Lizzy and Jane

Katherine Reay has been on my radar for quite a while now, and after reading The Brontë Plot a couple of years ago, I was curious about some of her other stories. This is a book I got probably 5-6 years ago as an ARC, and somehow, never took the time to read it, much to my shame. One of my goals this year is to work through all those old ARCs, and I finally found time and space to fit this one in—I’m so glad I did!

This book was nothing like what I was expecting, in the very best way. From the title of the book and the little I knew of its contents (I must have read the back cover at some stage, although I don’t remember that now), I thought it would be something of a Pride and Prejudice retelling…or at least heavily inspired by show more the classic. Instead, Reay takes the quintessential elements of the story (as well as inspiration from a few other Austen titles!) and lifts them to a whole new plane in this contemporary world. It didn’t feel heavy-handed at all, or like things were placed there as if saying, “Look! This is from that!”—instead, this felt like a whole new story, with occasional similarities. I loved that. (Oh, and in this vein, one of my favorite lines in the book was when one sister turned to the other and said in effect, “That’s sweet and all, but can we be finished with our Elinor and Marianne moment?” SO. FUNNY!)

One of my favorite elements of the book was the family relationships, especially between the two sisters. I loved watching them grow and change as the book went on, and my heart hurt for them because of everything they’d gone through up to that point that pulled them apart. The friendship element of the story was much more on-page than the romance, which I found refreshing; I’d almost argue that this book fits more into the women’s fiction category rather than romance, except the romance, when it was there, was delightfully sweet, as well.

Then there’s the food…I’d love to try some of Elizabeth’s concoctions (just not the yucky-smelling ones, please!). I especially enjoyed how she used food to build community. 100% with ya there, sister.

Oh! And the faith element! It wasn’t preachy or super overt, but it was there…and I loved it.

If you’re looking for an easy-to-read, gripping story with some lightheartedness and a good dash of depth, I’d highly recommend you check out this story. Knowledge of Jane Austen’s stories is absolutely NOT a requirement to enjoying this book; if you know the classics, you’ll enjoy the little nuances here and there, but you won’t miss anything if you aren’t familiar with Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility. This was a hope-filled, redemptive read, one I’m hoping to reread in the future. It’s a gem!

I was given a complimentary copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it. show less

I am officially a fan of this author and will now join the ranks of people who will be waiting with baited breath for her next book. This one didn't reach out and grab me quite as firmly as Dear Mr. Knightley , but I still loved it. It may be because I am kind of the opposite of a "foodie" and I have gotten so that I really hate to cook, so all the food references/descriptions held no allure for me. Oh, and I was disappointed to find that Katherine Reay and I actually disagree on an author. Hemingway? Really? (Insert smile emoji here.)
Other than that, I loved the characters, even though both Lizzy and Jane were a little hard to like at different parts of the story. But that is very understandable with all they are going and have gone show more through. I loved all the other characters as well, up to and including the "dystopian library" of people. I think it takes a pretty amazing author to get you invested in people's lives that you only meet for a few pages. I cried over a character I had only met a couple of times. Well-done!
As with the author's other book, this one was also heartwrenching, heartbreaking, insightful, touching, and it stayed with me when I wasn't reading it and made me think. I loved the book references (except Hemingway), and the name of this book aside, it didn't make me want to start reading Pride and Prejudice again, but rather to go to my personal Austen favorite, Persuasion , because that ending melted my heart. And last but not least, I loved the settings. It is no secret that I adore The Big Apple, The City That Never Sleeps, The City So Nice, They Named It Twice..... yes, I'm always in a New York State of Mind. But I was also very excited about the Seattle setting, since I am in the throes of planning a trip there in a couple of months. Win-win!! So, cuddle up on the couch and give this one a read.
On to Persuasion and the long wait for Katherine Reay's next book. show less

Lizzy is a chef an NYC who leads a busy but lonely life running a successful restaurant. She returns to her home in Seattle where her sister, Jane, is undergoing chemotherapy. Their relationship has been strained since their mom's death years before, but despite their different lives, they try to reconnect. This one was an unexpected joy. I identified a bit too much with the plot and at times it was hard to read about the sisters losing their mom as teens. There's a small romance, but the heart of the book is the sisters' relationship and the struggle of dealing with cancer.

