Sourcebooks Landmark
ISBN: 978-1402246937
Published June 2011
Trade Paperback, 224 pages
Mr Darcy Goes Overboard is a comical
chick-lit rendition of Pride and Prejudice. It's light and fluffy,
perfect for the beach this summer. The story follows the original P&P
closely but summarizes and condenses the scenes and makes for a
quick, short read that resembles a slap-stick comedy movie—you
know, the exaggerated humour, bumbling mishaps and frolicking good
fun.
Roberts cleverly uses the exact
situations but with a contemporary seaside holiday setting, making me
smile when she includes some of the same famous lines from the Jane
Austen version. For some readers this may backfire, though, as the
problems and issues of the 18th century are transferred to
the 20th century, and of course, could not hold the same
relevance, like when Mr Collins came on the scene as Mr Bennett's
cousin who would inherit everything and leave the family penniless
when surely Mr Bennett worked in his lifetime. However, because of
the genre, it still works, even the formal dialogue and the young
people addressing each other as Mr or Miss. Kitty and Lydia were the
most authentic with their teen talk and behaviours. Mr and Mrs
Bennett were a riot as well as Mr Collins.
The narrative was filled with British
expressions, some of which were lost to the Canadian in me, but
others, such as the author's use of witty puns and hilarious
exclamations in some of the dialogue, perfectly reflected the
British culture.
In this way it differs greatly from
Austen's depth of character development and serious topics, but it's
well understood that this is what Roberts was aiming for—a funny,
fresh version of a much-exploited story. It reminded me of the
exaggerated humour in The Princess Bride. Actually, this novel would
make a really funny summer movie!
If you would like to win this book, visit my Splash Into Summer Giveaway Blog Hop post. Giveaway ends tomorrow, May 31st. Also, stay tuned for a guest post from the author on June 6th.
Disclosure: Thanks to Sourcebooks for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.
This sounds adorable!!
ReplyDeleteim so buying anything that is related with jane austen's novels.;)
ReplyDeleteI just finished this one a few days ago and really enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun!
ReplyDelete