Jane Austen has more readers than many of the most popular novelists writing today. Which explains why legions of “Pride and Prejudice” fans can’t get enough of Austen’s original story, but also happily gobble up its many retellings. We’ve picked two of the latest versions for our April selection for “Bookmarked: The Under the Radar Book Club.”
DOG EARED: Uzma Jalaluddin on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice
Uzma Jalaluddin on why she keeps reading Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
CBC: The Next Chapter
-Vivek Shraya on “I’m Afraid of Men”
-Uzma Jalaluddin on “Ayesha At Last”
-Rachel Giese on “Boys: What it Means to Become a Man”
-Dogeared: Why Canisia Lubrin goes back to Dionne Brand’s Inventory
-Odd Job: Laurie Gelman on her summer as a fruit seller
-If You Like That…You’ll Love This: Victor Dwyer finds a Canadian companion to “Little Fires Everywhere” by Celeste Ng
LET THE QURAN SPEAK: Uzma Jalaluddin: Journey of a writer!
Uzma Jalaluddin is a mother, teacher, writer, and author of Aysha at last. A book that has recently been optioned for film by a major production house. Today, we talk to her about all she does!
EW: Get an exclusive first look at the buzzy romance Ayesha At Last
At last, American readers can get their first glimpse of Ayesha At Last, Uzma Jalaluddin’s highly anticipated romance coming to shelves next summer.
The novel is a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in a Muslim community in Toronto. Ayesha is the Lizzie Bennet of the story — a young poet who bristles against her family’s expectations of a young marriage, particularly in light of her flighty cousin Hafsa’s routine rejection of marriage proposals. Ayesha’s world is turned further upside down when she meets Khalid (the Darcy-esque figure of this tale), a smart, handsome man who is exceedingly conservative and judgmental. Khalid’s surprise engagement to Hafsa pushes Ayesha to question everything she believes as she struggles to decide what it is she truly wants out of life and love.
