I really enjoyed this book. Admittedly, it's been quite a while since I read P&P, but this version seems very true to the original to me. The switch to a modern Pakistani setting added a fresh vibe, as did the addition of more modern social issues, and oh my goodness, the food porn! This book made me so hungry! I really want to have the Pakistani wedding guest experience now! Also, lots of book references, my TBR grew while reading this. I will say, the pacing slowed a bit at times, but I wouldn't say it dragged. The characters all felt like real people, and so could be properly annoying at times- I liked Alys, but there were a few times I wanted to smack her. The back-and-forth between Alys and Darsee was fun and satisfying, and Mrs. Binat was just nuts with her machinations. Oh, and very meta, having Alys be an English lit teacher teaching P&P to her students, though it bugged me that she never noticed she was living it!

I'm a total sucker for anything Pride and Prejudice, so you can imagine that I was quite excited when this came out! I absolutely loved it!

I enjoyed this Pride & Prejudice retelling with a wonderful twist of characters and setting. with the setting being Pakistan of today. I thought there were some pacing issues with this book but all-in-all, I think it worked overall and was a refreshing version of the story.

I would recommend this to lovers of P&P, retellings and adding diversity to traditional English literature.

#Unmarriageable #NetGalley

Pride and Prejudice lovers rejoice. When I opened up the pages (or my kindle app) of Unmarriageable I was immediately hooked. I was in a classroom, being taught an important lesson that I wish I would have had when I was younger. The parries going back and forth between the teacher and her pupils were a delight to read and it set the tone for the novel. We meet Alys Binat, a teacher in Pakistan. I don't want to say that this character is simply a reincarnation of Elizabeth Bennet, this novel is a modern adaptation of course but it's so much more than that. For readers everywhere, it's giving us an insight into the lives of Pakistani women, their struggles, their joys, their doubts, and their fears. I adored this adaptation, it was wonderfully crafted and the prose that we follow was amazing. Definitely a must-read! Just look at the quote below.

"Ever since I could remember, I'd been engaging in literary transference/transplantation/translation from one culture to another. Growing up on English literature, I taught myself to see my daily reality reflected in my reading material, while plumbing its universal truths in search of particulars... In reading English literature with a Pakistani lense, it seemed to me that all cultures were concerned with the same eternal questions and that people were more similar to one another than they were different."

How can bibliophiles not want to run to read this book. Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the free e-ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This was not for me. After several attempts I didn’t get very far in my reading. I couldn’t seem to relate to any of the characters and it did not engage me.

Just finished this and really liked it. Reminiscent of a Jane Austen novel, the story centers on the five daughters of the Binat household in Pakistan. Their father, once a wealthy man, has lost his fortune to his crooked brother and sister-in-law, and the family is forced to move to a less fashionable area and make do with substantially less money to live on. The two oldest daughters, Alys and Jena, teach English at the local private school, as a way of bringing in more cash. The mother, Mrs. Binat, is very concerned about her daughters making good marriages. She is very dramatic, traditional and scheming in her attempts to help things along. A very entertaining and interesting read. Highly recommend.

The book was quite sweet yet a bit hard to get into at times. Take your time reading and I am sure you will find it enjoyable!

Well-written, good characterization, and some unique adaptations to the P&P story that I enjoyed. The modern-day Pakistan setting was interesting, since I confess I know almost nothing about Pakistan. The cultural nuances were fun to read. I did enjoy the main character and her opinions on the problems with the marriage-obsessed culture she lives in.
The problem is that any adaptation ends up being very predictable and that predictable-ness can sometimes be a bit boring. I found myself somewhat bored around the middle when the original story is also, admittedly, a little slow. So, overall, I enjoyed it, but I wasn't exactly glued to my eReader.

Unmarriageable is a highly entertaining read that will make you laugh out loud at times at the frivolities of superficial Pakistani society life and yet also draws one into thinking about the darker aspects of being an unmarried woman in that society and the expectations we force on women in general . The first half of the book is much better because it was so original in how it develops the setting and characters as related to Pakistan .

Jane Austen has to be the author whose books have been retold or sequelled than any other's. Maybe Shakespeare. And of Austen's books Pride and Prejudice has been done in more ways and extended than any other. I have read many of these loving tributes to her and Unmarriageable has to be my favorite. It stays very true to the original and isn't just a Pride and Prejudice like book. But what I think is the greatest thing about this retelling is that the story fits so perfectly into Pakistani culture from 2001. Each of the original characters has an almost perfect counterpart in this story and they it beautifully. I think the only character that is vastly different is Farhat Kaleen (Mr Collins). This version is the one that you want Sherry (Charlotte) to end up with.

