This was such a fun book for any fan of Pride and Prejudice. The setting in Pakistan was great for bringing out the themes in Jane Austen. It was also a great way to learn a bit more about the country and it´s customs. Overall, this was a great page-turning book that felt juicy and fun. It was also fun picking out the similarities to the original. I would definitely recommend this book.

I love Pride and Prejudice so I was looking forward to a re-imagining with a cultural twist. Of course it stayed pretty true to the P&P frame work but had some character twists. The main thing I loved was that it is set in Pakistan and gives the reader insight into the culture. Alys (Elizabeth) is delightfully feminist and tries to encourage her students see there is an alternative life out there for women that doesn't require giving up their lives for men. One thing I didn't love was that the book opened up with a conversation about P&P itself. I was turned off by how meta it was.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book! I know there will be purists out there who will criticize this book, comparing it to Pride and Prejudice, pulling it apart piece by piece in an effort to demonstrate their own sage comparisons to a classic work of literature. I don't care. It's fun!

I loved the depictions of the Binat (Bennett) family, including Jena, Alys, Qitty, Mari, and Lady (Jane, Elizabeth, Kitty, May, & Lydia), and all of the others. The banter was quite amusing. I thought it was a clever reimagining of the original in Pakistan, where apparently, things are not so different now from the way they were during the time depicted in Jane Austen's novels. I feel like I learned a lot about life in Pakistan, which I'm going to take as truth because of the author’s background. I realize this was a work of fiction, but nevertheless, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”

I loved the intro to the novel where Alys asks her students to update the quote above (from Austen). There were several times I highlighted observations made because of their universality, and it's impossible to choose just one to share, but I'll share the two I liked best (at least for today): “Easier to commemorate history when you've been the colonizer and not the colonized,” and “Internal misogyny has made a mockery of female solidarity.”

For me, regarding this novel as a reimagining of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice imbued it with a richness rooted in history. Had I read it as a completely original novel based on an original idea, I would have enjoyed it just as much. I highly recommend this book and I think it can be enjoyed by just about anyone.

Unmarriageable’s premise and opening chapters were immediately promising. Kamal had converted Austen’s Pride and Prejudice characters into clever doppelgangers of her Regency equivalents: the Bennet family became the Binats with sisters Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia becoming Jenazba, Alysba, Marizba, Qittyara, and Lady respectively. After being introduced to the Bennet family, whose financial and social position had fallen subsequent to a scandal that destroyed their fortune, the anticipation of meeting Mr. Darcy, now transformed into Mr. Darsee (snort), was quenched by the modern interpretation exhibiting all of the noble mien of the original—rich, proud, and dishy. ZING!

Living in reduced circumstances, the two eldest Binat sisters are employed as teachers at the British School of Dilipabad, a backwater town in Pakistan. Thirty-year-old Alys enjoys using English literature to expand her ninth-grade female students minds into thinking that they might have a life beyond marriage and children. She is determined never to marry; a puzzling concept to her students who openly express their disbelief and concern for her future. Her mother Pinkie is even more vexed. Alys is one of her five unmarried daughters with no prospect of finding eligible husbands. Her father Barkat deals with the devastating loss of his fortune and the pressures from his wife by spending time in his garden.

Mrs. Binat is certain that their bad luck has turned the corner when the family receives an invitation to the most prestigious wedding that their town has seen in many years. She is determined that her daughters will find marriageable husbands during the festivities, while Mr. Binat only sees a huge bill for the clothes and jewelry she requires. When Jena, Alys’s beautiful older sister, attracts the deep attention of Fahad “Bungles” Bingla, a wealthy entrepreneur, Mrs. Binat is in raptures. Alys’s happiness for her sister is soon offset by her beau’s best friend Valentine Darsee who soon expresses his displeasure with the Binat family. After Alys accidentally overhears him make unflattering remarks about her she is quick to condemn him and his snobbish ways. As the family’s hopes run high for a proposal by Bingla for Jena’s hand, Alys’s dislike for his friend Darsee grows deeper until she realizes that he may not be the insufferable man that she first believed him to be.

This energetic and colorful update faithfully follows Austen’s plot to the very end. Readers will be amazed at how easily Pakistani culture fits into those of Austen’s Regency times of two hundred years ago. I enjoyed learning about the food, clothing—and especially the wedding, that went on for days. No wonder Mr. Binat is terrified of the expense of marrying off his five daughters!

