I didn’t fully realize this was a genderbent Pride and prejudice until about 1/4 of the way into the novel. It didn’t stop me from reading though, a pleasant surprise. I loved learning about some of the intricacies of the Indian culture and the food! Although I do wish this wasn’t marked solely as a romance novel. Wickham does make a genderbent appearance and it involves the MC’s older brother & metoo movement. Some of the other topics are also heavy in theme and take over the romance aspect. I would check trigger warnings. It’s slow to start but enjoyable once you get used to the cast of characters involved.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that if you claim your story is based on a classic, people might be disappointed if it's not.

Let me start by saying that the concepts around this story were excellent: gender-swapped lead characters, Bollywood-esque feel, lots of modern twists and issues. I loved the characters, the story felt real (though a bit overwhelming), and there was plenty of room for banter.

When I started reading it, I began thinking ahead about how it might connect to the original story -- if Yash is Jane, then his political career is Bingley? Inspired! And all of his events make a great modern twist on balls and dances -- and

spent several hundred pages trying to find the bones of the original before realizing it just wasn't there. 

Not to mention half of the interesting narrative I had to rewire in my brain once I realized they were gender-swapped, as the structure of families and lives felt more in line with Trisha being Elizabeth and Darcy "DJ" being Darcy. As if the same name wouldn't lead to more confusion. 

The main issue with all of this is that the story in the book didn't need to hang itself on the bones of Pride and Prejudice; it could have been a fairly decent narrative on its own. But by forcing that connection, it made an unspoken contract with the readers that was not met at all. So this lovely story about rising out of guilt and shame and grief, about feeling comfortable in your own skin, about how racism and classism and prejudice affect people daily, was forever ruined by its failed promises to look like something it wasn't meant to be. 

There's a beautiful story in there, as long as you ignore the title, the fact that the male lead is named Darcy, and that it should have any connection to Austen at all.

"This is how Trisha's dating life had worked since college: every now and again some guy came along and they confused the heck out of each other until he disappeared, leaving her more relieved than sad, and embarrassed as hell about her inability to know what was going on when it came to men. Why were men such complicated beasts anyway? Relationships felt like full-time babysitting jobs crossed with high-level code cracking."

 

This is one of the most emotionally accurate Pride & Prejudice retellings I've had the joy of reading. It's gender-bent, it's contemporary, the name "Wickham" makes me want to punch people, and the characters' personal growth was astoundingly beautiful while also stressful in the moment. I loved Dr. Trisha Raje as our Darcy character. Her arrogance is perfectly off-putting from both a real world and Pride & Prejudice frame of reference. Meanwhile, DJ is a saucy take on Lizzy Bennet with his big heart and straight-backed pride.

 

The story went beyond the original by weaving in new elements to reflect modern life and a far more diverse (in all senses of the word) cast than we see in an Austen novel. It builds on Austen's commentary on wealth and social class by turning a sharper eye on sexism and bringing in conversation about immigration, racism, and police brutality.

 

Dev builds a world that feels lifelike not only because she includes so many aspects of our brutal world but because she renders each individual character with such loving detail. Backstory for both families is deep and moving, and it made me want to read more, whether it was about the past or the future of any side character.

 

Finally, the story is powerful because of the messaging. It talks about the bonds of family and all that can be left unsaid in our long histories together, the pain and the love. And it reminds us that our work doesn't define us. We matter outside our professional accomplishments and what we can do for others (yeah, that part led to some tears on this end).

I really liked this book, however, with Sonali Dev's other book 'Recipe for Persuasion' the amount of trauma she puts in the characters backgrounds is a lot for a contemporary romance. I don't think having a full background is necessarily a bad thing but she alludes to the trauma a lot and when it finally is revealed it seems much more serious than necessary for the main plot.  I would say this book is more inspired by Jane Austen than a retelling, she gender bends Darcy and Jane but there missing a lot of family dynamics.