Unmarriageable

Locations
Call Number: Fiction / Soniah Kamal, Adult Book / Fiction / General / Kamal, Soniah, Adult Book / Fiction / General / Soniah Kamal
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Pittsfield Branch, Traverwood Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Soniah Kamal	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Kamal, Soniah	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Soniah Kamal	4-week checkout	On Shelf

"In this retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in modern-day Pakistan, Alys Binat has sworn never to marry--until an encounter with one Mr. Darsee at a wedding makes her reconsider. A scandal and vicious rumor in the Binat family have destroyed their fortune and prospects for desirable marriages, but Alys, the second and most practical of the five Binat daughters, has found happiness teaching English literature to schoolgirls. Knowing that many of her students won't make it to graduation before dropping out to marry and start having children, Alys teaches them about Jane Austen and her other literary heroes and hopes to inspire them to dream of more. When an invitation arrives to the biggest wedding their small town has seen in years, Mrs. Binat excitedly sets to work preparing her daughters to fish for eligible--and rich--bachelors, certain that their luck is about to change. On the first night of the festivities, Alys's lovely older sister, Jena, catches the eye of one of the most eligible bachelors. But his friend Valentine Darsee is clearly unimpressed by the Binat family. Alys accidentally overhears his unflattering assessment of her, and quickly dismisses him and his snobbish ways. But as the days of lavish wedding parties unfold, the Binats wait breathlessly to see if Jena will land a proposal--and Alys begins to realize that Darsee's brusque manner may be hiding a very different man from the one she saw at first glance"-- Provided by publisher.

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Not bad submitted by zmclaugh on June 27, 2019, 10:22pm Unique setting for a retelling, but it's always weird when characters reference the story that they're stuck in and don't notice that they're following the same exact plot points.

Delightful Pakistani P&P submitted by sdunav on July 10, 2019, 9:57pm A wonderful mix of feminism, literature, and romance with great details about living in Pakistan how different Pakistani generations and circles think of marriage. I think this would be a very good (and eye-opening) book club read for many Americans.

An interesting modern take on P+P submitted by nemiller on August 10, 2022, 1:39pm If you enjoyed Pride and Prejudice, then this is the book for you!

It is not an exact retelling, but it follows the original story pretty closely, while placing it in the modern(ish) context of small-town Pakistan in the year 2000. It examines the way many double-standards haven't really gone away, they've just been updated - but it's also a fun read, with likeable but imperfect characters, who grow in satisfying and believable ways. And if you don't already know the plot from Pride and Prejudice - well, you're in for a treat!

My two complaints: Darsee is generally very friendly to Alys Binat, and it's hard to understand why she holds on to hating him so strongly and for so long just because they got off to a bad start. Also, Alys LOVES Pride and Prejudice, and she and her friend Sherry (aka Charlotte Lucas) even compare themselves to their counterparts in the original book - but somehow she doesn't see the twists and turns coming in her own life.

Stick with it, though, and it pays off. It's satisfying to read the parts where the plot branches off a bit, and we hear points of view that we don't get as much of in Austen's book. I especially love the epilogue, seeing the different directions each sister, and other characters, end up going.