NORTHANGER ABBEY--Jane Austen

The next installment in the PBS/BBC Jane Austen series is set to air Sunday, January 20th, so I thought it was time to give my impressions of the book. I do not have high hopes for the dramatization, as, with most Austen fans, I found the last week's attempt to be mostly disappointing. Northanger Abbey, however, has been largely ignored by production companies eager to "reinterpret" Austen's work (there is only one film adaptation that I'm aware of), so at least it won't suffer too much by comparison.

Northanger Abbey probably has been so overlooked by film makers because is so often overlooked by fans of Austen. It is probably the least popular of her books because it is so very different from her other works. Yes, the basic formula is the same, a young woman of modest means looks for love and eventually finds it. But Catherine Morland is very different from the typical Austen heroine. She is obsessed with the bloodcurdling Gothic novels popular at the time, and allows her fiction-fueled imagination to run away from her. Austen writes in a style imitative of the genre, but it is in a warmly satirical way that may not be well understood by modern readers.

I have to admit it's never been one of my favorite books, but it improves with repeated readings and has found a place in my heart. I am looking forward to seeing the new screen adaptation, and I hope it will do the book justice. It's a good story, with engaging characters, and deserves to be well told.

AGNES GREY--Anne Bronte

I must admit I've never been fond of the the Brontes. I read "Wuthering Heights" many years ago, and I just couldn't see what all the fuss was about. What a downer. I have thought that perhaps I should give it another chance someday; maybe I was just too young at the time to "get it". Jane Eyre I read later, and since I found the heroine to be sympathetic, lovely, and noble I hoped for a little happier resolution to the story. She seemed to deserve it.

But I am trying to vary my literary diet a bit more, get out the reading rut I seem to find myself in lately, so I thought I'd give another Bronte sister a chance. And I really enjoyed Anne's "Agnes Grey". Forget "The Nanny Diaries"--this girl has real problems. The choices available to 19th century women seem tragic by today's standards--after all, in 2007 we have a very powerful woman with a strong chance of becoming our next president. But Agnes is no less courageous for her limitations. Underpaid, abused, unappreciated, she perseveres because she has no choice--her family needs the income she can earn by her labors.

Though her situation seems hopeless--a life filled with endless toil without hope of a life or love of her own, hiding her feelings and biting her tongue--the book offers a respite and reward for the deserving. Happiness, and love, are found in the end. For those who love happy endings--and for those looking for a Bronte to love--Agnes Grey delivers.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD, BABY GIRL--Fannie Flagg

I've never read Fannie Flagg's work before, although I did see the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes" years ago. Although Flagg's work is popular, I really wasn't sure I wanted to read anything she wrote. Frankly, I found parts of the movie somewhat disturbing. But I thought I'd give her a chance recently, and I am glad I did.

I had many preconceived notions about what I could expect from the novel, most of which were incorrect. I thought the locale would be southern small town, and the tone warm and folksy. While the story opens with a flashback to a small (Missouri) town, which is decidedly folksy (hilariously so, I might add), much of the action takes place in the more modern, fast paced New York media world.

The protagonist is a young woman working her way up the cutthroat ladder of television news. As she begins to experience more success, she also is under much more stress, which takes its toll on her mental and physical health. At the same time, she is haunted by the traumas and mysteries of her past, which unfold in a series of flashbacks. Her only family, back in the small town of her childhood, wish to smother her with the unconditional love and support she seems unwilling to accept, but she finally finds herself needing to lean on them. As the secrets of her past are revealed her life changes in ways she cannot foresee.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were genuine, the plot compelling, and the settings richly detailed. The story was believable and full of unexpected twists, and resolved happily. I look forward to reading more of Ms. Flagg's work, and will try to be more careful not to prejudge in the future!

PERSUASION--Jane Austen

I did promise at the outset not to make this a tribute to Jane Austen. The fact is, there are many of these on the web, and most are far better than mine could ever hope to be (For some great examples of these, please check out my links at the right). But my love and admiration for Miss Austen leads me to an enthusiasm I cannot always contain, so I hope you will bear with an occasional mention of her work.

The occasion for this post is the celebration of PBS's Masterpiece Theater's airing of dramatizations of all of JA's major works, beginning this weekend. This series was produced for British television and originally aired last fall. While I have read mixed reviews of these, I am really looking forward to seeing them for myself, and I want to encourage you to not only see the series but to read the books.

