Book reviews: Pride and Prejudice gets a suburban Cincinnati reimagining in Eligible

Eligible

by Curtis Sittenfeld (read by Cassandra Campbell)

HarperCollins

4.5/5 stars

Cassandra Campbell has the sort of name that seems fated to narrate a Jane Austen audiobook. With Eligible she has come close. Curtis Sittenfeld is the latest contemporary novelist (and the first American) to be asked to update Austen 200 years after her works were originally published. Sittenfeld is an ideal choice: Prep, her wonderful school drama, was witty, alert to economic distinctions, romantic and sharply intelligent. Unsurprisingly, Eligible follows suit, translating the Bennets, wealthy Mr Darcy and silly Mr Collins to Cincinnati and a reality TV show that gives the update its title. It’s a light and breezy idea that works better than it has any right to. Darcy is a doctor complaining that Cincinnati is beneath him. Balls have been replaced by barbecues and charades. Elizabeth is a little older than her classic doppelganger and has a terrible boyfriend, but her family are still enjoyable trouble: an unwell father, absent sister, and nest of very silly sisters. The brisk prose and preponderance of dialogue is a joy for a good audiobook reader. Campbell, like Sittenfeld herself, doesn’t overdo it, drawling the ironic, knowing tone and having fun with rat-a-tat-tat exchanges. Mrs Bennet is infuriatingly snooty. I loved the prim Mary and the slangy Lydia. Most agreeable.

Sharp Ends

by Joe Abercrombie