Jane Austen Book Club
I have enjoyed a lucky streak the past many weeks: my reading list has been all wheat, no chaff.
Among all the good books, The Jane Austen Book Club is especially nice. I found myself charmed utterly while reading it, even at select moments having my eyes well up. (Shh, don't tell anyone!) Its plot is so simple as to be elegant: six people (sometimes more) gather together in a book club, and meet monthly to discuss each of Jane Austen's six novels.
And there you have the truth of it. What Karen Joy Fowler (the novel's author) has achieved is a sprite of meta-fiction, retelling all of Austen's novels in this one, and in a slyly updated structure and authorial 'voice' of the typical Austen novel.
The characters and their tales sing -- and zing! There are moments of utter ingenuity and sheer brilliance, but at core is that always-present warmth. Hmm, like Austen's novels themselves, perhaps it already is time to re-read this book!
Seek the link in the left sidebar for more information.
Among all the good books, The Jane Austen Book Club is especially nice. I found myself charmed utterly while reading it, even at select moments having my eyes well up. (Shh, don't tell anyone!) Its plot is so simple as to be elegant: six people (sometimes more) gather together in a book club, and meet monthly to discuss each of Jane Austen's six novels.
And there you have the truth of it. What Karen Joy Fowler (the novel's author) has achieved is a sprite of meta-fiction, retelling all of Austen's novels in this one, and in a slyly updated structure and authorial 'voice' of the typical Austen novel.
The characters and their tales sing -- and zing! There are moments of utter ingenuity and sheer brilliance, but at core is that always-present warmth. Hmm, like Austen's novels themselves, perhaps it already is time to re-read this book!
Seek the link in the left sidebar for more information.
posted by David M Gordon | 4:37 PM
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