The first of the programs to air will be "Persuasion", possibly my favorite of Austen's works (choosing which I like best is almost as difficult as choosing a favorite among my children). This is one of her later novels, and features a more mature heroine and her regret over a lost love.

Anne Elliot, in her youth, was persuaded by her wealthy family and friends to reject the proposal of the man she loved, a poor sailor with questionable prospects. Now that she is older--at 27 considered an old maid in her day--she has resigned herself to her status and is content with being useful to others, feeling life and love have passed her by. Her lost love, however, has come back into her life, prosperous in his naval career and in search of a wife. His resentment of her earlier rejection cause him to pay attention to another girl, younger and well pleased with the attention of the dashing and wealthy navy captain. Meanwhile, Anne's wealthy family has suffered financial embarrassment and is forced to give up their ancestral estate, and an new admirer comes unexpectedly into her life.

I'll go no further, as you must experience this lovely story for yourself. Anne is possibly Austen's most noble and sympathetic heroine, and the passionate declaration of love at the end is surely one of the most satisfyingly romantic moments in literature.

An earlier adaptation of this book, starring Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root is among my most favorite of the Austen dramatizations, and while I have heard this new one is not as good I am prepared to love any attempt to bring her work to the screen and to a new audience. I hope you will check it out, and even more, that you will read the book. It is truly a love story to fall in love with.

QUEEN OF BABBLE--Meg Cabot

Meg Cabot may be the queen of chick-lit. Probably best known for her hugely successful "Princess Diaries" series, Cabot is the author of dozens of novels for both young readers and adults. While I'm not familiar with her kid-lit, other than having seen the movies, I have read a couple of her adult novels. Cabot knows the genre, and executes competently.

"The Queen of Babble" is typical, with a twenty something heroine narrating her career dilemmas, European travels, and embarrassing situations, all in a search for true love. Though she experiences trials and heartbreaks along the way, she begins to find self-confidence as her qualities are appreciated and her talents are recognized. The story is breezy, good-natured, often hilarious, and thoroughly predictable.

While a pleasant diversion, the story and the characters lack the depth to make this memorable or worthy of a second read. Still, it's entertaining, the heroine is sympathetic, and the hero is dreamy. And it's probably more worth your time than whatever is on TV tonight.

FAKING IT--Jennifer Crusie

My goal when I began this blog was to post daily, so that by the end of the year I would have entered 365 books. Less than a week into the year, I've already failed at that. Okay, so maybe some days I'll miss, others I'll do an extra to make up for it; I still hope to have a total of 365 by the end of the year. Here's the first of today's two entries.

As I stated in my last post, I love finding new authors to love. Well, I've just met Jennifer Crusie for the first time, and I can't wait to see more. In "Faking It", Crusie takes us into a world of art, money, crime, and family secrets, a world peopled with offbeat characters and filled with unexpected twists. At the core of this convoluted romp is an eccentric family who, while individually fragile, share a loving bond that is the core of their strength.

There isn't a character in the book who isn't broken in some way, and while this produces as much pathos as humor the tone remains upbeat. As plans unravel and secrets are revealed barriers are broken down and healing--and love--can begin. Quirky characters, strong family, and a happy ending may sound like the formula for a Frank Capra movie, but it also makes for a fun read. Just a word of warning, though, for those easily offended. There is sexual content in this book, some of it pretty explicit. If you don't mind that, or can get past it, this is a book really worth a look.

SAVANNAH BREEZE--Mary Kay Andrews

Picking out new books can be a crap shoot. You have high hopes, but often they let you down. I love finding new authors I enjoy, so I can be reasonably sure I'll like their other works.

That's how I felt when I read my first Mary Kay Andrews book several months ago, and my theory held true when I recently read "Savannah Breeze". Andrews' writing is a cut above the usual "chick-lit" fare, with more depth and substance to her writing, better developed characters, and more interesting plot lines. In this book, she employs the interesting device of having two of the characters alternately narrate different chapters, to shift the point of view slightly. The story involves a betrayal, a crime, and a crazy caper in an attempt to recover what was stolen and exact revenge. I love the novel's southern sensibility, the quirky characters, and especially the strong, loyal friendship at its core.

And the happy ending. I'm a sucker for those.

