[This is Day 22 of #Booktober! Stay tuned for more recommendations!]
What It Is: A 19th-century British drawing-room comedy about upper-class society in which good manners and a good marriage are the ultimate goal of a young woman’s life.
Why You Should Read It: The story of the Bennett sisters and their various loves and heartaches is the most popular of Austen’s books these days, and for good reason. There is something recognizably human in all of these characters, so much that they’re not simply abstract figures on the page but feel authentic and familiar. Jane Austen is a skilled wordsmith, and her use of language is impeccable–the dialogue pops throughout the book. But the reason you should read the book instead of settling for the handful of (admittedly very good) film adaptations is that the narration and commentary throughout the novel are bathed in Austen’s sardonic wit and low-key sarcasm. You miss a lot of this when you watch a film version. This book is a lot funnier than I expected it to be when I first started reading it. Even if you don’t think this type of fiction is your “thing” (and ESPECIALLY if you find yourself disinterested because you consider it a “girl book”), you should definitely check it out.
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