Liz and Charlotte draw closer. This closeness between the two old friends is the linchpin in the machinations that bring these four crazy kids, Jane and Bingley, Liz and Darcy, back together. Sally Bennet is a shopaholic and Fred Bennet is the droll uninvolved observer of his family rather than its head. Liz takes it upon herself to help her parents downsize their life. Jane is pregnant and therefore cannot help Liz. Whether the pregnancy is due to her latest iUI attempt or to sleeping with Chip since their first date is uncertain. Although she usually take a pregnancy test after each iUI session, because of her father’s health situation, the rush to get back to Ohio had thrown her off schedule. She goes back to New York to live with some friends, a lesbian couple whose son was born through a donation from a family member. They can relate to Jane on many levels. Mostly, she does not want Fred and Sally to know until she herself knows if it’s Chip’s baby or not. Liz finds an unexpected ally and great helper in kindhearted Hamilton Ryan, Lydia’s boyfriend and the owner of the CrossFit gym where she and Kitty spend most of their waking hours. With his help, they get the Bennet family home decluttered and ready for sale. The climax of the novel occurs at the filming of a special edition of “Eligible,” where Jane, the pregnant angelic bride, and Chip are to be married. The entire Bennet family is there of course, as well as Dr. Darcy who is best man, and Chip’s sister Caroline who acts as his business manager for “Eligible.” Everyone is attached to microphones so small that sometimes they forget they are there, so you can imagine what ensues between the bickering Bennets. I put aside my veneration for Austen and enjoyed the humor in this latest Sittenfeld work. She gives many little nods to Austen throughout, using some of her vocabulary – “displeased, odious, make a spectacle of yourself,” etc. This seriously pleased me. She keeps the pace of the story moving along quickly, and we learn more about the characters with each page. I especially found her background story for Jasper Wick hilarious. Sittenfeld also gives Mary, the neglected middle child of the Austen classic, a small chapter at the end of the book that explains her behavior and lifestyle choice. Eligible was quite entertaining as a modern story. However, there is no subtlety in it and I detected no romance. When we first meet these characters, they are all jaded, especially the younger Bennet sisters. Jane and Liz are on the verge of middle age and have been through several relationships each, yet their character judgment seems to be nonexistent. In its place, they use sexual aggression with Jane sleeping with Dr. Bingley on their first date and Liz proposing “hate sex” to Dr. Darcy which he accepts. There is also a transgender spouse, interracial dating, as I mentioned earlier the iUI, profanity, history of sexual activity which doesn’t generate emotional connection, the uninvolved parents, shopaholic Sally, CrossFit and Paleo eating style with which the two younger girls are obsessed. I surmise that Sittenfeld meant these topics to be the objects of her satire on the mores of today’s society but it did not read that way to me. It seems that many young female authors now feel that their female protagonists need to be aggressive and somewhat coarse, as if that is how they define feminine strength. This is definitely a satisfying story as long as you understand it bears little resemblance to Pride and Prejudice and accept it as a modern tale. The only likable characters I found were the realtor and the gym owner. Don’t let the 500+ pages scare you – it is a quick read. Sittenfeld is a very skillful writerThis review is based on a galley from NetGalley. It will appear in the 4/1/16 issue of the Coastal Breeze News in the Book Remarks section. Publication date is set for 4/26/16.

I confess I'm an Austen fan, and I simply adored this book!!

My favourite.

Just delightful. =)

Her best work.

I LOVE this book!

A modern day Pride and Prejudice. Can't remember the last time I read a book in one day. Just a fun read.

Simply irresistible!

Love everything Austen!

This was my first Jane Austen reading, I always thought that I wouldn't like this style of novel, but one day I bought it and when I read it I fell in love! This book made me cry, laght and sigh. It's beautifully written and good from the start until the end. After I read it I bought lot's of other Austen books and books of the same style. It's my favorite book.

