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4 reviews for:
Sparks Fly, Tires Skid: A Modern Pride and Prejudice Variation Romantic Comedy
A Lady, Ari Rhoge
4.15 AVERAGE
4 reviews for:
Sparks Fly, Tires Skid: A Modern Pride and Prejudice Variation Romantic Comedy
A Lady, Ari Rhoge
4.15 AVERAGE
I had originally read the first chapter on a fanfiction site and was intrigued enough to purchase the book. The banter was good and I found myself chuckling a few times. I wasn't too bothered by all the swearing, but found it unbelievable that a kindergarten teacher (Lizzy) would swear that much. [I swear as much or more than Lizzy and I find that I try to avoid kids because the swearing inadvertently slips out. Can't believe she'd be able to control her swearing around kids enough to be a kindergarten teacher.]
My biggest problem, though, was the main character herself. Yes, Lizzy is supposed to be outspoken and opinionated, but she is not obnoxious and annoying. Many times while reading I found myself wondering why she still had friends.
My biggest problem, though, was the main character herself. Yes, Lizzy is supposed to be outspoken and opinionated, but she is not obnoxious and annoying. Many times while reading I found myself wondering why she still had friends.
I read this back when it was still on fanfiction.net. I'm so delighted to see that the author has published it as a book! Even then, I was blown away by it.
Sparks Fly, Tires Skid is, very simply, a retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in the modern day. So yes, similar to the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, except in prose form. And while there were elements similar between the two, for the most part each made their own story independently of the other. But if one were to put all similar points side by side and choose to assume that they were borrowed from one to the other, in terms of publishing timelines, this one came first.
The title is not metaphorical. There is a car accident involved. In fact, this is how the story opens: Lizzy and Will Darcy, having crashed into each other, are arguing over whose fault it is whilst Jane and Charlie Bingley flirt nearby. This is, in fact, the author's summary:
"Elizabeth and Darcy meet at the scene of a car crash. They do not politely exchange insurance information."
Ari Rhoge is incredibly witty in her prose in general, and is capable of drawing you in with simple dialogue. Some may scoff and say that good dialogue is no skill; I would patently disagree. One of my biggest sorrows with modern literature is the sparsity of good dialogue. This is one of my favorite aspects of Austen: her dialogue is witty, engaging, and funny and touching in turn. Too much time gets spent in many books, I feel, occupying dialogue with "need-to-know" sort of information for the readers, or blatant, meaningless attempts at humor.
Rhoge, in blatant defiance of this policy where dialogue should have an explicit, plot-related purpose, keeps readers on their toes with constantly funny and clever exchanges. Furthermore, these exchanges aren't just limited to conversation between Lizzy and Darcy; Jane and Lizzy also have their moments, as do Charlotte and Lizzy. But when I say the dialogue doesn't have "an explicit plot-related purpose," I don't mean that it's pointless—not by a long shot. What the dialogue often serves to do is draw out the characters, make them real in the readers' minds. They show how they think, how they feel, their moods, all without having to go into their minds and explain.
The chemistry between Lizzy and Darcy is astonishing. It's there, right from the start, even as they make you smile and laugh with their antics and general animosity. And when they realize it for what it is, the world implodes just a little bit. There are ups and downs and facets to their lives not taken from the book that make them feel more realistic as modern characters.
For me, the defining point where I decided that Rhoge could do no wrong with this story was Lydia. Lydia is wild, childish, and occasionally irritating. But being elder sister to two lovely younger siblings myself, this felt to me like the most realistic portrayal I have ever seen of Lydia. Oh, I'm not talking of all the trouble she gets herself into, which—as in Austen's book—is almost unbelievable in its enormity and yet very much Wickham's fault (as well as Lydia's own lack of comprehension of the world and its workings). But the way that Lizzy and Lydia interact is, despite everything, loving and sisterly and something I wish we saw more often in Austen adaptations.
I'm not just talking about spin-offs like the P. D. James book I keep on mentioning that patently failed to impress me. I'm also talking about relatively good, direct adaptations, like the BBC mini-series and the films. In nearly every version, as much as I enjoy it, there is something that I feel is missing; and that something is a sense of family that encompasses more people than just Jane and Lizzy, and occasionally Mr. Bennet. The 2005 adaptation, I felt, came closest.
Certainly, one could argue, Austen herself doesn't write very explicitly about the love between members of the family, except in pairs: Jane and Lizzy, Lizzie and Mr. Bennet, Lydia and Kitty, Lydia and Mrs. Bennet. But the thing is, neither does Orchid, not explicitly. But, as is the case with Austen, you can feel that underneath all this chaos, they are really a family with affection for one another (except, perhaps, for Mrs. Bennet). And while Lydia in this adaptation gains a little more depth than her shallow, silly counterpart (though not to the extent of the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, which are taking the Wickham/Lydia angle down a whole new path), it was a very good choice that helped to give more color to the relationship between Lizzy and Lydia, and allows the reader to be a little more sympathetic towards the girl rather than simply annoyed.