Austen is renowned for her sparkling language, unique characterizations, and social reproof. A daunting task for any author to match, yet Kamal does a superb job with the dialogue, sharply delivered by memorable characters who strongly resonate Austen’s originals with a modern twist. Her scenes with the bickering young Binat sisters and between Alys and Darsee really snap, and her spiky dry humor shines throughout. The only fault with this novel is that Austen readers may want to jump to the intense and heated sections in the story, ie the multiple marriage proposals, Alys’s arrival at Darsee’s estate and the showdown between Beena dey Bagh (Lady Catherine de Bourgh) and Alys. Please resist the temptation. Don’t cheat yourself out of the pleasure of reading every single word of this delightful novel.

As an ardent Jane Austen fan, I am thrilled to recommend this witty, razor sharp view of Pakistani culture paralleling Jane Austen’s Regency era mores. Unmarriageable is the modern Pride and Prejudice retelling of my dreams.

Laurel Ann, Austenprose

Unmarriageable is a delightful book—one of the best retellings of Austen I’ve ever read, but also one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read in a long time. I didn’t want to put it down, and powered through most of it in a single snowy weekend. It is everything good about Pride and Prejudice, aside from the British setting, which has been replaced by a vibrant and fascinating Pakistani setting.
The characters are true to the original stories, in names as well as character, in ways that seem to make perfect sense in Pakistan in 2001. Alys Binat/ Eliza Bennett is a fiery and opinionated, well-educated feminist who is seeking the best for everyone around her. She gets a little preachy at times, but it didn’t seem out of character. Jena/ Jane is sweet and kind, although this version gives her a little more backbone than the original, which I appreciated. Valentine Darsee/ Fitzwilliam Darcy has the same haughty initial demeanor as the original, but with extra layers of feminism and international awareness and a love of literature that added to his charm. Bungles/ Bingley is a bit bland, but no more so than the original.
The unlikable/ awkward characters from the original are just as bad, if not worse, in this version. I didn’t think Mrs. Binat/ Bennett could be worse, but she is in this story. Same with Lady/ Lydia, who is dreadfully selfish and impulsive and careless of others, even cruel. Lady and her mother are very similar in this story, and are all the more unappealing for it. Mr. Binat/ Bennett comes across much weaker and more selfish than the original—it is easier to despise him this time, no matter how much he loved his daughters and had tried to empower them initially. Lady de Bourgh’s character (can’t remember her name in this book) has even less to recommend her than the original. The only character I didn’t find more repulsive than the original was Kaleen/ Mr. Collins. He’s mostly a tolerable fool, and his devotion to Sherry is rather sweet. I like the twist of him being a widower with children too. It makes sense.
Then there are the more neutral supporting characters—Sherry especially. Sherry/ Charlotte is so much more developed in this version, and with it we get rather an ugly duckling story for her. It’s sweet in its own way. Mari/Mary is given motivation for being such a religious zealot—yes, she’s still very annoying in this version. It just makes more sense. Qitty/Kitty gets more attention too, since the author made her plus-sized and an artist. Her body size is a recurring theme amongst the other characters, and I was honestly uncomfortable with the way many of the other characters, especially Lady and Mrs. Binat, talked to and about her. It was my least favorite part of this story, despite a twist in the epilogue that redeems the storyline a bit.
This book feels longer than the original Pride and Prejudice, and I think it has something to do with how much extra information is included. The author constantly describes the setting--location, food, clothing, clothing, food, location, history, lists of things, things, things, etc.). Normally I’d find this much exposition, especially descriptions, annoying and more distracting than I did. Here it flowed surprisingly well. The author also describes the characters. All the characters. Every character that crosses these pages seems to have a back story and personality. We see snippets from the maid’s perspective, and we know facts about every child in every family we encounter. Each adult in the extended family has a backstory we’re told. And there are more family members for everyone than mentioned in the original novel (ex: Bungle’s parents, Mr. Binat’s brother and sister-in-law, etc.). There is even a recurring principal character, with her two daughters, that I simply cannot recognize as characters from the original story.
I didn’t want to stop reading this bright and sparkling book (literally sparkling. The women wear a LOT of jewelry as a matter of course.). I loved the characters I should, hated the ones I should, and was mesmerized by them and their world. I look forward to reading future books by Soniah Kamal—but for now I’ll have to be content with recommending this title to everyone I know. Do yourself a favor and read it as soon as you can.
Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read this book early and free.

