Rachel Cohen

A wonderful, imaginative book. Each chapter is a double portrait of an encounter, not always chance, between two prominent artists, writers, and/or photographers. And these connections, taken as a whole, create a sort of group portrait over a period of hundred years. Cohen also fictionally speculates on how some of the meeting(s) might have played out, giving added delight. Recommend.

I was probably a less than ideal candidate for reading this book. I've struggled with this type of newer nonfiction, a combination of memoir and literary, in the past. Plus, I haven't read Austen since my high school days and wasn't a fan back then. Despite that I was drawn in at certain times to her personnel story, new child, father recently passed, and curious about her literary comments. Interesting to see that [author:Ta-Nehisi Coates|1214964], has also written literary criticism of show more Austen. For three years she diligently read Austen, trying to make sense of her own life through Austen's words.

I think I would have gotten more from this had I previously reread Austen's more popular novels. Was just too long ago, maybe I would get more from her works than I did reading as a teenager. It did, however, spark my interest in rereading, at least I'll start with one and see how it goes.

ARC from Netgalley. show less

I received a copy of this memoir from the publisher via NetGalley.

This isn't for me sadly, despite the fact that I am very fond of Jane Austen's novels. The opening section lacked any sense of structure and wandered to and fro in time and the novels and I felt lost. After that it settled down to focus on the novels one by one (or so I thought, but there is still a tendency to meander). I was not aware of Rachel Cohen before requesting this book and, while she writes movingly of her grief for show more her father, I am not interested enough in her to persist for that reason. I'm not learning anything I didn't already know about Austen or the novels either. The division of the heroines into 'E's' (Emma and Elizabeth) and the 'anns' (Fanny and Anne) was the end for me. show less

An interesting look at chance meeting between some of the literary worlds most prominent figures; Henry James, Mark Twain, WIlla Cather, and many others fill these pages with wonderful stories of friendship, commraderie, and the power of chance.