Normally with my reviews I post the synopsis information from Amazon.com. I feel no need to do so with this book. It is clearly self-explanatory. This is Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice told from Mr. Darcy's point of view. Generally, I despise when people attempt to reinvent a classic that is in no need of being reinvented. However, Grange's Mr. Darcy's Diary is quite charming.
That is not to say that the book is reflective of the calibur of Austen's work, because it most certainly is not. Perhaps one of the main reasons that I liked this so much is simply because I love Pride & Prejudice so much. I will never tire of Elizabeth and Darcy's love for one another. However, I do not think that Grange captured the essence of Mr. Darcy as well as she perhaps could have. Bingley, Jane, Elizabeth, and the other Bennetts were done very well, in my humble opinion. She did fail for me in representing Darcy the way I think that Austen meant him to be.
It is rather interesting to see how Grange interpreted the scenes in which Austen only told us about and did not let us see: Lydia and Wickham's wedding, what Caroline Bingley said after Elizabeth left the room, and most importantly, what Darcy said to Mr. Bennett when he asked for permission to marry Elizabeth. Those were the parts that I enjoyed the most. It allowed for Grange's voice to be heard as an author as opposed to her trying to incorporate her style with actual dialogue from Austen's novel.
On the whole, I enjoyed the book. I will read Grange's other Austen inspired novels after I refresh myself on the novels that she interprets (she also takes on Mr. Knightley, Captain Wentworth, and Edmund Bertram).
Next up: Lauren Weisberger's third novel: Chasing Harry Winston. Come on, I'm on vacation, it's expected that I read a little chick lit!
That is not to say that the book is reflective of the calibur of Austen's work, because it most certainly is not. Perhaps one of the main reasons that I liked this so much is simply because I love Pride & Prejudice so much. I will never tire of Elizabeth and Darcy's love for one another. However, I do not think that Grange captured the essence of Mr. Darcy as well as she perhaps could have. Bingley, Jane, Elizabeth, and the other Bennetts were done very well, in my humble opinion. She did fail for me in representing Darcy the way I think that Austen meant him to be.
It is rather interesting to see how Grange interpreted the scenes in which Austen only told us about and did not let us see: Lydia and Wickham's wedding, what Caroline Bingley said after Elizabeth left the room, and most importantly, what Darcy said to Mr. Bennett when he asked for permission to marry Elizabeth. Those were the parts that I enjoyed the most. It allowed for Grange's voice to be heard as an author as opposed to her trying to incorporate her style with actual dialogue from Austen's novel.
On the whole, I enjoyed the book. I will read Grange's other Austen inspired novels after I refresh myself on the novels that she interprets (she also takes on Mr. Knightley, Captain Wentworth, and Edmund Bertram).
Next up: Lauren Weisberger's third novel: Chasing Harry Winston. Come on, I'm on vacation, it's expected that I read a little chick lit!
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