One of the interesting changes in this version is that Jena and Alys (Jane & Lizzie) is that they are 33 and 31 years old, making them older than their love interests. Now that seemed a little unbelievable but that might not have been uncommon in Pakistan. Since the characters are much older (while leaving the other three girls closer to their original ages) the women have careers. They are teachers and pride themselves on being able to make a living on their own. It is a nice added 21st century nod to women's empowerment that you felt Jane Austen doing in the original.

I would recommend that any reader of fiction pick this one up (even if you have never read the original). The strong characters just make you feel good and like the characters they are an homage too, they make you wish for this story to have been real.

I have to make a confession to begin this review. I have never read Pride and Prejudice.
However, being part of the book community and catching snipets of different cinematic versions of this story, I understand the gist of the story.
That said, I ADORED this book so much. This retelling is set in Pakistan and I loved comparing and contrasting the cultures. In so many ways family dynamics are exactly the same across cultures. But of course there are plenty of differences as well. I loved Alys' character and I can definitely see myself returning to this book again as a lovely comforting read.
Thank you so much to the publisher for allowing me to review this book!

What a refreshingly different take on Pride and Prejudice! I loved the modern feminist tone and am recommending this to everyone I know.

This retelling of Pride and Prejudice made me so happy. I loved that the story was set in Pakistan. I really enjoyed this fresh take on a classic.

I thought the characters were well developed and enjoyable. The book did follow the original a little closely but I could get past that.

I loved this line, "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a girl can go from pauper to princess or princess to pauper in the mere seconds it takes for her to accept a proposal."

“I’ll never be lonely,” Alys gave a satisfied sigh – “because I’ll always have books.”
2.5, then 3, then 4 stars. It took me a while to get into the Pakistan culture where marriage and social status are incredibly important. I liked Alys from the start, but her family was a piece of work – and then there’s the much larger extended family with even more mean-spiritedness. Part One bogged down with too much dialog and petty fighting between the sisters and mom.
While adding authenticity, the abundant Pakistani words were distracting and sometimes difficult to understand from context. (perhaps a little glossary at the back for those who are too lazy to look up foreign words, but still like learning?)
I’m sure some subtle references from Jane Austen’s books went over my head, as it’s been over 40 years since I read some of them. I began to enjoy the characters more about a third of the way in – and soon I had to keep reading to find out what would happen. All the breaks and quotations with extensive dialogs continued to slow the book down. I know it was supposed to be funny and ironic, but the characters’ selfishness and elitism turned me off – a lot.
Alys is a strong, feisty woman who doesn’t follow the Pakistani social norms. She asks, “Have you any idea what it feels like to want to be liked for your brains and instead be coveted for your body?” Her companion responds how alike they are in a lovely way. “We like reading …. We know how to plant roots where there are none. We know that friends can be made anywhere and everywhere, regardless of race or religion. We know how to uproot. We know how to move on from memories, or at least not let memories bury us.”
One can easily guess the outcome of a book titled, “Unmarriageable.” While Kamal points out and pokes fun at the double standards between men and women in Pakistan and mocks the rich elitism, sometimes we just read, because we know (hope?) there will be a “love”ly ending. “I love you and I’m madly in like with you too.”
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for granting access to an arc of this book for an honest review.

Unmarriageable is a modern Pride and Prejudice adaptation set in Pakistan in the years 2000-2001. As a confirmed and unabashed Janeite, I was excited to see Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy transformed into Alys Binat and Valentine Darsee. Kamal does an excellent job adapting nineteenth century England into Pakistani society while also playfully throwing in references to the original. Alys is an English teacher at a local school, where she is trying to help young women see that marriage is not the only thing women should desire out of life. Being unfamiliar with Pakistani society, I was drawn into the parallels between the two worlds and could not put the book down. Personally, I think this P&P adaptation sets a high bar for all others. It is outstanding and I highly recommend it. I hope this isn't the last adaptation Kamal writes- I'll be first in line for any she writes in the future.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year because it was a retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in a Middle Eastern which was pretty rare. However, as interesting as the premise was, the story was not well-executed. The writing suffered from telling and not showing. The writing was also very repetitive. The story tended to drag and the romance between Alys and Darcee was undeveloped. The ending was very rushed and should have been a bit longer to tie the story up nicely. Still, this was not a bad novel, but it could have been better. I recommend this for those who are like me that reads everything Jane Austen. However, there are better contemporary retellings out there like Eligible and Bridget Jones’ Diary.

