I couldn't decide if I wanted to read this book or not, and then it landed in my lap, and that seemed pretty decisive, right there. The fates were looking up. It had been a drab and dreary sort of month, after all. What better way to transition out of that?! And yet, the stakes were high. After all, 'Pride and Prejudice' is one book that I read pretty much every year for a solid span of some 7 to 10 years. Laugh if you must, but everyone has a book or two like that -- and that was one of mine. Oh! Mr Darcy, prolonged sigh... I watched some iffy movies just to see if they did justice to you. (Colin Firth, take a bow! 'Bride and Prejudice', gag!)
So, as you can see this was a pretty loaded proposition. It's with some trepidation that I picked Death up, and I was transported immediately. PD James is masterful in her craft, and she takes you right back to the 19th century, right back to the Bennett-Darcy mix. And yet. Some of that magic is gone.
Surely it's not me that's changed. It can't be, right? It's that world. But ruefully, I had to conclude that Elizabeth's unending mental commentary and Darcy's taciturn nature weren't quite what they used to be. They're downright self-indulgent! And more than a little dated, dare I say it? Unidimensional. (Wait, who says things like that, they're part of your childhood, your adolescence, I admonished myself. To no avail!)
I think James has done a great job, don't get me wrong! She is incredibly descriptive. I felt like I was at Pemberley, and didn't have to make much of an effort to picture the surroundings, given her writing. It's just that no one told me they'd get all dull in middle age.
Shocking, I say, given that there is a murder after all, and considerable intrigue, and that wicked Wickham is back on the scene, not to mention the hysterical Lydia. I suppose the only person who's not lost his charm is Mr Bennett. That's mainly because, true to character, he stays out of the spotlight. Jane and Mr Bingley are just like they were, only more so. Ditto for Georgiana, though she's a trifle more chatty than we remember - and all grown up too, she's got two pretty heavy-duty suitors. I like one of them too, Mr Alveston is a pleasant enough character.
They're all wonderful, really. It's not their fault that as a reader, I forsook them some years ago, content to keep them stuck in the only circumstances that made sense, in an eternal loop - re-reading them as Ms Austen saw them, at the turning-point of their lives.
The story does pick up though, and is a good enough read. James is eloquent, it's not her fault at all, that much before death came to Pemberley, this reader left. Though the curiosity's still there - and for all P&P fans, I'm sure it will remain. It's just that past middle age, and a couple of kids down, all things considered, there's not all that much left to say, once pride's conquered prejudice, is there?
Here's hoping you disagree, that it's just me then! Let us know right here!
Book: Death Comes to Pemberley; Author: PD James; Publisher: Penguin India; Price: Rs 499
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