Epic Fail

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Elise Benton = Elizabeth Bennet
Derek Edwards = Fitzwilliam Darcy
Juliana Benton = Jane Bennet
Chase Baldwin = Charles Bingley
Webster Grant = George Wickham
EPIC FAIL = The Ya-Lit version of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
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And that’s what the book is all about in a nutshell.

But being a die-hard Pride and Prejudice fan means that I would like to ramble on for a bit.

Elise Benton and her three sisters are the newest students at Coral Tree Prep, LA. The effluent school is littered with the rich, poutingly-perfect, privileged offspring of some of the country’s biggest and smallest celebrities. Coupled with the fact that Elise’s mother is the school’s new (highly unpopular, slightly bizarre and extremely regimented) principal, this means that the Benton sisters have a steep social-path to climb. Elise finds herself as a reluctant member of one of the most hallowed cliques in the school when Juliana catches the eye and admiration of Derek Edwards’ affable best friend, Chase Baldwin.

And who, pray tell, is Derek Edwards?

Derek, with his sullen superstar good looks, is a God among the twittering demigods of Coral Tree Prep. He is the offspring of Hollywood’s most famous celebrity couple and is pretty much the uncrowned prince of the school. While Elise is not exactly immune to Derek’s rare smiles and flashes of warmth, neither is she floored by his snootiness and odd tendency to sometimes act like a Grad A Jerk. Instead, she prefers the sunnier charms of social outcast, Webster Grant.

And lo and behold! The saga of Lizzy and Darcy comes alive in a new and revamped setting.
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Elizabeth Bennet is one of my all-time favourite fictional heroines. She was someone I aspired to be. In a time when other damsels were simpering and clucking and having fainting frenzies, Lizzie was the exception. Strong-willed, a tad opinionated, not prone to frills and fancies and yet... a simpatico young lady who was doused with wit and wisdom. Fitzwilliam Darcy is my eternal fictional crush. I never tire of the seemingly snobbish gentleman who yearned for the love of Lizzie despite his better and questionable judgement.

Epic Fail did a brilliant job of modernising my favourite duo. Elise Benton was an intelligent heroine who never acted like a lovelorn loon. Derek Edwards was brooding Darcy brought to preppy life. The dialogue was quirky and smart and a throwback to the banter from ’10 Things I Hate About You’. The Benton family was the embarrassing coterie that we cringed over in the original story. And then ofcourse, we have the plot twists and the character follies that symbolize misplaced pride and unfounded prejudices.

I judge the power of an engaging read by it’s ability to compel me to finish it at a fiendish pace. I was done with this book in half-a-day. It’s not a classic. It’s not perfect. It has a few pitfalls. And no, don’t go by it’s lack-lustre cover.
It’s a bendy, light-hearted summer read that does justice to the mother of all chick-lit books.

In short (and I know it’s hackneyed), the book is an EPIC WIN.

Acting Up ( by Melissa Nathan)

I have just discovered the magic of late author Melissa Nathan. After a rea-ealllly long time, it’s nice to finally sink my teeth into a chick-lit read that incorporates all the key elements, is loaded with peppy dialogue and is refreshing within a mould that rarely gets broken.

What first attracted me to this book was the funky almost art-deco cover-art. Secondly, I read the first line of the blurb which went

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a large ego must be in want of a woman to cut him down to size”

and was instantly enchanted. Jane Austen (and especially Pride and Prejudice) adaptations have always been my weakness. While many a time, the Darcy-Elizabeth equation has been mauled and marauded,‘Acting Up’ got it just right.

Jasmin Field (a.k.a. Jazz) is an outspoken journalist who lands the role of Elizabeth Bennet in a fund-raising adaptation of Austen’s most popular work. Directing the venture is Hollywood’s golden-child, Harry Noble. He’s handsome, popular, acerbic and opinionated. In fact, he’s Mr.Darcy come to life! The leading lady and the arrogant director rub each other up the wrong (and sometimes right) way. The proverbial sparks fly and the story flows without a hiccup. Supporting characters bring their own woes and parallel storylines to make the book a page-turner.

You would think that the story would be predictable since we all know how Austen’s classic ended. What makes this retelling worthwhile is that Melissa Nathan’s characters are addictive. They are bright, can mouth crackling dialogue, are proud but equally humble in facing their shortcomings.

Chick-lit at it’s superlative best.