Like the characters in Reay's other modern romance books, Lizzy and Jane deal with deep hurts that affect their relationships (with everyone, not just their romantic interest). I enjoyed how the author explored how these characters work through their issues and learn to relate in more healthy ways. I read these at a time when I was recognizing and pondering a number of relationship challenges in my own life and in the lives of those around me.

It's funny how differently we grieve. Lizzy and Jane fell apart over the loss of their mother and it is with reluctance that they attempt a reconciliation when Jane is also diagnosed with cancer. This relationship feels very real and hardly ever very sweet, but the sisters do seem to come to terms with each other no their past, which is nice.

Lizzy is a chef in new York and takes time off when it is suggested she is losing her touch in the restaurant and needs to rediscover her passion. She goes home to Seattle to see her sister Jane, who is having chemotherapy for breast cancer. She ends up staying longer than planned and cooks meals for one of Jane's fellow patients at the infusion centre.

There were things I liked about this novel, including the Seattle setting and some of the details about cancer treatment and how it affects whole families. However, I never really believed in Lizzy the high-powered chef, and she was so thoroughly unpleasant to every one she met that it was hard to root for her. At first I thought she was going to become nicer as the novel progressed, but show more she was still selfish and mean at the end. I'm not sure why Nick fell for her - she certainly didn't deserve him. Much was made of how Jane and Lizzy's mother had died of cancer and Lizzy had been there, while Jane stayed in Shanghai. Then, after her death Lizzy went to New York and never came home and Jane came home and was close to their father. This seemed to be intended to be the root of all their problems and talking it over was meant to bring healing and a fresh start, but I couldn't really grasp the logic of all the emotion flying around and, once again, I just think Lizzy was a really nasty person.

One star deducted for the rewrite of Wentworth's proposal (from Persuasion) at the end. show less

"The cake and I faced each other - the last two elements of a discarded celebration. I covered it, shoved it into a corner, and started to wipe down the counters."

Elizabeth is making it in New York as a chef, but something's not quite right and she can see the writing on the wall of her restaurant. She decides to fly home for the first time in 15 years to visit her widowed father and her sister, who's struggling with cancer. Can Elizabeth cook the family back into happiness, and will prickly Jane let down her defences enough for Elizabeth to help?

This reminded me so much of The Love Verb, that it's not funny. Also a little bit of Helen Garner's The Spare Room (although really the only connection there is the friend as impatient show more patient). The writing isn't very demanding, but pleasant enough; it tugs on the heartstrings every now and again and there is the occasional plot twist, but much of it predictable and comforting. Like hot chocolate. What I did particularly like about this is that while it looks like it's going to be an Austen retelling, it actually wasn't; in fact, even though the two main characters are named for Austen's most famous sisters, neither of them is (I thought) particularly like Austen's Bennet girls. They are much more alike, both hot-tempered, proud and indignant, but capable of great compassion.

Instead, the Austen reference is about the experience of having read Austen - what the reader learns from Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility and Persuasion (and I was glad to see some references in there to Persuasion which I think is a vastly underrated Austen novel!).

The New York setting doesn't feel that strong - but we don't spend very long in New York. Seattle felt very small-town - they seem to walk nearly everywhere or take very short car rides - is it really that small? That said, culturally it was a pleasant and consistent depiction of a relaxed way of life contrasting with New York's hecticism (I may have just made up that word).

One niggle (and it's possible that this is fixed in the print version, but it wasn't in my eGalley): in The Love Verb and other cooking-related fiction (e.g. Meet Me At The Cupcake Cafe), the author included the recipes. I would really have liked the recipes to be included in the book so I could replicate some of them at home!

Enjoyable, light; it won't stay with you long but it's a very pleasant read while you're at it. show less