Pride and Prejudice is another classic, albeit of a different style than Ulysses or Du côté de chez Swann.

Let’s start with the obvious: I’m not a romance fan, and Pride and Prejudice wasn’t going to change that.

It’s also lacking a certain something, and part of me can’t help but think it’s considered a classic by virtue of having been the fashionable novel at some point in time.

I mean, it’s well-written and I can absolutely see why it’s going to hook anyone wishing to fantasize about the Regency period. I also understand why it’s such great adaptation fodder.

But it’s just not on the level of Proust. It’s nowhere near. If I had to fit Pride and Prejudice in modern book categories, it’d fall squarely in the “commercial fiction” bracket. Maybe, on a good day, it’d be considered upmarket commercial.

That doesn’t mean it’s a bad book. It’s just not something I’d necessarily recommend as part of a “become a good writer” reading list, except for someone wanting to write Regency romance.

(As a pure entertainment vehicle, however, I imagine that it’s a great read for anyone who likes romance. )

But that’s enough Austen for me for the next few years, I think.