book data
106 ratings, 3.24 average rating, 29 reviews
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published
October 1st 2003
by St. Martin's Griffin
binding
Paperback, 272 pages
isbn
0312319754
(isbn13: 9780312319755)
description
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a nice Jewish widower must be in want of a wife. Eligible men may be scarce in Boca, but that doesn't stop...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 156)
Read in July, 2008
A marvellously well written,witty and honoring book. Paula Marantz Cohen could have been devastatingly unkind to both Jane and her locale but there is such love and affection for Pride and Prejudice, as well the 'small (FL) village of three or four families. Very cleverly the author makes the Bennet sisters in Florida sisters of choice rather than birth -- and removes Lydia entirely from the family. Wickham is perfect although Cohen managed to make me feel sympathy for him as Mel. I wonder if sh...more
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Paula Cohen has created a very satisfying novel. It begins and ends with a character that typifies the insular culture that is the story setting. I have often found authors willing to use the Jewish culture with a laugh and a good dig but lacking the explanation and even admiration Ms Cohen brings to her stories. I have learned about the culture and seen it through eyes as intimate and wry as Austen's. This book does borrow four main pairings and some story line from Pride and Prejudiced as the...more
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Read in May, 2008
Take Pride and Prejudice and place it in a Boca Raton, Florida Jewish retirement community. Widow May Newman (think Jane Bennett) has made a nice life for herself at Boca Festa. She enjoys spending time with her two best friends Flo Kliman and Lila Katz. May’s nosy daughter-in-law catches wind of a suitable suitor for May, Norman Grafstein (Charles Bingley) and does everything in her power to get them together (sound like Mrs. Bennett anyone?) May’s feisty retired librarian friend Flo clashe...more
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Read in May, 2007
It was ok. I mean, I guess I was more conscious than with a lot of other renditions of classics that that's what it was--just a retelling, and there was not any real suspense, since I knew what was going to happen. I also thought it was a little unwieldy, the whole Jewish retirement home thing (aside from the smattering of Italians, evidently). Some of the characters worked well under these constraints, but others, since Cohen was so insistent upon (and painfully self-conscious about) the Jew...more
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Janet recommended this so I borrowed it from the TI library and brought it to the OBX to read.
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Cohen takes the basic plot structure of "Pride and Prejudice," along with several of its main characters, and imports them into the senior-residence world of Boca Raton, Florida. I thought she did a great job of creating her own world and making the story interesting in and of itself, not just as an Austen-homage. If you do know P&P, it's fun to find the plot similarities and figure out which character is which, but the book is very enjoyable on its own, too.
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Read in September, 2007
I was a little disappointed in this book after reading Cohen's other books. This book is her first novel; one thing I enjoy about her books is that she's an English professor at Drexel, so the books are very literate.
Perhaps if I were an older Jewish woman I would have enjoyed the story more. (I'm not trying to stereotype; the book is set in a retirement community filled with elderly Jewish people.)
Perhaps if I were an older Jewish woman I would have enjoyed the story more. (I'm not trying to stereotype; the book is set in a retirement community filled with elderly Jewish people.)
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Read in April, 2008
This was fun ... not what I expected. With both my parents and my parents-in-law aging, maybe I'm more attuned to "Lifestyles of the Aging Parents," but this helped remind me that there is life after 65 or 70 - active, happy, funny, engaging, important life. It was also a good reminder to me to exercise my body and my brain. Plus, the darned thing was just an entertaining read.
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Read in January, 2007
If you are familiar with Boca Raton, you'll find many references to sites and sounds from the town in the novel. My favorite is the renaming of the actually Broken Sound development in the book as Broken Arrow. Having lived a block away from Broken Sound, the characterization rings more true than not.
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Read in February, 2007
This book came to my attention by my Great Aunt AB. She sent me an article about the author from her local newspaper. The author teaches at my Alma Mater (Drexel University). This book is the plot line of Jane Austen's Pride and Predjudice set in a retirement community in Boca Raton, FL.
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Read in September, 2008
A very cute re-telling of Pride and Prejudice from a Jewish perspective. The author knows her Austen, and she really knows her elderly, Florida-dwelling Jewish women. The characters were likeable, though I was especially fond of the young Amy and her sub-plot. A feel-good, lighthearted read.
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
Jane Austen fans
This is an updated version of Pride and Prejudice, set in a Jewish retirement community. The characters are believable, and well-developed, though I don't agree with how Flo's (who is Elizabeth) romance is portrayed.
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Read in December, 2007
Pride and Prejudice in a South Florida retirement community--cute. But, of course, once you figure out who matches up to Darcy, Wickham, Jane, Elizabeth, etc., you know exactly how the plot is going to unfold.
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This was a fun book. It has the same theme as Pride and Prejudice but takes place in Boca at two Jewish retirement centers. If you're hooked on Pride and Prejudice like me you'll enjoy it.
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Read in September, 2003
This was very cleverly done, and most enjoyable. Few Jane Austen wannabes really live up to expectations. I have not had time to read her more recent titles but definitely will.
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Read in January, 2008
This was fun to read, but I liked her Jane Austen in Scarsdale better. Maybe I've read too many versions of Pride and Prejudice.
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Fabulous. Old Jewish ladies in a Florida retirement community... a la Pride and Prejudice... what more could I possibly want in life?!
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Read in August, 2008
recommends it for:
women who plan on growing older
I chuckled through this whole book. Amazed to see these older women acting like middle schoolers. There's hope for me yet.
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Read in May, 2002
Really enjoyed this modern-day, Jewish retirement community version of Pride and Prejudice!
a jane austen romance set in a florida jewish retirement community? oh yeah.
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