Eligible

In Sittenfeld’s amusing modern-day retelling of Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bennet writes for a women’s magazine, Jane Bennet teaches yoga, Lydia and Kitty Bennet are CrossFit enthusiasts on paleo diets, heartthrob Chip Bingley is a reality-TV star, and Fitzwilliam Darcy is a neurosurgeon. Austen fans will recognize Liz and Darcy’s instant dislike for each other, their serial misunderstandings and sexual tension, and Jane’s quiet goodness, Bingley’s sister’s snobbishness, and Darcy’s sister’s vulnerability. Sittenfeld adeptly updates and channels Austen’s narrative voice—the book is full of smart observations on gender and money. Reader Campbell handles the large cast of characters with ease, deftly portraying different personalities with different voices, most memorably the catty Caroline Bingley, the dryly sardonic Darcy, and the flustered, melodramatic Mrs. Bennet. This audiobook is a fun addition to the growing canon of P&P-inspired fiction, perfect for summer beach listening. A Random House hardcover. (Apr.)