The Jane Austen Book Club

The six members--five women and a man--of the eponymous book club include Sylvia, whose husband has just left her; Allegra, her adventurous lesbian artist daughter; multi-married Bernadette; and Grigg, who actually prefers science fiction. As the book club meets to discuss Austen's six incomparable novels, they also find themselves bonding over other, more personal, issues--and finding also that sometimes life and literature intertwine. The author, Karen Joy Fowler, has said in an interview that the best part of writing her own book was the necessity of re-reading those of Jane Austen, which she terms--and quite rightly--devastatingly witty. A New York Times Notable Book for 2004. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.