The Jane Austen Book Club (2004)

I was really excited when this book came out but found it disappointing. For me, the writing was very dry and the plotline was dull. ( )

Over 200 years ago a young woman by the name of Jane Austen wrote six novels over a period of fifteen years. They are romantic and center around the manners and mores of the landed gentry of the time. She was never acknowledged as a writer during her time but the novels have since earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature. Over the years the books have been both praised and reviled (Mark Twain wrote “It would be a good library without those books even if there were no books in the library.”) but the praise far outruns the venom. There are clubs throughout the world devoted to the examination and explanation of Miss Austen’s six novels. And “The Jane Austen Book Club” is a fictional account of such a club.

In Central California five women and one man get together once a month for six months to discuss the novels, one each month. Over that time marriages are tested, affairs begin and fade, unsuitable arrangements become suitable, and love happens. Karen Joy Fowler channels Jane Austen brilliantly as she writes of the present day gentry with their faults, foibles and joys.

The first meeting, in March is hosted by Jocelyn. She has never married, raises, for show and stud, a breed of dog called Ridgebacks, noted as a matriarchal breed and Jocelyn is definitely the Alpha female. With her in charge, as the author puts it, an advanced civilization will come about. The book under discussion is Emma.

In April the group is hosted by Allegra, the daughter of Sylvia, a third member of the club. Allegra has broken up with her long time girlfriend for having revealed Allegra’s three deepest secrets. The book examined is Sense and Sensibility.

May finds the group at Prudie’s. Prudie teaches French at the local high school. Although she has never been to France she annoys by constantly using French phrases. As one of her friends says; “If only she would stop speaking French–or go to France where it wouldn’t be so noticeable.” Prudie suffers from a growing libido that tends to color the rest of her conversation. Mansfield Park is their subject

In June they convene at Grigg’s, the lone male of the group. He had never read any of the Austen novels and had been invited to join the group by Jocelyn much to the wonderment of the women. For whom had Jocelyn destined him? Instead of having each of the six novels separate he had bought the big compendium of Austen’s work, a single book viewed as heresy by the others. He had an additional fault: he liked science-fiction and read it widely, proposing that they should read “Lavinia” by Ursula K. LeGuinn. Northanger Abbey is this month’s subject.

July is for Bernadette, the oldest of the group. She is inclined to hold forth while no one seems to listen. Bernadette never says anything once if it can be said three times. Pride and Prejudice is her book.

August finds the group back at Sylvia’s house. Her husband, Daniel, had left her but at this point is starting to show up frequently. This concerns the ladies because they had concluded that Jocelyn had meant Grigg for Sylvia. Other characters are starting to enter the story as various arcs are nearing completion. The book is Persuasion.

Filled with humor and incisive insight The Jane Austen Book Club will be enjoyed whether or not you are a Jane Austen fan. After all as Anthony Lane, a film critic for The New Yorker magazine, wrote in 1999 “Nudity, sexual abuse, lesbianism, a dash of incest–will we never tire of Jane Austen?” ( )

Well, this book surely had a really cool idea, but it was kinda boring, and I found myself not caring about any of the characters. ( )

The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler... not utterly terrible, but not very good, either, in my opinion. The main thing that stuck out to me, throughout, was that the narrator was weird and the narrative jumped about in the most irritating way. It wasn't just that there were flashbacks -- I don't mind those, deployed correctly -- but there were flashbacks and then there were chapters in the present. And the narrator seemed to be a member of the book club, but an unnamed, invisible one. And for all that she closes it at the end with a neat little Austen quote, I didn't feel much closure. Not much happened with Prudie. Allegra and Corinne don't seem exactly suited. Bernadette has another husband, another happily ever after. Daniel and Sylvia are apparently back together with virtually no fuss. Jocelyn and Grigg, the same.

I also didn't really buy into the magic of Jane Austen. Or the theme of Jane Austen's books binding everything together. The members of the club didn't all really know each other, or meet up outside of the group, it seemed.

I did like the way Ursula Le Guin sneaked in there. I'd believe in the magic of her books, any day.

It wasn't really terribly interesting, really. Women being married, or in the process of divorce, or getting boyfriends. Yawn. ( )

This is a bit of a catch-22 situation. You might like this book a lot if you have read all of the Jane Austen books because you get the inside jokes and the oblique references or you might hate this book a lot if you have read all of the Jane Austen books because you indeed get the references.

In my case I had not read any Austen books when I read this. I had seen a few adaptations of the books in various forms : historical (Pride and Prejudice 2005), modern (aka Clueless) so I had no bases to critique the interpretations of the books by the members of the Austen book club. I did like the characters. I was able to connect with some parts of each of them. It would have been more enjoyable if I had read the Austen books and been able to make parallels with the characters' lives but then maybe it would have colored my views too much. Like I said catch-22 situation. ( )