From Publishers Weekly
Fowler's fifth novel (after PEN/Faulkner award finalist Sister Noon) features her trademark sly wit, quirky characters and digressive storytelling, but with a difference: this one is book club ready, complete with mock-serious "questions for discussion" posed by the characters themselves. The plot here is deceptively slim: five women and one enigmatic man meet on a monthly basis to discuss the novels of Jane Austen, one at a time. As they debate Marianne's marriage to Brandon and whether or not Charlotte Lucas is gay, they reveal nothing so much as their own "private Austen(s)": to Jocelyn, an unmarried "control freak," the author is the consummate matchmaker; to solitary Prudie, she's the supreme ironist; to the lesbian Allegra, she's the disingenuous defender of the social caste system, etc. The book club's conversation is variously astute, petty, obvious and funny, but no one stays with it: the characters nibble high-calorie desserts, sip margaritas and drift off into personal reveries. Like Austen, Fowler is a subversive wit and a wise observer of human interaction of all stripes ("All parents wanted an impossible life for their children's happy beginning, happy middle, happy ending. No plot of any kind"). She's also an enthusiastic consumer of popular culture, offsetting the heady literary chat with references to Sex and the City, Linux and "a rug that many of us recognized from the Sundance catalog." Though the 21 pages of quotations from Austen's family, friends and critics seems excessive, the novelty of Fowler's package should attract significant numbers of book club members, not to mention the legions of Janeites craving good company and happy endings.

RELEASE NOTES:

Releasing at MidSouth Bookcrossing Meetup today.

Loved this book - will release at work in bookdrawer! Thanks!

Sending as a RABCK to Finland!

I could not believe my eyes when I saw that an US package was waiting for me after I returned home from work. This RABCK was a heartwarming surprise. Thousand thanks for sending this wishlist book to me ariesgirl29. I will read this and then pass in on to fellow Finnish bookcrossers in our local meeting.

I finally picked up this book for reading as I am working my way up from the oldest end of my TBR's registered by others. I kind of had high hopes for the story as I do like Austen's books a lot. The name of the book was misleading in a way, as this book is not so much concentrated on discussing Jane Austen, her style and her plots. For me it was more a like journey to different family or love relationships of the book club members. Yes, in some points there was a comparison drawn from the Austen's days to these modern complex emotional relationships, but it was not that much. I felt the structure of the book was quite jumpy between the minds of the characters and somehow was not able to get into the flow with this one.

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

We visited the Studenthuset City in Alta based on the many releases done there based on the Go Hunting info. I did not find any official info on this BC shelf beforehand, so it was a great surprise and pleasure to find a brand new stylish OBCZ with official signs and all. We had a great coffee break here and I browsed through almost all the books in the shelves :). There were only a couple of books in English available, so I left this book and one other to the shelf to find new readers. Thanks for creating this OBCZ, hopefully it gets included to the OBCZ Finder Map soon.

Happy reading and greetings from Finland!

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