Title: The Jane Austen Book Club
Author: Karen Joy Fowler
Country: USA
Pages: 304
Year: 2004
Rating: 4 out of 5
There is something remarkably special about a group of women who gather to talk about books and literature, and maybe even the occasional men who join them. And when the women of the Jane Austen book club get together, it easy, as a reader, to see the magic thats created. Each one of these women have something remarkably dfining about them, and it is interesting to see the ways in which each of them parlay the book-of-the month in to a kind of personal connection. My favorite characters were inevitably Grigg (the lone male, a science fiction reader who was raised by an eccentric father and three sisters) and Allegra, the lesibian daughter of two of the central characters (whose final confrontation between her and the girlfriend is heartbreakingly unexpected and, as a reader, it is more than easy to feel the betrayal).
As someone who used to be part of a book club, and is now longer able to be part of a book club (damn you, 19-hour course load!) it was nice to have a little flashback to the times when I was able to gather and talk about what was read, really trying to figure things out. The characters that Fowler creates are, in their essence, simply human, living their lives and dealing with their own issues. Whether it be divorce, un-natural feelings towards students, a lack of love, or dealing with impending old age, there is something to be said, and something to be learned, from each of these characters, as well as from the unspoken character - Austen herself. Fowler includes a brief synopsis of each of the Austen books she mentions in the back, as well as including the opinions of other famous authors about Austen. Perhaps the most memorable instance is the very opening page, in which each of the main characters describes their "personal Austen." Everyone who has read Austen has read her in a different way, has created for themselves a kind of confidant, hero, role-model. To each their own, there is no "one" Austen.
It was a quick read, and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. I was able to read most of it out loud to my mother during our car trip to Oklahoma this past weekend over my spring break, and finished the rest of it within hours of returning to school. If you're looking for a quick read, a small glimpse in to the lives of women who are altered by Austen, or if you just want a quick synopsis of all those books you were "supposed to read" in high school, consider this your one-stop-shop.
Up next - finally getting to the comments on my blogroll, and perhaps a little F. Scott to keep my company! I wish you all peaceful days!
Author: Karen Joy Fowler
Country: USA
Pages: 304
Year: 2004
Rating: 4 out of 5
There is something remarkably special about a group of women who gather to talk about books and literature, and maybe even the occasional men who join them. And when the women of the Jane Austen book club get together, it easy, as a reader, to see the magic thats created. Each one of these women have something remarkably dfining about them, and it is interesting to see the ways in which each of them parlay the book-of-the month in to a kind of personal connection. My favorite characters were inevitably Grigg (the lone male, a science fiction reader who was raised by an eccentric father and three sisters) and Allegra, the lesibian daughter of two of the central characters (whose final confrontation between her and the girlfriend is heartbreakingly unexpected and, as a reader, it is more than easy to feel the betrayal).
As someone who used to be part of a book club, and is now longer able to be part of a book club (damn you, 19-hour course load!) it was nice to have a little flashback to the times when I was able to gather and talk about what was read, really trying to figure things out. The characters that Fowler creates are, in their essence, simply human, living their lives and dealing with their own issues. Whether it be divorce, un-natural feelings towards students, a lack of love, or dealing with impending old age, there is something to be said, and something to be learned, from each of these characters, as well as from the unspoken character - Austen herself. Fowler includes a brief synopsis of each of the Austen books she mentions in the back, as well as including the opinions of other famous authors about Austen. Perhaps the most memorable instance is the very opening page, in which each of the main characters describes their "personal Austen." Everyone who has read Austen has read her in a different way, has created for themselves a kind of confidant, hero, role-model. To each their own, there is no "one" Austen.
It was a quick read, and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. I was able to read most of it out loud to my mother during our car trip to Oklahoma this past weekend over my spring break, and finished the rest of it within hours of returning to school. If you're looking for a quick read, a small glimpse in to the lives of women who are altered by Austen, or if you just want a quick synopsis of all those books you were "supposed to read" in high school, consider this your one-stop-shop.
Up next - finally getting to the comments on my blogroll, and perhaps a little F. Scott to keep my company! I wish you all peaceful days!
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