Fascinating rework of Austen's Pride and Prejudice set in Pakistan at the turn of the 21st century. I was initially concerned my lack of familiarity with Pakistani culture would prevent me from connecting to the characters and story, but I consistently felt absorbed into the book and never felt left behind because of said ignorance. Once again, the themes of family, love, women's rights, and societal expectations span centuries and continents.

Like Austen, Kamal's work is replete with sharp humor, as well as insightful critique of cultural norms and parlor politics. I feel like my understanding and appreciation for Austen's tome has been expanded by Kamal's retelling and I look forward to rereading them both!

{#partner @randomhouse, #ballantinebooks, and @netgalley - Thank you for the free digital copy to review. All opinions are my own.}
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Let me start by saying that I’ve never read Pride & Prejudice, so I can’t tell you how closely this retelling follows the original or not (though, from the reviews I’ve read so far, it does). I was drawn to this book because, a few years back, I’d read Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld (which I thoroughly enjoyed) which is also a modern retelling of Pride & Prejudice.
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Unmarriagble, the latest P&P retelling to date, was enjoyable. I liked getting an inside look into Pakastani culture, I liked the characters (and even vehemently disliked a few, which keeps things fun!), and I thought the emphasis on class importance between the two societies paralled quite well. A few the characters were strong, empowered, and independent females (somewhat frowned upon in the Pakastani culture) which I greatly appreciated. I also found the men that could handle a woman with thoughts and ambitions of her own without feeling threatened refreshing.
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If you’re like me and the thought of reading #classics sounds kind of boring (**gasp! I know!!**), then I think you’d enjoy this book. I certainly know I’d rather gain my insights to classic literature through these more-relevant-to-modern-times novels than through the original books themselves. (However, I will also acknowledge that I haven’t given the classics a try, and if I would, I might change my mind on this matter. For now, this is where I’m at on the subject ;))
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As mentioned above, I read Eligible and really enjoyed it as well. What are some other book suggestions that fall under the modern-day retelling (P&P related, or not) that you enjoyed? Drop me a comment!

Yet another retelling of Pride and Prejudice. This time the setting is Pakistan and the time frame is more current. Despite the great descriptions of Pakistani culture and nuptial events, I found this book a little too derivative of the original version. The names and characters were too easily matched to the original story and the events were way too predictable. I’ll take the original Jane Austen version any day.

Confession:

Of most of all the classic books, I have never read Pride and Prejudice. Don't shoot me! At the time, I wasn't really into romance. Believe me; I've learned a lot of classic books. Pride and Prejudice wasn't one of them.

Good news:

I will purchase and read Pride and Prejudice soon!



With that being said, you all can stop yelling or gasping or gaping at me!



Unmarriageable supposedly is a unique retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in Pakistan. I don't know how closely it followed the original story. I'll have to wait until I read that dang book to differentiate both of them.



I truly enjoyed this version. I love seeing the Pakistan culture. The sisters made me laugh and love the sarcasm. It is full of humor and entertaining. It kept me interested until I finished the book.

I am going to leave this here for now until I finish the actual Pride and Prejudice to review more on Unmarriageable.

I'd give the book a low four stars for the moment.



I received this humorous ARC from Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine Books through Net Galley for my honest and unbiased book. Thank you!

"At the wedding, you talked of a Pakistani Jane Austen. But will we ever hear the English or Americans talk of an equivalent?" Darsee talking to Alys

Unmarriageable is a modern day retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in Pakistan. The book follows the original Pride and Prejudice plot very closely while adding elements of the culture of Pakistan seamlessly into the story.
This is the first retelling of Pride and Prejudice that I have read and I feel it really captured the essence of the original story and characters as well highlighting aspects of the Pakistani culture regarding marriage and gender roles. I also feel this did a lot to highlight the fact that the English culture is such a major part of other cultures yet we tend to look upon others as exotic or different because we don't take the time to truly understand or take in other cultures as they have our own.

I truly enjoyed this story and getting to see the characters set in a different culture then my own. A big thank you to Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine Books and NetGalley for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal is one of the best women’s fiction books I have read in a long while! This story follows 5 sisters from a previously affluent Pakistani family as they find their way as women in a society and culture largely dominated by men and social status. I found Alys captivating and admired her strength of character - but really Kamal has given us so many amazing and well-developed characters that are woven seamlessly into the storyline that I was sad to say goodbye when I devoured the last page. Please let there be more! The social lit buff will swoon at the author’s incorporation of classic Jane Austen quotes and their modern day twist, but this can just as easily be read without knowledge of the classic companion. I highly recommend this book and hope to discuss it in a book club soon! I received an ARC of this book, all opinions are my own.

