What Pride and Prejudice looks like when set in a Florida retirement village where most of the inhabitants are Jewish. ( )

A very witty and fun-to-read book. Jane Austen's "two or three families" look quite fresh yet reassuringly familiar when set down in a Florida retirement community. The metafictional final chapter, in which a group of Jewish retirees taking a course in the literature of Jane Austen discuss Pride and Prejudice from their unique perspective, is utterly hilarious and the denouement is quite satisfying. ( )

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 clashes with Norman’s pal Stan Jacobs (Elizabeth and Darcy)… and the stage is set. Ok, so the plot sounds vaguely familiar.

Although I doubt I’m the target audience for this book (I am not Jewish and nowhere close to retirement age), I found it very enjoyable. You don’t even have to be obsessed with Jane Austen to like it either. Paula Marantz Cohen paints a vivid picture of what life is for Boca Raton retirees from shopping trips to Loehmann’s to visits from grandchildren. There are no caricatures here. The characters are real and reader’s can easily relate to them. This book would be great to recommend to older patrons, Jane Austen fans, and anyone in the mood for an enjoyable light-hearted comedic read with a dash of romance. ( )

I really enjoyed this book, though I was not in its intended demographic. The author seemed to have a lot of insight into the community she was observing, with spot-on observations that made me laugh. I thought this novel was fresher than many other Jane Austen adaptations because it was set in a senior retirement community in Florida...definitely a new spin on an old tale. ( )

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