Always a favorite

Getting hold of this book took ages - the Kindle was priced too high (or so I thought, based on the quality of previous Austen Project titles), the secondhand copy I ordered went AWOL in the post, the library copy I reserved was already on loan - but let me tell you, Eligible was well worth the wait! I'm going to buy my own copy - hell, even at full price! - and in hardback, and then beat over the head all the previous Austen Project authors who ruined a good idea. THIS is how you update Austen!While using the ingredients of the original novel, Curtis Sittenfeld hasn't just turned out a sad imitation of Austen's Pride and Prejudice, she has crafted a witty, modern and captivating story full of endearing characters, believable interactions, sweet romances and droll humour. I'm gushing, but I mean every word. I love that Liz, a journalist, is still the only level-headed member of the Bennet family - apart from her feelings for Jasper Wick - and Darcy is now a brain surgeon ('the only question is if being a surgeon gave you a god complex or if your god complex is what led to your being a surgeon'), and Kathy de Bourgh is a famous feminist! And 'Chip' Bingley is the star of a reality TV dating show, the 'Eligible' of the title, while Jane drops a bombshell of her own!I absolutely adored this reworking of Austen, which works far better than all the rest - I think Melissa Pimentel's twist on Persuasion was the second best. Sittenfeld understands the secret of a good 'Austenuation', obviously (or perhaps P+P is just simpler to update): use the same threads, but weave a different tapestry (with bonus points for annoying all the puritanical Austenites with bad language and - shock horror! - scenes of a sexual nature!)

I’ve heard this book has mixed reviews, but I enjoyed it immensely and while it wasn’t perfect, I think it’s a fantastic modern adaptation.I think Sittenfeld did a great job of keeping the tone of the original, while updating both characters and situations to suit current times – some scenes felt more realistic and developed than the original. While the bones of the story are the same, Sittenfeld added many little twists to make this story her own and I appreciated most of them.Liz and Darcy’s relationship feels a little more natural, if not slightly more awkward thanks to Liz’s big mouth (which I found funny) and there’s finally some action! –wink wink- Jane is pushing forty, single and trying to have a baby via artificial insemination. Chip Bingley spent time on a Bachelor-esque show trying to find love and Darcy is a neurosurgeon. Kathy de Bourgh shines as a feminist icon and (sadly) Mary is more selfish and annoying than I’ve ever seen her portrayed before. Sittenfeld even includes some LGBT characters.I wished Mary had been likable (for once!), but overall I was happy with how all the characters played out and the pacing kept me saying “just one more chapter” over and over – it helps that the chapters aren’t more than a few pages each.I do think the story concluded on a weird note. Not the actual plot of the ending, but the last two pages had an odd tone that didn’t feel like a conclusion for me and brought the focus back to Mary, rather than Liz and Darcy. Rather than finishing with a smile I was left scratching my head.I recommend this to anyone looking for a modern adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, if only for some scenes where Liz and Darcy actually make physical contact! Jokes aside, this is a solid adaptation and I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed the updated rendition of Northanger Abbey.

Beneath a fluffy, chick lit exterior, this novel updates Jane Austen's classic social satire with a surprisingly thoughtful look at love, marriage, family, parenthood, and feminism.

This was pretty entertaining. I enjoyed noticing each way that the author made the characters modern and different from their original counterparts. The father was a hoot for sure. The author did a great job of fitting all the drama from the current era.

In this Pride and Prejudice retelling we have the Bennets and their neighbours moved to modern day America. With Jane at 40 and Lydia at 23 years old with the other sisters in-between.
For me it just doesn't work moving the story away from the Regency period. The story just doesn't have the same impact.
I didn't really like any of the characters apart Mary, which I suspect I wasn't suppose to considering how she was portrayed.
A NetGalley book.

When I think of modern re-tellings of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, the Bollywood classic, Bride and Prejudice is my gold standard. This satirical re-telling was definitely more raunchy and more current than I was anticipating. Liz works for a feminist magazine, Jane is a yoga instructor trying to get pregnant before she turns 41, Mary is an anti-social weirdo, and Kitty and Lydia are lazy unemployed bums. All the characters are here but there is more modern drama: mixed race couples, transgender dating, hate sex, and more. I tolerated the novel until I got to the relity tc stuff at the end and I would have given it a 3 if it had stopped there, but out of nowhere the last chapter changes characters and is told from Mary's perspective and is so weird and awful that I had to change my rating to a 2. The writing was OK but I did not care for any of the characters in this re-telling and the ending made me hate life.

