Behind Five Willows falls somewhere between a retelling and a re-imagining of Pride and Prejudice. It’s set in the late 1700s during the Joseon dynasty in Korea and focuses in part on the relationship between Haewon and Seojun, this book’s respective versions of Elizabeth and Darcy.
The homage to the original is very clear. There are some familiar plot beats and very familiar characters, especially the versions of Elizabeth, Darcy, Jane, Bingley, Mrs. Bennet, and to some extent Lydia and Wickham. As a devotee of P & P, I loved being able to see what was recognizable and what was new, and how the recognizable would be adapted for this version.
There is a substantial plotline that isn’t in the original. The romance is almost more of a subplot against the broader backdrop of legal policies banning the writing and possession of fiction. Seojun writes fiction under a pseudonym, Haewon transcribes copies of various novels, also under a pseudonym, and the two of them have a correspondence with each other. The book blurb makes it seem like a reluctant romance between the two will be front and center, which isn’t really the case.
Given that Hur seems to have enthusiastically deviated from the source material, with no complaints on my end, what surprised me was the way some of the plot points from the original are added in unevenly, without enough material to back up their inclusion. Had I not been so familiar with Pride and Prejudice, there might have been a couple of instances in which I wondered what I was missing. It felt like Hur needed to either commit more fully to a true retelling or make the adaptation more her own.
I do think this novel can more or less stand on its own for readers who are unfamiliar with P & P, though there are other criticisms to be found regardless. The main one is the contradiction between Haewon and her sister’s emphasis on responsibility and family reputation and their willingness to overtly frequent a supposedly-but-not-really secret bookstore. Some of this can be attributed to the characters’ awareness that the fiction edicts were not well-enforced in the past, but it really seemed like the danger was talked about repeatedly and just as repeatedly ignored.
However, I did really love the historical Korean setting. It was well-researched, and it was interesting to learn more about the culture at the time. It was also a bit rage-inducing at the way women were treated and viewed.
Overall, I have somewhat mixed reactions to this book. I enjoyed my time with it and liked the setting and the new plotline, but I do have to wonder how much I’d have liked it if I hadn’t already read and loved Pride and Prejudice. While I stand by my assertion that those unfamiliar with Austen’s work can still enjoy this one, it is a bit hard to overlook the issues I had with it. I’m rating it around a 3.75 to 4 stars.
