Austen fans and newcomers alike will enjoy this contemporary take on PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, set in Cincinnati. Narrator Cassandra Campbell’s lively narration complements Sittenfeld’s sharply observed and witty updates. She voices Darcy, now an accomplished, if snobby, neurosurgeon, in a dry and understated style, contrasting him beautifully with the often exasperated and indignant Liz, a magazine writer. Especially notable is Campbell’s handling of party scenes, in which the five Bennet sisters and assorted other characters interact in rapid-fire dialogue. To Campbell’s credit, each character remains clearly distinguishable through subtle vocal variations. Sittenfeld’s retelling is smart and funny, and Campbell’s performance highlights the novel’s many strengths. E.C. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

4/1/2016
While Jane Austen’s enduringly popular novel of love and manners has been retold time and again, through many different mediums, it’s rare that an author of Curtis Sittenfeld’s stature has taken a crack at reimagining Pride and Prejudice. And the results are utterly addictive. With Eligible, Sittenfeld transforms Lizzy and Jane into freelance journalist Liz Bennet and her yoga instructor big sister, two single women on the far side of 35 heading home to Cincinnati after their father’s recent health scare. Read More

It's a pleasure to find out how Sittenfeld has updated classic Austen scenes to fit this new milieu…No one writes with Austen's particular sensibility, and no one would really want to; she was perfectly of her time. But Sittenfeld…is the ideal modern-day reinterpreter. Her special skill lies not just in her clear, clean writing, but in her general amusement about the world, her arch, pithy, dropped-mike observations about behavior, character and motivation. She can spot hypocrisy, cant, self-contradiction and absurdity 10 miles away. She's the one you want to leave the party with, so she can explain what really happened…Taking the story out of England and bringing it to America has allowed Sittenfeld to draw back the curtains, throw open the windows, and let the air in…The characters can be raucous and the situations ungenteel, but not since Clueless, which transported Emma to Beverly Hills, has Austen been so delightedly interpreted.

07/04/2016
In Sittenfeld’s amusing modern-day retelling of Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bennet writes for a women’s magazine, Jane Bennet teaches yoga, Lydia and Kitty Bennet are CrossFit enthusiasts on paleo diets, heartthrob Chip Bingley is a reality-TV star, and Fitzwilliam Darcy is a neurosurgeon. Austen fans will recognize Liz and Darcy’s instant dislike for each other, their serial misunderstandings and sexual tension, and Jane’s quiet goodness, Bingley’s sister’s snobbishness, and Darcy’s sister’s vulnerability. Sittenfeld adeptly updates and channels Austen’s narrative voice—the book is full of smart observations on gender and money. Reader Campbell handles the large cast of characters with ease, deftly portraying different personalities with different voices, most memorably the catty Caroline Bingley, the dryly sardonic Darcy, and the flustered, melodramatic Mrs. Bennet. This audiobook is a fun addition to the growing canon of P&P-inspired fiction, perfect for summer beach listening. A Random House hardcover. (Apr.)

Even the most ardent Austenite will soon find herself seduced.”—O: The Oprah Magazine
 
“Blissful . . . [Curtis] Sittenfeld modernizes the classic in such a stylish, witty way you’d guess even Jane Austen would be pleased.”—People (book of the week)
 
“[A] sparkling, fresh contemporary retelling.”—Entertainment Weekly
 
“[Sittenfeld] is the ideal modern-day reinterpreter. Her special skill lies not just in her clear, clean writing, but in her general amusement about the world, her arch, pithy, dropped-mike observations about behavior, character and motivation. She can spot hypocrisy, cant, self-contradiction and absurdity ten miles away. She’s the one you want to leave the party with, so she can explain what really happened. . . . Not since Clueless, which transported Emma to Beverly Hills, has Austen been so delightedly interpreted. . . . Sittenfeld writes so well—her sentences are so good and her story so satisfying. . . . As a reader, let me just say: Three cheers for Curtis Sittenfeld and her astute, sharp and ebullient anthropological interest in the human condition.”—Sarah Lyall, The New York Times Book Review

“Bold and brilliant.”—Glamour

“A clever, uproarious evolution of Austen’s story.”—The Denver Post

“If there exists a more perfect pairing than Curtis Sittenfeld and Jane Austen, we dare you to find it. . . . Sittenfeld makes an already irresistible story even more beguiling and charming.”—Elle
 
“A playful, wickedly smart retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.”—BuzzFeed

“Sittenfeld is an obvious choice to re-create Jane Austen’s comedy of manners. [She] is a master at dissecting social norms to reveal the truths of human nature underneath.”—The Millions
 
“A hugely entertaining and surprisingly unpredictable book, bursting with wit and charm.”—The Irish Times

“A delightful romp for not only Austen devotees but also lovers of romantic comedies and sly satire, as well . . . Bestselling Sittenfeld plus Jane Austen? What more could mainstream fiction readers ask for?”—Booklist (starred review)
 
“Endlessly amusing . . . Her take on Austen’s iconic characters is skillful, her pacing excellent, and her dialog highly entertaining. . . . Austen fans will adore this new offering, a wonderful addition to the genre.”—Library Journal
 
“An unputdownable retelling of the beloved classic.”—PopSugar

“Sittenfeld adeptly updates and channels Austen’s narrative voice—the book is full of smart observations on gender and money. . . . A clever retelling of an old-fashioned favorite.”—Publishers Weekly
 