Unmarriageable is an inventive Pride & Prejudice retelling set in Pakistan. The patriarchal nature of Pakistani culture paired well for modernizing Austen’s story. It’s an update, to be sure, but the Binat girls face many of the same constraints as the Bennets.

My heart really went out to Alys and the way she tried to rise above those constraints, believing she does not need to get married and focusing more on her career. Indeed, the antics her mother and best friend engage in serve to only underscore her point. While society may not know what to do with an unmarried woman, Alys is right that a bad marriage, particularly in a patriarchal society, can be a cage stifling the woman in it. But of course the delight of any P&P retelling is seeing her fall for the exception to her rule. Alys and Darsee are antagonistic and complex and I loved watching them learn more about each other, as they realize how wrong their first impressions were.

There were some fun meta moments, like when Alys declared she’d never want to marry someone like Darcy the way Elizabeth did or Annie saying she never wanted to be sickly and voiceless like Anne de Bourgh. It’s a book-lovers story riddled with literary references to great effect. I particularly enjoyed Darsee and Alys's book discussions and the moment he gave her a copy of Sunlight On A Broken Column, which I now want to read. Plus, Soniah Kamal’s social commentary on feminism, classism, and colonialism made for a truly engaging read.

If I have one small complaint, it's the amount of fat-shaming throughout the story. Qitty is brow-beaten, especially by Lady and Mrs. Binat, for her weight. Yes, it says something about their characters, and yes, at the end she thankfully gets her due with a body positive image but as a white American woman reading it, I cringed on Qitty's behalf every time. I suspect this may be part of Pakistani culture: just as everyone comments on each other's marital status, they comment on weight and looks as well.

P&P isn’t my favorite of Austen’s work and so whenever Unmarriageable adhered closely to my least favorite parts of the original—every Bennet/Binat gets on my last nerve, and that can include Elizabeth/Alys—I struggled. I've always been more sympathetic to Darcy/Darsee regarding how awful the Bennets can be. However, there’s a reason Austen's work has endured and I’m grateful it’s led to stories like this. I'll be curious to see what Pakistani reviewers make of it.

CW: fat-shaming, slut-shaming, colonialism, classism, characters making references to killing themselves for the sake of drama, character states Alys is lucky he's not the sort of man who would throw acid on her

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 / 5 rounded up

Yesss you guys! I love a good Pride and Prejudice retelling, and Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal is one of the best ones I have read yet.

What it's about: Set in modern day Pakistan, the Binat family has lost their good reputation and none of their 5 daughters are married yet. All of her sisters want to be married, but Alys (the second oldest) is a headstrong and forward thinking English teacher, and she is perfectly happy being single - much to the chagrin of her mother Pinkie. When the Binat family gets invited to one of the biggest, most prestigious weddings they have been invited to in some time, Pinkie Binat is determined to find rich men for her daughters at it. Her eldest Jena ends up meeting Fahad “Bungles” Bingla, while Alys finds herself being watched by Bungles’s friend Valentine Darsee. But while Jena really likes Bungles, Alys and Darsee don't exactly get off on the right foot. Drama and hilarity ensue as Pinkie puts even more pressure on Alys and Jena, and the family deals with the consequences.

The setting of Pakistan really brought this retelling to life. I loved the vibrant descriptions of the surroundings and people, and Alys was by far my favorite character. Kamal makes this book so easy to read, and I loved how funny it was. There is definitely a dysfunctional family at the core of this book, and one that I just couldn't help but love. Due to the setting and the language, I wasn't able to read this book too quickly, but I enjoyed every minute of it. It is fascinating to read about a different culture, and a great addition to this classic retelling.

You can tell Kamal is a very smart woman, and that comes across in her prose. I just think that this retelling is super smart, and plus I adore the cover!

Final Thought: If you love retelling's of Pride and Prejudice, and want something a bit different from the others out there, I highly recommend Unmarriageable. This book is whip-smart, and I know a lot of people are going to love it as much as I did. And considering how gorgeous the cover is, it would be a beautiful edition to anyone's library. This is a book I could definitely see myself rereading which is not something that happens often. I will definitely have to add it to my collection!