In this modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice, Jane and Liz Bennet have left their lives in New York City to come home to Cincinnati to care for their parents after their father has a heart attack. Jane, who is nearly 40, is a yoga instructor and after several failed relationships is contemplating single parenthood. Liz, only two years younger, is a successful writer for a feminist magazine with a mildly complicated love life. As Liz and Jane rejoin their family unit they quickly discover that their three younger sisters are next to useless, their mother has a mild shopping addiction, and their father has been hiding the fact that their financial situation is extremely unstable. But in the midst of the familial chaos Liz and Jane make the acquaintance of two recently arrived doctors in Cincinnati, Chip Bingley and Fitzwilliam Darcy who add a whole other layer of complications to being back home.I'm a Janeite through and through and I've enjoyed many contemporary adaptations of Austen's works; Eligible has quickly joined my favourites. Sittenfeld does a brilliant job of bringing the Bennets and their social circle into the 21st century. Not once did the characters feel like they had diverged widely from their original templates. I greatly appreciated that Sittenfeld also brings along all of the major plot points of the original tale into the modern period and makes them utterly believable and compelling reading even though I knew roughly how things would be resolved. A must-read for any Austen and/or P&P fan.

Curtis Sittenfield had an impossible task before her: breathe new life into Jane Austen's mega-beloved classic, Pride and Prejudice; remain faithful to the original text; and not pedantically patchwrite Ms. Austen's style while still retaining the snarky, playful fun that makes the prose the absolute damn best part of the novel. And she pretty much nails it.

Eligible is a Pride and Prejudice for a twenty-first century audience. It discusses reality TV, the realities of being single in 2013, LGBT issues, and the modern family. People have sex, and there's no slut-shaming or scandals. It is so thoroughly modern and yet it goes back to the roots of what makes Pride and Prejudice relatable and timeless. And it's a lot of FUN to read. The book is dense but rich, and while the details occasionally threaten to overtake the story, Sittenfield reins in her writing just enough to keep the plot moving forward. I recommend this book, and if you're an open-minded Austen fan, you'll probably enjoy it.

I wanted to like this one more than I did. It's a retelling of Pride and Prejudice and while it was entertaining, it felt empty. The characters were unlikable and I never found myself rooting for any of the couples.

How many times can Pride & Prejudice be re-written? Seemingly, I guess an infinite number. I enjoyed Sittenfeld's first novel, Prep and also American Wife, but she seemed to be phoning this one in. In her version, written post-housing bubble, Elizabeth is a writer for a magazine in New York & her sister Jane is a yoga instructor (although how anyone lives in New York City with that occupation is beyond me) They return home to Cincinnati because their parents have sustained financial reverses and are going to have to sell their house, which in this book is called "the Tudor."Darcy in this version is a surgeon while Chip Bingley is a reality TV star on a TV show much like "The Bachelor." The younger Bennett sisters don't seem to work. Instead Lydia (who is unspeakably vulgar) and Kitty spend their days in crossfit training, while Mary is working on her third post graduate degree. Mrs. Bennett has gone beyond being a silly woman and is now selfish, homophobic and racist while Mr. Bennett is also much more clueless than in the original version. And the whole sub-plot of Lydia and Mr. Wickham seems to have been thrown into the trashcan. The whole book is much more mean spirited than the original. I expected butter from Ms. Sittenfeld.

This book was laugh out loud funny with great banter and the expected pride and prejudice pacing as well as the characters you know and love. I was drawn in from the first page.

I will say the last two chapters were odd and seemed a bit tacked on, aside from that it was a solid retelling, reframed and contemporary.

I loved how the characters were brought up to date with modern foilables to match the ones Jane Austen dreamed up. The tackiness, the reality show spin, the God complex for Darcy. It was all superb.

fiction (modern-day pride & prejudice). Lots of drama and romantic ups and downs (and unlike Alexander McCall Smith's Emma, a significant enough departure from the original to keep it fresh).

I enjoyed this take on Pride and Prejudice. But I thought it was longer than it needed to be and the main characters could have been more fleshed out, especially Darcy. I also didn't care for this version of Elizabeth Bennet. I didn't really like her. Somehow though this novel did bring me into the family drama and I was invested in how things were going to turn out. The modern versions of events from the original novel were amusing as well. I also thought the author got the sarcastic wit and tone of Austen pretty well.

Retelling of Pride & Prejudice. The Bennets live in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Darcy is a neurosurgeon. Bingley and his sister are involved in reality TV.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a reader in possession of a sentimental mind must be in want of a retelling. Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice by Curtis Sittenfeld is the fourth installment in The Austen Project, a series that pairs contemporary authors with Jane Austen’s six complete novels. Attempting to modernize Pride and Prejudice, arguably Austen’s most famous work, is a daunting task. Sittenfeld’s dedication and effort deserve credit, but unfortunately, in her hands the plot, characters, and atmosphere fall horrifically flat.

