This quirky group meets over six months to discuss Austen's novels, one by one, and, of course, ends up discussing much more.ĭuring a morning call to North Carolina where Fowler, a California resident, is writer-in-residence at a small college, the author's voice has a warmth suited to her Southern surroundings.
When the novel begins, the book club is meeting for the first time at Jocelyn's house, in California's Central Valley, to discuss Emma. ("It was essential to reintroduce Austen into your life regularly, let her look around," she says.) There is Jocelyn's best friend, Sylvia, recently separated from her husband of 30-plus years Allegra, Sylvia's daughter, a lesbian, chic, beautiful and adventurous ("Always good to know what the lesbians were thinking about love and marriage," remarks one member) Prudie, the youngest at 20-something, married and a high school French teacher who annoys the others by lapsing into français Bernadette, who, at the age of 67 "recently announced that she was, officially, letting herself go" and finally, there is the token man, the enigmatic Grigg, who bravely joins the group having never read Austen. There's the energetic Jocelyn, a single, middle-aged dog breeder and creator of the Jane Austen book club. And in The Jane Austen Book Club, she invites readers into the living rooms-and into the lives-of her colorful characters. Karen Joy Fowler, an expert observer of relationships, knows this. That's because a book club is also about the people, their lives both inside and outside the group. Sure the books are important, the glue that binds the thing together, but peel the metaphorical cover back and many stories unfold. It's about the wine and cheese and desserts and endless digressions.
Anyone who has ever been part of a book club knows that it's not just about the books.
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