Mr. Darcy's Decision is a sequel to Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice. It follows the couple from the wedding through their first year.
Summary from the back of the book:
"...While the sharp-tongued duo of Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Caroline Bingly criticizes Elizabeth, the new Mrs. Darcy has a happier matter on her mind - the fact that she is carrying the next Darcy heir. But when the sudden and unexpected return of Elizabeth's sister Lydia brings alarming reports of seduction and blackmail that threaten the newlywed's life together, Mr. Darcy is forced to make the most difficult decision of his lifetime..."
This book had the potential of being great. However, there are plot and character problems that keep it from even being good. (I should point out that it is liked enough to be available in Kindle version and has gotten 4.5 stars out of 5 by a collected 52 reviewers at Amazon.com.) I've never written a book - so I feel badly pointing fingers and saying a fellow Jane Austen enthusiast missed the mark. And yet, here I go...
Language: B-
Plot: D
Characterization: C
Revisit vs. Rehash: A
Hooked: C+
Nit picky things: B
Wonderful moments: A+
Originality: A
Language: It isn't so much the language, but the writing style that drew
me in. Long flowing sentences full of imagery and information really made the book delightful to read initially. However, I would read about 7 pages and then put it down. I was always happy to pick it back up again. But I found until I got to Ch. 7, I really didn't just settle down comfortably into the story. At Ch. 7, the dialog picks up dramatically. The problem: those long, flowing sentences are exhausting to read after a while. Plenty of other P&P follow up writes use them, but they break them up with shorter sentences. Shorter sentences are easy to read. It reminded me of reading Shakespeare. I love it but it is
exhausting for me to read a lot in one
sitting. It feels more like work than pleasure reading. And I, as it turns out,
can be a lazy reader at times. But mostly, with 3 kids, I am a distracted reader.
(Hey Typepad...what is with the weird spacing here? I look like a distracted typist now.)
However, I will say, her writing is worth the effort. I have line after line of witty dialog underlined because it made me smile when I read it. I often wished I had someone else in the room reading it too so I could laugh and share the humor with them. (Being the lone female in a house of 4 guys...yeah, I'm reading these books solo.)
B-
Characterization: It starts off well enough. I felt like Darcy and Elizabeth were
recognizable. Darcy makes 2 decisions that are really out of character with the Darcy I know from Pride and Prejudice, any of the movies or any of the other follow up books I have read. I have read and bought into some ideas about Darcy that diverge greatly from Jane Austen's original work. However, each time the author has left me breadcrumbs to follow to get from point A (Austen) to point B (the follow up writer). I didn't get those breadcrumbs. There was explanation - but very little and after the fact.
Mr and Mrs. Bennet, Caroline Bingly and Lady Catherine de Bourgh are all wonderfully portrayed. It felt like the actors from the BBC/A&E 1995 Pride and Prejudice movie were speaking the lines.
C
Plot: First, the good part: Shapiro gives the plot a twist involving Wickham that I have
only seen in Lost In Austen, the mini series. It is clever and interesting.
Now the bad (which it is hard to be specific without ruining to book):
1. A big relationship issue is reversed. I can buy that. EXCEPT the reader doesn't get to experience it. The reader hears about the conflict and resolution as told after the fact in a few paragraphs from one character to another. It would be hard enough to stomach this change if we got to live through it with the characters involved. But to not experience it means instead of being led from point A to point B, I go from point A to point unicorn.
2. With 60 pages left (out of 206), it felt as if Shapiro was rushing to neatly tie up every story line with a cute bow. People fall into love and marriage quickly. You can see it coming because if there is an unmarried male and unmarried female in the same room, they are in love by the end of the paragraph. Ok, that might be a bit of hyperbole. Two paragraphs:) Other story lines and people find quick and unbelievable resolutions. Once again, I was reminded of Shakespeare, at then end of a comedy where every mistake and relationship is set right within a few scenes. I like that in Shakespeare. But this wasn't a Shakespearean comedy.
3. The Gardeners live at Pemberley. You learn this on p.6, so I think it is ok to tell you. Does that seem normal for people who's livelihood is tied to London? I think one of the things most follow up books have in common is that Elizabeth and Darcy value their privacy.
D
Rehash or revisit: Any mention of the original events and conversations in Pride and Prejudice were done in small doses and spread throughout the book. A very nice revisit.
A
I was hooked by: Not until Chapter 7. I read the book 5 months ago and then again last week. I had the same mark on Ch. 7 as the place where I started looking forward to reading each evening. (That was 44 pages into the book.)
C+
Nit picky things: I didn't like how she left the story with Elizabeth and Darcy. I know this is nit picky... but I just didn't care for the final lines about them at all. I think it was intended to be a version of "they lived happily ever after," but it didn't feel like that to me.
B
Wonderful little moments: There is line after line after line in this book that I highlighted because I felt is was written with such wit and imagery. All the wonderful little moments added up made this book have so much potential!
A+
Originality: Whether I liked it or not, there was originality. The new lines Shapiro
created for Mrs. Bennet were fantastic.
A
If this book were a movie - I think it would be rated (a mild) PG 13 due to references to marital passion.
All of the wonderful moments and the great potential with the minor characters couldn't overcome the problems in the plot and with Darcy's character. Perhaps about 40 more pages could have explained things better. But as a reader, I felt like I was riding a Tilt A Whirl with some jarring directional changes. Do I recommend this book? No. There are far better follow ups out there. Would I read something else written by Juliette Shapiro, totally. She has a clear ability to transport a reader through her writing. And, if you buy into the star rating system over at Amazon.com, a lot of people like her plot just fine.