This story is well-planned, well-written, well-executed, and generally everything a Jane Austen adaptation should (in my mind) be. There is wit. There is love. There is laughter, and sorrow too. It makes you laugh, and keeps you engaged throughout the story so that you start reading, blink, and find that it's 2A.M. and you've just read all the way through.
It is a truly wonderful piece that I'm giving 9/10.
Sparks Fly, Tires Skid is, very simply, a retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in the modern day. So yes, similar to the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, except in prose form. And while there were elements similar between the two, for the most part each made their own story independently of the other. But if one were to put all similar points side by side and choose to assume that they were borrowed from one to the other, in terms of publishing timelines, this one came first.
The title is not metaphorical. There is a car accident involved. In fact, this is how the story opens: Lizzy and Will Darcy, having crashed into each other, are arguing over whose fault it is whilst Jane and Charlie Bingley flirt nearby. This is, in fact, the author's summary:
"Elizabeth and Darcy meet at the scene of a car crash. They do not politely exchange insurance information."
Ari Rhoge is incredibly witty in her prose in general, and is capable of drawing you in with simple dialogue. Some may scoff and say that good dialogue is no skill; I would patently disagree. One of my biggest sorrows with modern literature is the sparsity of good dialogue. This is one of my favorite aspects of Austen: her dialogue is witty, engaging, and funny and touching in turn. Too much time gets spent in many books, I feel, occupying dialogue with "need-to-know" sort of information for the readers, or blatant, meaningless attempts at humor.
Rhoge, in blatant defiance of this policy where dialogue should have an explicit, plot-related purpose, keeps readers on their toes with constantly funny and clever exchanges. Furthermore, these exchanges aren't just limited to conversation between Lizzy and Darcy; Jane and Lizzy also have their moments, as do Charlotte and Lizzy. But when I say the dialogue doesn't have "an explicit plot-related purpose," I don't mean that it's pointless—not by a long shot. What the dialogue often serves to do is draw out the characters, make them real in the readers' minds. They show how they think, how they feel, their moods, all without having to go into their minds and explain.
The chemistry between Lizzy and Darcy is astonishing. It's there, right from the start, even as they make you smile and laugh with their antics and general animosity. And when they realize it for what it is, the world implodes just a little bit. There are ups and downs and facets to their lives not taken from the book that make them feel more realistic as modern characters.
For me, the defining point where I decided that Rhoge could do no wrong with this story was Lydia. Lydia is wild, childish, and occasionally irritating. But being elder sister to two lovely younger siblings myself, this felt to me like the most realistic portrayal I have ever seen of Lydia. Oh, I'm not talking of all the trouble she gets herself into, which—as in Austen's book—is almost unbelievable in its enormity and yet very much Wickham's fault (as well as Lydia's own lack of comprehension of the world and its workings). But the way that Lizzy and Lydia interact is, despite everything, loving and sisterly and something I wish we saw more often in Austen adaptations.
I'm not just talking about spin-offs like the P. D. James book I keep on mentioning that patently failed to impress me. I'm also talking about relatively good, direct adaptations, like the BBC mini-series and the films. In nearly every version, as much as I enjoy it, there is something that I feel is missing; and that something is a sense of family that encompasses more people than just Jane and Lizzy, and occasionally Mr. Bennet. The 2005 adaptation, I felt, came closest.
Certainly, one could argue, Austen herself doesn't write very explicitly about the love between members of the family, except in pairs: Jane and Lizzy, Lizzie and Mr. Bennet, Lydia and Kitty, Lydia and Mrs. Bennet. But the thing is, neither does Orchid, not explicitly. But, as is the case with Austen, you can feel that underneath all this chaos, they are really a family with affection for one another (except, perhaps, for Mrs. Bennet). And while Lydia in this adaptation gains a little more depth than her shallow, silly counterpart (though not to the extent of the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, which are taking the Wickham/Lydia angle down a whole new path), it was a very good choice that helped to give more color to the relationship between Lizzy and Lydia, and allows the reader to be a little more sympathetic towards the girl rather than simply annoyed.
This story is well-planned, well-written, well-executed, and generally everything a Jane Austen adaptation should (in my mind) be. There is wit. There is love. There is laughter, and sorrow too. It makes you laugh, and keeps you engaged throughout the story so that you start reading, blink, and find that it's 2A.M. and you've just read all the way through.
It is a truly wonderful piece that I'm giving 9/10.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was OKAY. It was cute enough but it sort of lost me after a while. Darcy didn't quite feel like Darcy to me and Lizzie had a pretty foul mouth. I'm FINE with swearing but it just made everybody seem more aggressive and out of character for me. And honestly...Charles is stupid in every adaptation. If you're going to leave for MONTHS on end, don't I didn't feel the urgency of the Wickham situation either. I've read better modern adaptations of Pride and Prejudice than this.