Pride and Prejudice holds up so well due in part to its universal nature. The particulars may differ, but the fundamentals of courting, social structure, and reputation remain the same. Where Eligible goes wrong is in the gargantuan changes made; nothing feels familiar because everything is different. Sittenfeld bequeaths main characters with lazy nicknames (Elizabeth is Liz, Fitzwilliam Darcy is just Darcy, and Mr. Bingley is Chip), as well as gives them uncharacteristic professions (Liz works for a gossip magazine, Jane is a yoga instructor, and Chip is a doctor/reality show star). Notably, they are also aged up a decade or so. Jane resembles herself the most, but Mr. Bingley as Chip is completely unrecognizable. His obsession with finding love, going so far as to join a reality show resembling The Bachelor, appalls. These new characters are not just modern versions of their namesakes, they are obnoxious caricatures. Nothing amuses or satisfies the reader when once loveable characters come off as shallow and unpleasant.

When characters change so drastically, relationship dynamics alter too. Much of the appeal in Elizabeth’s and Mr. Darcy’s courtship comes from their witty banter. They do not converse much in this retelling; they text and have hate sex. In the original work, Jane and Mr. Bingley complement each other so well because they have gentle and shy demeanors. Unfortunately, Chip’s flirtation with fame and Jane’s sudden, life-altering decisions lead to forced and awkward interactions on the page. The Bennett family relationships do not escape the massive rework either. In an effort to create an element of differentiation between the generations, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are portrayed as close-minded and quarrelsome relics with little to no patience for their exasperating brood of grown children. Their youngest daughters, Lydia and Kitty, lazy, CrossFit obsessed Millennials, refuse to respect their parents and act out in ridiculous ways. Mary barely interacts with anyone, and Liz and Jane merely visit their family, as they both live in apartments in New York. Too many superficial interactions transform a classic satire into a gossipy and humorless mess.

The most surprising addition to the plot is the inclusion of a new character that plays a large part in the scandal that almost destroys the Bennet family’s reputation. Mr. Wickham (Jasper) does appear in the novel, but his moment in the spotlight is miniscule compared to the new character, Ham, who Lydia finds herself enamored with. This twist is certainly the most “modern” element of the story, and the most unexpected, especially since it has no counterpart in the original work. Unfortunately, the scandal does not come off as controversial and damaging as everyone seems to think it will. Ironically, this is probably because Ham is the most likeable character in the novel.

Curtis Sittenfeld’s Eligible is a poor representation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The changes are so bizarre that they will likely leave you speechless. Prepare yourself for the last chapter, as it pops up out of nowhere, has no purpose whatsoever, and wraps up the plot on an even more dissatisfying note. By the end of the novel you may end up asking yourself, was the author actually a fan of Pride and Prejudice prior to tackling this book? It certainly doesn’t seem like it.

There are some things that I love about this book. Normally, I would be horrified for anyone to tamper in any way with Austen. But as I read the book, I found that the contemporary parallels, such as the dysfunction of the Bennet family and the personalities of the characters, and the specifics (the Tudor being allowed to run down, the employment status of the 2 younger sisters, etc) produced a deeper emotional response in me. In Austen's story, there is such restraint - and I love that - but my emotions are more "muffled" or something - it's like I can't quite imagine just how annoying Mrs. Bennet it - but in Sittenfeld's version I found her repulsive, which maybe was Austen's intent?? - or maybe not! Or maybe Austen intended her to be annoying yet charming. Anyway, I am eager to go back to P&P again, and see if my reaction is different after reading Sittenfeld.

The reality-show ending left me cold - that's why I only went with 4 stars. I really dislike reality TV, so maybe for many modern readers that was a clever touch, but the author lost me there.

I loved it! My only disappointment was that Lady Catherine wasn't there and her role and important speech at the end was given to Catherine Bingley.
Totally believable in the 21st century with similar not identical happenings
Mrs. Bennett was annoying in a new way. Kitty and Mary were given a lot more attention
This was my favourite of the Austen Project books and I own all...

Placeholder Review: I LOVED IT.

I could have gone on reading this book for months and been happy. I may be the only person to provide an early review that has NOT read "Pride and Prejudice," however that does not dampen my enthusiasm a bit. I adored the Bennets, even the repulsive ones like Kitty. The hilariously witty commentary provided by Mr. Bennet had me rolling. And of course, I was thrilled by the love story between Darcy and Liz.

It was better than Twilight.