Review: The Jane Austen Book Club

Title: The Jane Austen Book Club 
Author: Karen Joy Fowler
Publication Date: January 1st, 2004
Publisher: Plume
Genre: Adult Contemporary Fiction
Pages: 288
Source: bought 
Rating: 4 I'd take this book for coffee


Summary from Goodreads: In California's central valley, five women and one man join to discuss Jane Austen's novels. Over the six months they get together, marriages are tested, affairs begin, unsuitable arrangements become suitable, and love happens. With her eye for the frailties of human behavior and her ear for the absurdities of social intercourse, Karen Joy Fowler has never been wittier nor her characters more appealing. The result is a delicious dissection of modern relationships.

Dedicated Austenites will delight in unearthing the echoes of Austen that run through the novel, but most readers will simply enjoy the vision and voice that, despite two centuries of separation, unite two great writers of brilliant social comedy. 

My thoughts: Though I haven't read much adult fiction as of late, after this delightful read, I will definitely be adding Fowler's other works to my to-read list. Though I've tried unsuccessfully to read Pride & Prejudice (it's still on my to-read list, though!), entering the world of Austen and her readers was a lovely experience. I am greatly encouraged to start reading Austen's works after seeing the effect that they have on her readers (fictional or not). I must caution readers who are unfamiliar with Austen's work but plan to read her in the future - there are story spoilers in this book. Me having a terrible memory and all, I'm sure by the time I get around to reading Miss Austen's work, I will have forgotten any specific remarks. :) For those who love Austen, this is a must-read!

One thing I'm still unsure about is the narrator of the story. The narrator repeatedly refers to the book club as "us" or "we," but never is there an "I" to relate this voice back to. This threw me off at first, though as I continued reading, it stopped bothering me. The format of the story: I love the back-and-forth nature between the book club meetings and the stories/backgrounds of the characters themselves. I think Bernadette is probably my favorite character, though I enjoyed them all. I did feel that I wanted to know even more about the characters themselves...Although the point of the story is clearly Austen and the legacy she's left to the future generations of readers, I feel the story was cut short. It came to a nice and tidy end, but the club members' lives so intrigued me that I wanted to know what happened to them after the club ended.

This is a very well-written story, and one that manages to create multiple vivid characters (all of them). I want to be a member of this book club! Jocelyn and her Rhodesian Ridgebacks and dog shows; Grigg and the history of his love of science fiction; Sylvia and Daniel's relationship; Allegra's past with Corinne; Prudie's job as a teacher (some of which, as a preservice teacher, bothered me a bit!); Bernadette's romantic nature; I loved them all. Though it seems like a lot of characters to juggle and get to know in such a short book (the text itself is only 250 pages, the other 38 are a reader's guide), Fowler more than makes it work - her characters each shine as individuals as well as a new group of reading friends/acquaintances. There is heartbreak, new love, dark pasts, and bright futures. This book has it all!