Well Worth the Read

My book discussion group met yesterday to talk about Karen Joy Fowler's The Jane Austen Book Club. Everyone agreed that it was an entertaining novel in itself regardless of whether you were a Jane Austen fan or not, although I do think the book was more avidly read by those who enjoyed reading (or re-reading) the Austen books.

Overall, our group thought that The Jane Austen Book Club was a cleverly structured book in which the characters and theme were more important than the plot. While we didn't think the book had the potential to become "a literary classic" we agreed that it was well worth the read, as much for its delightful humor as for any other reason. We thought that Fowler had done admirable research (we spent considerable time reading the appendix of Austen-related material) and was obviously well-versed in the Jane Austen books. We couldn't decide though whether or not she "loved" Austen herself as, at times, she seemed to be taking digs or spoofing Austen through her characters.

Here's my assessment of our books this year:
1. Sons of Fortune by Jeffrey Archer - only fair *
2. The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith - a nice little read ***
3. Rockbound by Frank Parker Day - interesting **
4. The Constant Gardener by John LeCarre - very good ****
5. Sea Glass by Anita Shreve - good ***
6. Adultery by Richard B. Wright - very good ****
7. The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler - very good ****

I'm certainly glad I've read all these books; I wouldn't likely have picked them on my own were it not for the group, and it's interesting to read a variety of fiction. But, I'm not sure I can say of one of them that it was powerful, moving, challenging or totally absorbing.