Sherry F. (sherryfair) reviewed on 12/3/2005 + 55 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 3

This is a dry, witty, satirical, slender little story that made me pause and re-read certain sentences again, asking myself, "Did Fowler really go there?" Indeed, she did. The book focuses on a group of middle-class Californians, mostly women, who meet every month in an "All Jane Austen, All the Time" book club. The characters' reflections on Jane Austen's books offer insights into the choices they've made about their own lives. (The book is related in the plural first-person viewpoint, as "we," a brilliant strategy.) The book contains many stories nestled within stories, which makes it a little digressive, but hang on, it's worth following any of Fowler's side-roads. The post-modern twists are wonderfully funny, rather than annoying. (For example, the book club members in the book pose some book club questions about the book in which they have appeared at the very end. So don't stop when you think the narrative's done, keep reading.) While I think the book has got so many strands going every which way that there are still some sticking out at the end, I really enjoyed myself while reading it. This isn't a hilarious, knee-slapping comedy, it's more a comedy of manners (yes, I suppose I'll have to allude to Austen). And like Austen, it doesn't just skim the surface; it leaves little cuts after it delivers its sharp little observations.

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