This was a clever imagining of Pride and Prejudice set in a contemporary Pakistani community. I loved seeing how the current Pakistani culture (Get married now, girls!) mirrored Jane Austen’s England.

It reminded me of a line from When Harry Met Sally. Lunching with her girlfriends, Sally asks if she should marry someone just in case they’ll die soon. And her married friend says, “At least you can say you were married.”

At times, I had a hard time following the infinite cast of characters, so the author’s choice to choose names similar to the original—Kitty to Qitty—was extremely helpful, as was rhyming some of the related characters—Hammy and Sammy.

Anyone who loves Pride and Prejudice or reimagining’s period should enjoy this book immensely.

I received an ARC of this title. All opinions are my own.

Wow. There are not enough words to express how wonderful this book is so just take my word for it and pick up this gem of a book. Prepare to be dazzled. Happy reading!

This clever rewrite of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice affected me similarly to the original. I had to push myself through this drawing room drama even as I enjoyed it. Why? Is it because of the multitude of characters? The formality of manners that I don’t quite understand? At any rate, Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal is just as intensely entertaining as the original work from which it draws its themes of love and identity.

Delightful and maddening are the two best ways for me to describe this novel. I enjoyed the shrewd retelling, but at the same time I shudder to think that in some locations and classes this is still how the world works. Ugh. The idea of wearing certain things, giving certain gifts, acting coy, etc. as the way to find marriage. Ugh. (Is this where this white girl bookstagrammer gets told off for not understanding another culture?) I loved many of the characters, but disliked others for their backwards views on love and marriage. Truth be told I felt the same about the original, although it’s easier to dislike the original for its old-fashioned views, given that it really is old!

Plot and characters aside, I was a little disappointed that the clothing and foods were not described quite well enough for those outside the culture (it left me hungry for the food descriptions in Darius the Great is Not Okay). I know the book isn’t (and shouldn’t be) written specifically to me, but honestly I just love food descriptions in literature.

Most exciting to me was Alys’s love of books! I gained so many new and varied titles for my TBR by looking at the books she taught, read and bought. I loved that these books were both from Pakistan and other cultures. Always grateful for new reads!

Overall 4 stars—entertaining, incisive, and thought provoking.

Thanks NetGalley and PenguinRandomHouse for an early e-book to give an honest review.

The Binat sisters are the talk of the town of Dilipabad, Pakistan. Swindled out of their inheritance by an unscrupulous relative and forced to live in reduced circumstances in a backwater. Five unmarried daughters. The eldest two-- lovely but timid Jena and independent minded Alys-- have the beauty and earning potential to be good marriage matches, if only they weren't on the wrong side of 30. Then there's killjoy Mari, overweight Qitty, and wild child Lady. In a culture where a woman's entire outcome in life depends on securing a good marriage, the Binat girls are under enormous pressure to catch a husband. Mostly from their mother.

If that seems familiar to you, it's because this book is inspired by Pride and Prejudice. Well, a bit more than inspired. It follows the original source material so closely it might as well be called fan fiction. Some of the characters get an expanded role, like Alys's friend Sherry (Charlotte Lucas, who the author admits is her favorite P&P character, and it shows) and the sickly Annie (Anne de Bourgh). Pakistan is a great modern equivalent for the mores of Regency England. But some times this book is just too on the nose, like when Alys repeatedly references Pride and Prejudice, as if she weren't living out the book.

So did I like this book for its own merits or because I liked the original? Well, either way, I enjoyed reading this, and that's what matters.

A retelling of Pride & Prejudice set in Pakistan? Yes, yes, a thousand yes’s! From meeting Mr. Darcy and Bungles at the Pakistani wedding of the year, to talking about partition and the place of English literature in Pakistani history, this is an amazing reimagining of my favorite Austen book.

“I want,” Mrs. Binat announced, “the girls to fish for husbands at the NadirFiede wedding.”
Alys gritted her teeth. She could see before her eyes a large aquarium of eligible bachelors dodging hooks cast by every single girl in the country.
“Aha!” Mr. Binat said, taking a samosa. “Nadir Sheh and Fiede Fecker are getting married so that our daughters get married. So kind of them. Very noble! I suggest you also line up, Pinkie, my love, because between you and the girls you are still the most beautiful one.”