If you know the story of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, you know the basic outline of what happens in Unmarriageable. The remarkable thing is how well this 200-year-old story has been adapted to the setting of modern-day Pakistan. Brava, Ms. Kamal!

Details have changed, of course, such as Alys Binat being a decade older than her namesake, Elizabeth Bennet, and employed as a teacher of English literature at a girls' school where the students frequently drop out to get married. However, nearly all of the changes enhanced and enriched the story. Some of my favorites include how Darsee's cousin Annie actually gets to speak and display a real personality, Darsee's other cousin being gay, Sherry actually being happy married to Farhat Khaleen & raising his children, a deeper understanding of Pinkie Binat and her obsession with her daughters marrying well, and all the lush cultural details about food & wedding customs, etc. The story of Wickaam's treatment of Darsee's sister is another example, although sharing about that here would necessitate a spoiler alert.

One change I did NOT like, however, was the inclusion of smoking as Sherry & Alys' secret rebellion. I get that the characters might feel the desire to rebel against the restrictions of their gender and financial circumstances/social class. But smoking is a moronic choice. First of all, it's impractical to the point of impossibility--I don't care how many sticks of gum you chew or air freshener you spray, there is NO way to disguise the pervasive stench of cigarette smoke, even if you light up in a cemetery or out a window of a particular room in a large house. Smokers always stink, no matter how much they may delude themselves otherwise. Second of all, Sherry was so conscious of her impossibly tight budget, it seemed entirely unrealistic that she'd choose an expensive vice that would deprive her family of desperately needed financial resources. True, millions of people do this very thing, but it's not consistent with Sherry's character.

I actually read this a couple of months ago but didn't have a chance to write my review at that time. (Sorry, NetGalley & Random House - Ballantine! Thanks for the free ARC ebook anyway!)

For readers' advisors: character and setting doorways are very strong. Surprisingly for a retelling of such a famous book, story doorway is actually quite strong as well. There are a handful of swear words, some sexual innuendo, and no violence. Setting is, as mentioned above, modern-day Pakistan (early 2000s, I think?).

I really enjoyed many aspects of this book. The retelling was clever and a great introduction to the rich culture in Pakistan. I had one complaint and that was that despite the narrative being pretty self-aware the main character still ended up making the same mistakes that Elizabeth Bennet does, but without any sense of irony. A character as highly educated and well read as Alys not seeing the parallels between her own story and that of Austen's characters seems unlikely. Pride and Prejudice is quoted so frequently by the main character that it is surprising she does not notice the similarities between her life and the novel she teaches/holds so dear. That being said, this was a delightful interpretation of Austen's beloved story that drew very real comparisons between the customs and social traditions of Britain's Georgian Era and present-day Pakistan.

Unmarriageable follow Alys Binat, the second oldest of five Binat girls through the trials and tribulations of modern-day marriage in Pakistan. The book is a re-telling of Pride and Prejudice, and I found it really appealing how the author was able to stay pretty close to the original plot and themes of Pride and Prejudice while weaving in cultural aspects of Pakistani marriage. I found it really interesting to learn so much about the Pakistani culture for girls relatively the same age as me, and even though I knew basically where the plot was headed because I've read pride and prejudice I found myself constantly guessing where the author would go next because I never could tell. Overall I thought the book was wonderful and would recommend to any fan of modern day re-tellings and original fans of Pride and Prejudice.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

What would happen if you moved Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice to 21st century Pakistan? You would get Soniah Kamal's Unmarriageable. Reading Unmarriageable is not about the story. If you've read Pride and Prejudice, you already know the story - a man and a woman from different classes meet and thanks to their ingrained prejudices, take an instant dislike to each other, a dislike she maintains as he falls grudgingly in love with her. For me, the joy of reading Kamal's interpretation was in learning about Pakistani culture about which I'll admit I was totally ignorant. Chick-Lit, which is what this novel and its Austen ancestor is, often gets a bad wrap but, while it is important to learn about the history and the hardships around the world, I think it is equally important to learn about the ordinary, everyday lives that show us not only the cultural differences but how we are alike and Chick-Lit whether it is set in the US, the UK or Pakistan, does that. Unmarriageable is not a particularly great adaptation of Pride and Prejudice - Alys is no Elizabeth Bennett, Mrs. Binat is even more annoying than Mrs. Bennett, some of the dialogue is just awkward, and the writing tends to be repetitive.