“The modernization of this classic story allows for a greater and more humorous range of incompetency and quirks; for example, Mrs. Bennet now has Valium and online shopping to distract her from constant anxiety. These familiar characters must deal with issues far beyond class and the all-important institution of marriage; everything from sexuality to racism to eating disorders and single parenthood factor in. And it’s all written in a giddily charming blend of nineteenth-century novel–meets–twenty-first-century casual swearing. . . . Delight in this tale for its hilarious and endearing family drama.”—Kirkus Reviews

02/15/2016
In this charming modern adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, Sittenfeld (Prep; American Wife) deftly brings Austen's classic into the 21st century. Set in 2013 Cincinnati, it features sisters Liz (a magazine editor) and Jane (a yoga instructor), who return from New York to tend to their recently hospitalized father. There they meet Dr. Chip Bingley, lately of the reality show Eligible, and Dr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. The women deal with a host of problems, such as a pair of younger sisters too obsessed with CrossFit to get actual jobs, and a mother with a shopping/hoarding problem who's desperate to see them married off before Jane hits 40. Interwoven into the Bennet family's issues is a fairly faithful adherence to the original plot. Sittenfeld's style is endlessly amusing and, at times, gut-wrenchingly painful. Her take on Austen's iconic characters is skillful, her pacing excellent, and her dialog highly entertaining. Liz, though not quite as sparkling and bright as the original, is still endearing, and Darcy is his usual slightly aloof, stand-up self. VERDICT Austen fans will adore this new offering, a wonderful addition to the genre.—Kristen Droesch, formerly with Library Journal

09/01/2016
With her latest, Sittenfeld has crafted an entertaining modern update of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, though one that at times strains credulity. Like their Regency counterparts, the 21st-century Bennets are approaching crisis—potential financial ruin as a result of Mr. Bennet's heart attack—but are blissfully oblivious. To put things right, Liz, a successful magazine writer, and Jane, a yoga teacher contemplating artificial insemination, return from New York City to the family home in Ohio. When Chip Bingley, the former star of a Bachelor-esque show and still single, enters the scene with his arrogant sister Caroline and the seemingly pompous Fitzwilliam Darcy in tow, it's clear that romance is on the horizon. While the story is compulsively readable, the pop culture references make it unwieldy at times. As always, Sittenfeld soars when it comes to portraying relationships, and teens will particularly enjoy the witty barbs that fly between Caroline and Liz. Often, however, the author's attempts to hew closely to Austen's plot result in some odd choices. Where in the original, Mrs. Bennet's desire to marry Lizzy off to the unctuous Mr. Collins stemmed from understandable motives, here, her insistence that Liz become involved with her cousin, a socially inept dotcom millionaire, is downright bizarre. Nevertheless, this is an overall breezy read that will have savvy teens laughing. VERDICT Although this work doesn't hold up under close scrutiny, it's an utterly engrossing, hilariously over-the-top send-up that will appeal to Sittenfeld fans, Janeites, and lovers of chick lit.—Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal

Austen fans and newcomers alike will enjoy this contemporary take on PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, set in Cincinnati. Narrator Cassandra Campbell’s lively narration complements Sittenfeld’s sharply observed and witty updates. She voices Darcy, now an accomplished, if snobby, neurosurgeon, in a dry and understated style, contrasting him beautifully with the often exasperated and indignant Liz, a magazine writer. Especially notable is Campbell’s handling of party scenes, in which the five Bennet sisters and assorted other characters interact in rapid-fire dialogue. To Campbell’s credit, each character remains clearly distinguishable through subtle vocal variations. Sittenfeld’s retelling is smart and funny, and Campbell’s performance highlights the novel’s many strengths. E.C. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

2016-03-17
Sittenfeld takes on the challenge of modernizing Pride and Prejudice as part of the Austen Project in her fifth novel (Sisterland, 2013, etc.). Gone are the rolling hills of the English countryside. In Sittenfeld's latest, Longbourn has been transformed into an oversized and neglected Tudor in the upscale Hyde Park neighborhood of Cincinnati. The Bennet sisters range in age from 23 to pushing 40, all unwed but certainly not inexperienced. Kitty and Lydia are politically incorrect CrossFit fanatics; Mary cares little about the crumbling state of her family's affairs as she collects online degrees; Jane is an ethereal beauty of a yoga instructor who wants very badly to become a mother; and Liz, well, Liz is a New York-based magazine writer who fixes everyone else's problems as the Bennets find themselves together again after a health scare (and Mr. Bennet casually reveals he has no health insurance, oh, and two mortgages…). The modernization of this classic story allows for a greater and more humorous range of incompetency and quirks; for example, Mrs. Bennet now has Valium and online shopping to distract her from constant anxiety. These familiar characters must deal with issues far beyond class and the all-important institution of marriage; everything from sexuality to racism to eating disorders and single parenthood factor in. And it's all written in a giddily charming blend of 19th-century novel-meets-21st-century casual swearing: Liz finds her enemy, Caroline Bingley, "looking bitchily gorgeous in an expensive frock." Oh, it's about time we get to the Bingleys and our man of the hour, pensive neurosurgeon Fitzwilliam Darcy. As the Bennets deal with financial ruin, Cincinnati welcomes a new doctor, Chip Bingley (and friends), to town; he's recently starred on the Bachelor-like reality show Eligible…which (surprise) did not end in love. In the end, it takes an exceedingly long time, with Liz busy being the "voice of reason amid a cacophony of foolishness," for Darcy to feel significant to the story. Delight in this tale for its hilarious and endearing family drama, but don't expect to get the same level of romantics and Darcy-inflicted swoon that make the original untouchable.