Upon the whole... I am well satisfied enough. The work is rather too light, and bright, and sparkling; it wants shade; it wants to be stretched out here and there with a long chapter of sense, if it could be had; if not, of solemn specious nonsense...
I thought it would be fitting to end the challenge with the book that started it all. I actually listened to this earlier in the year when I had a crapload of marking to do. I like to put on a movie or audiobook while doing a marking marathon. Something I've seen/heard before, so I don't have to pay too close attention because I know what's going to happen, and if my attention is completely caught by a particularly odd or hilarious answer from one of my students, I don't need to rewind. My usual go-tos are mystery novels or the extended version of the Lord of the Rings, but this time I decided to listen to Pride and Prejudice; I've had this on my computer for a few years but for some reason had never listened to it.
I haven't really gone into details about why I love this book before, but the witty dialogue is one reason. Another is the simple subject matter; I feel I can relate, somewhat, to Elizabeth because she is not going through some dramatic love-affair/abduction/political intrigue. Darcy is not my ideal hero (I sigh for Henry Tilney), but what I like about their relationship is that Darcy and Elizabeth are better people for being in love with each other. They both have faults, have both learned from each other, and have both grown as a result.
On to the recording itself. Emily Fox played Georgiana in the 1995 series. I don't remember her saying a lot, because, you know, Georgiana, but she has a lovely voice. The most important thing is that her Mrs. Bennet doesn't drive me up a wall, because that would make the recording unlistenable. I was initially annoyed by Jane; I felt she was being read as too little-girly (a little like when Lizzie plays Jane in costume theatre), but that stopped after a while. It's very listenable, overall.
What I noticed in listening to the book is that there is stuff I don't remember. I don't mean major plot points or conversations, but small things, especially right near the beginning, that I forgot were there. When you've read a book eleventy billion times, you tend to skim over certain parts and skip to the stuff you like. At least, I do. Anyway, it was nice to be surprised every now and then.
(I should note that my parents had a record of P&P, abridged. It had to be, otherwise it wouldn't fit into the 50 or so minutes allotted to vinyl. One of the episodes cut? Was Lydia's elopement. The mind reels.)
To sum up, here are all my reviews. You'll note the list has been considerably added to since I started the challenge:
Web series
Books
Audiobooks
Plays
Movies/TV
29 items. 20 books. 16 hours of audio. 16 hours of video. 1.5 hours of theatre. 1.5 hours of baking. That should be enough to win me something, right?
Thanks to Austenprose.com for the challenge. I've enjoyed reading other people's picks and seeing their sometimes differing views. Since this was my first real introduction to Jane Austen fan fiction, as it were, I'm looking forward to reading some of their recommendations. I'm also looking forward to not having to blog them.
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