Andrew Adam

Having finally watched (and delighted in) the 90s TV adaptation, I thought it was time to revisit a book I'd previously not appreciated in my teens. And gosh, it is good! I picked up on the nuances of tone much better having been primed to watch for them, and Mr & Mrs Bennet's lines benefitted greatly from this. Looking forward to following up with Death Comes to Pemberley, and possibly The Other Bennet Sister.

My inner socialist rebelled at the insights into the economy and society of the period, but I'm not going to let that get in the way of a good time.

I enjoyed it! The comic beats were particularly strong in the first section - I was impressed by the rhythm of punchlines at the end of pages marrying with the continuous narrative. Bleakly relatable commentary on career setbacks and comparing oneself with others, and predictions of the next inevitable steps of surveillance capitalism.

Beautifully drawn, engaging, but also left me very confused - a few disparate threads that didn't lead anywhere, a lot of (presumably deliberate) uncertainty over what's the truth and what's real. I probably would have benefitted from reading it in one sitting rather than two.

A mixed bag - a lot of interesting ideas, but some of them are quite dated (as, in fairness, you might expect from a centenary collection). Others maybe required a bit more reflection or analysis than I was willing/able to give!

It's an absolute classic, not much more to be said. Beyond the fact that this is the first of many re-readings in which I've actually understood the meaning of "Every vessel in the town was filled with water" - previously I had thought it very odd that they would swamp all of the boats that they'd surely need were Esgaroth to be burned down. Oh, and I finally looked up what a mattock is.