註釋
The Holland sisters, Elizabeth and Diana, are at the top of the social ladder. When their father dies, the girls move away to get educated about being a proper lady and when they come back, they find out that things don’t look too good for the Holland family. They’re broke. But if Mrs. Holland has anything to say about it, they won’t be, not for long. If Elizabeth can marry Henry Schoonmaker—a man who’s so handsome he has the hearts of all eligible females—their family name won’t be smeared. But Elizabeth already has her heart set on Will, who is just a mere stable boy, and Penelope, Liz’s supposed best friend, wants Henry. And where’s Diana all this time? Falling in love with Henry, of course. Rich girls always get what they want, but there’s just one Henry to go around.
Plenty of reviews I’ve read had it labeled as a cross between Pride & Prejudice and Gossip Girl. I think not. The concept about rich girls leading scandalous lives in Manhattan, though set in 1899 for The Luxe, and how marriage was just beneficial for status upholding, is the same. Everything else, not really.
I think this is even worse than Gossip Girl. Just like I didn’t see the point in the latter, I failed to see this book as none other than a boring read with underdeveloped characters who basically whine and never take control. Take Elizabeth, for instance. Right from the beginning she’s introduced as this beautiful and proper young lady who’s involved with a servant but is engaged to the most set-forth bachelor, Henry. The parts written about her fall bland shortly after she’s engaged. She does absolutely nothing except to look blank and regretful. I find it very hard to reach some level of sympathy for a character that’s mostly just a background face because the author failed to incorporate some kind of human being qualities to her. It’s like this: Anna Godbersen wanted to portray a perfect girl that didn’t have a perfect life after all (the most common storyline ever beside the love-hate relationships type) and rather than making Elizabeth her main character, she made her into a depressed girl. Everything that happens in the novel surrounds Elizabeth’s life and her actions, but I just don’t see her as a focus. Sure, she finally finds the strength to do something towards the end of the book, but that’s because Penelope was there to help her. Can’t she do anything by herself? She’s just a horrible protagonist and if that’s the message—get your own independence—then the author’s done a poor job of relaying that.
Take notice that this book has 433 pages. 433 pages of slow action and mindless characters that just appear and disappear so they can serve in certain parts of the story. A story isn’t supposed to be like that—everything has to connect somehow. And the most unflattering character is Diana. From the start, I never saw that kind of bond between her and Elizabeth that’s made Diana so sobby at the last minute. She’s been portrayed as this whinny, kind of unusual sister. But later, she does all sorts of things that contradict the personality she’s been given, which I find very inconsistent. If there’s character development involved, there has to be a turning point for that to happen, but I didn’t see it.
All in all, not something I would ever pick up again. I thought GG had been a reminder that I should stay away from stories about rich girls with nothing to do but have sex and steal other people’s boyfriends. I like books with some kind of message, with development, with strong-willed protagonists that makes everything better, but I found nothing of the requirements here. I’m just glad I gave up halfway but decided to read the ending chapters anyway. Two words: so predictable.
But if you actually like the endless, unrealistic love triangles (why would anyone like Henry, anyway? He’s such an arrogant ass) between Elizabeth-Will-Lina and Diana-Henry-Penelope, or the fact that the girls wear gowns and everyone rides horses, then this probably is the book for you. I mean, at least some of the history was nailed pretty accurately, thought most facts were just mentioned in passing.