Berls
Written on Jun 11, 2021
I have read so many Pride and Prejudice (P&P) retellings, spin offs, and the like over the years because it is my ALL TIME favorite book and I have a slight addiction. And I’ve read books that pretty much replicate the story to the T and leave me feeling something was missing. Then I pick up this book, which has really made a HUGE number of changes from the story and yet, I walk away with almost the EXACT same feeling of the original. My heart was warmed, I cried, and got giddy at pretty much the same corresponding moments as in Pride and Prejudice.
It took me a bit to appreciate the gem I was reading though, because of all the changes. In fact, I think you have to know the original story SUPER well to see the overlap. I think the most significant change is that Darcy (DJ), although named for the P&P hero is actually in the role of the heroine Elizabeth Bennett, for the most part. Meanwhile, Dr. Trisha Raje takes on the role of the original’s hero – Darcy. I recognized that difference pretty quickly and was fine with it. But then the difference became more and more striking. The families are quite different in structure and relationships, plenty of characters are completely missing (and plenty others are added). And of course it’s been put in a modern setting, not to mention the racial differences (which are actually a brilliant part of this book IMO). So for a little bit, I got caught up in the differences and wondered how the author was going to pull off some of my favorite moments. Would she have to bypass them completely because of the liberties she had taken? I should have trusted her.
I think it was right about the time we are introduced to Julia Wickham that I realized I was hooked, regardless of the changes. At that point I realized that Sonali Dev had captured the essence of Mr. Darcy (Trisha) and Lizzy (DJ) perfectly. In fact, I felt like it was TREAT to be able to experience these events from the POV from Mr. Darcy/Trisha. The seemingly unforgivable hubris that melts away as you see Mr. Darcy/Trisha in a new light, you get to understand from the beginning because of being in Trisha’s mind. And yet, we still also get to see why Lizzy/DJ saw it as so awful, because we’re also getting DJ’s point of view. Some of my favorite moments from the original story – the awful proposal, the saving of the family from Wickham, the visit of Lady Catherine De Burg, the engagement walk – found a new modern translation in this book. And despite being different, they left me with very similar feelings. But, as a bonus, because of getting the story from Trisha (aka Mr. Darcy)’s perspective, I was able to experience some new feelings as well.
As I mentioned, one of the brilliant things this book did was highlight a diverse racial perspective – the Raje family are Indian immigrants, DJ and his sister are mixed Indian and Rwandan immigrants. They’re experiences are very different – the Raje family are wealthy and privileged, DJ and his sister have experienced poverty and homelessness. Through these varied lens racial inequality as well as wealth disparity in America added a surprising and wonderful depth to my beloved story. It’s both an undercurrent and front a center, depending on the moment of the book. There’s also some unexpected side stories that hit me in the emotional sweet spot that I don’t want to spoil, but again, added depth.
I’m really glad I chose to listen, not just because this is a long book and I’m a slow reader (but fast listener) but also because Soneela Nankani’s narration was fantastic. I’m pretty sure I would have utterly failed at bringing the full depth of diversity to life in my head the way she did with her voices and for that, I am especially grateful. This was my first time listening to her narration, but I hope to listen to more from her.
