27 April, 2012

I'm edycated, i am.

Not letting myself down this time; it's Friday and i'm posting!


Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austin
At some point in the past two centuries (since it was written), and i’m not sure just when it happened, it became a necessary mark of education to have read (and enjoyed!) Pride and Prejudice. In fact, it may well be a much more recent phenomenon, as i’m not sure that the first time read the book i was aware of fulfilling an expected and necessary part of my cultural education. This time through i was not such an innocent (if i was last time), as i was constantly aware of the pressure this book or, more precisely, society through this book, puts on the reader. Fortunately i was able to live up that pressure and can report that i liked Pride and Prejudice this time through, as well.

It is a lovely book, with a delicate touch that delights (Mr. Bennett, for example) but does not go overboard in pushing home the point (the humour he engenders, to continue the same example, is subtle, clever, not forced on the reader ~ it is possible, i think, to imagine a reader who might miss the fun Austin makes of the relationship between him and his wife, though i think that reader would be fairly obtuse ~ and that subtlety adds to the pleasure the book brings). I don't think i have previously owned a copy of Pride and Prejudice, though i expect one or both of the girls have, and i got this one for no cost for the Kindle since it is in the public domain; it reinforced for me that i do enjoy the process of reading an e-book on the correct device (though, still, not on a computer), for its ease and convenience Naturally, i still love the feelings, all the sensory experience of the actual thing, but i expect monks were still saying that about vellum and quills for some time after Gutenberg; i anticipate doing a certain amount of reading, especially that in bed, on the Kindle in the future.

1 comment:

Catie Eliza said...

Phew.... I do love P&P and agree with your about the subtleties being what adds greatly to the enjoyment. :] I have read others of her novels that have been more of a struggle though... I've got the coplete works if you want to borrow it. ;] xx