The book starts with English teacher Alys going over her students’ latest assignment – to come up with their own version of P&P’s famous first sentence, “It is a truth universally acknowledged…” and the characters continue ruminating on that story throughout the book, though they never recognize the similarities between it and their lives. In a lot of ways, the book sticks pretty closely to the original, which is insightful in some ways and a bit tedious in others. The character names, for instance, “Looclus” instead of “Lucas,” were a bit over the top. Where it excels, though, is showing the similarities between Regency English and near-modern Pakistani society, and in Ms. Kamal’s humor and insight.

“You live the life I’d like to lead,” Jena said softly. “To be able to contribute happiness to the less fortunate.”
“Jena,” Mrs. Binat said, “concentrate on grabbing Bungles, and, once you’re married, you can do whatever you want.”
“That’s a lie.” Alys gave a derisive laugh. “The dangling carrot to lure us into marriage.”
“Lost cause,” Mrs. Binat muttered, gazing sorrowfully at Alys. “You will die of loneliness if you don’t get married.”
“I’ll never be lonely,”—Alys gave a satisfied sigh— “because I’ll always have books.”


I seriously want to be BFFs with Alys. She’s hilarious, with a biting wit and the courage to continuously remind her students that there is life beyond matrimony. Unlike some retellings I’ve read, Ms. Kamal doesn’t shy away from making Alys a flawed, if very empathetic, character. Sometimes it seems like an author forgets that there are two parts to the book’s title – pride and prejudice – where Darcy is such a conceited peacock to the point that Eliza’s continued dislike of him is viewed as completely just. In this book, though, while Darsee still has a version of his famous line when asked about the second oldest Miss Binat, it’s not too long before the reader comes to see that while he’s certainly arrogant, Alys’s continued dislike of him is unfair. In similar ways, I found all of the characters very realistic, and even the ones who tend to be overly caricatured, like Mrs. Binat, were handled with a deft touch and a lot of empathy. I especially loved Sherry – Charlotte Lucas – who marries Mr. Farhat Kaleen. Though some of her lines were lifted directly from the book, I found her a refreshing remake, especially in terms of her marriage bliss, and how pleased Alys was with her friend’s happiness.

I especially adored the Pakistani setting! I loved the Urdu phrases sprinkled throughout the book, and since my only brush with it comes from watching Zindagi Gulzar Hai on Netflix, I also appreciated Ms. Kamal’s deftly inserted translations. And the food! I spent a lot of time googling all the delicious things the characters were eaten. The humor, the wit – Mrs. Binat, who I usually consider a trial, had me in stitches several times – everything was excellent and had a wonderful sense of place.

“It was a truth universally acknowledged, Alys suddenly thought with a smile, that people enter our lives in order to recommend reads.”


Overall, this has easily become one of my top 5 P&P retellings! Highly recommended!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I love Pride and Prejudice, enough so that I’m a sucker for retellings. Sadly, this one didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

I appreciated the parallels that Kamal draws between Austen’s England and the Pakistan of about 20 years ago. (The novel is set in 2000.) In both societies, marriage and motherhood are considered to be the only path for women of a certain class, and not to marry is a fate worse than death. It’s almost as difficult for Alys to resist marrying just for the sake of having a husband as it is for Lizzie, even though Alys also has a career as a teacher.

One of the problems I had with the book is that it’s a little too faithful to the original, especially since the characters reference Austen’s work more than once in the course of the novel. It’s got to be a difficult balancing act when an author is basing their work on a classic; you want to make sure to honor the original while making the story your own. In this case, all the major plot points of P&P are included, just given a spin appropriate to the story’s setting. On top of that, the author gives the characters names that are in some cases very similar to the original (Darsee, Wickaam). At one point, Alys talks to Darsee about Mr. Darcy, and it kind of made my head hurt. It was all just a little too on the nose for me.

The other thing that drew me out of the story was the plethora of detailed descriptions. Some of them are necessary, especially since the author is describing a place and culture that is probably unfamiliar to most of her readers. Sometimes, though, the amount of detail provided seemed over the top; I really don’t feel like I needed to know all the different foods served at meals, for example. That kind of thing happens often enough throughout the book that I found it distracting.

I think this novel is worth giving a try if you are a fan of P&P retellings, but I’m not sure it will appeal to everyone.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

I loved this book! There have been so many retellings of Pride & Prejudice, but never in Pakistan! And modern-day Pakistan, no less. I loved the characters and enjoyed learning about a different culture. I highly recommend this fun read!