THE NEXT BIG THING--Johanna Edwards

I admit it (confession number two, if you're keeping track), I have a small addiction problem. I read loads of cheesy chick-lit. Far more than is good for me. You know the type, breezy, lightweight often first-person chronicles of the ups and downs of single-gal life. They're usually told with a great deal of humor, and the girl generally gets the guy in the end--kind of like a grown-up fairy tale. Yes, it's mindless escapism, but let's face it, sometimes mindless is good. Jean-Paul Sartre has his place, but when you're mentally zapped after a long day of dealing with, well, your life, what's wrong with relaxing and just being entertained for a while?

So today's book is representative of this vastly popular genre. And it's pretty good, incorporating another of America's mindless obsessions--reality TV. The main character, having met her British Mr. Right online, finds herself in need of rapid weight loss, as he's pressuring her for a face-to-face and she's not been entirely truthful about her plus-size figure. Enter the reality show, with the promise of a competitive weight-loss program and a nice cash prize with which to adorn the new body in style.

But "The Biggest Loser" this isn't. The competition is cut-throat, the producers manipulative, and contrivances tortuous. The drama, both onscreen and off, makes for compelling reading, and while the ending follows the predictable pattern there are still enough plot twists to keep you engaged. The protagonist is sympathetic, the characters are well fleshed out (no pun intended), and the pacing is brisk. If you're looking for a few hours of light entertainment, this isn't a bad choice.

DARCY'S STORY--Janet Aylmer

Okay, I have to begin my first book post with a confession--my first of many, if I am to live up to my pretentious blog title. I LOVE Jane Austen. Please, before you run screaming into online oblivion, never to return, give me a chance. I DO acknowledge there are other authors--some even from this century. I DON'T parade around in Regency costume, learning country dances and holding tea parties (not that there's anything wrong with that). I've never fantasized about being swept away by Mr. Darcy, or even Colin Firth. But I've been enjoying Austen's work since I was in my teens, re-reading every few years, and am always entertained by her gentle nuance, and amazed by her razor wit. I'll save individual reviews of her books for future posts, but if you've never given Jane a try, you might be pleasantly surprised by her.

So I decided my first book had to pay tribute to my favorite authoress, with a review of a recent Jane Austen "sequel". You see, there is an entire literary sub-genre of JA fan fiction--sequels, prequels, retellings, modernizations, etc. Since poor Jane only managed to give us a few novels, her fans have always hungered for more. As you can imagine, some of these are better than others. And none of them truly live up to the originals. Still, after you've read "Pride and Prejudice" for the eighth or ninth time you want to find a way to spend a little more time with Lizzie and Darcy. It's fun to see her world through others' eyes, and read what they imagine might have happened after the curtain fell, or how the story might be seen from the perspective of a different protagonist.

That's the premise of Janet Aylmer's "Darcy's Story". Rather than relating the events through the eyes of Lizzie Bennet, JA's female protagonist, the author chooses to tell us the story as experienced by Darcy, the leading man. As Mr. D is the brooding, strong silent type, we were always left wondering just what was going through his mind at critical moments. Aylmer seeks to answer this question for us, while also filling us in on what he was doing during the lengthy passages in the original in which he does not appear.

I've read several of these novels, and I have to commend the author for her attempt to remain true to the original, unlike so many others. Unfortunately, this leads to her using much of Austen's material, including long passages of dialogue repeated verbatim. I found myself thinking I could just have read "Pride and Prejudice" and probably enjoyed it more. That said, I did enjoy the story. The character of Darcy was a bit more fleshed out, and the author's imaginings of what he might have been doing, thinking, and saying in those times in which he is not a part of the main action of the story are interesting and well thought out. Aylmer also does a very good job retaining the writing style and language of the early eighteenth century without sounding stilted or artificial. And I appreciated the fact that that, unlike many contemporary reworkings of Austen's work, no attempt was made to made to "spice up" the work for a modern audience.

Not Jane Austen, but not bad. And believe me, I've read enough bad to recognize it.

About me

Why am I here? Well, existential dilemas aside, the blog thing is just something I've been kicking around for awhile. I love to write, but I didn't feel a compelling need to share an online diary of my not-terribly-interesting life, nor had I any burning desire to share my views on current events, political issues, reality TV, or the latest antics of Britney Spears. I can't imagine anyone, except perhaps my mother, would have any interest in reading such drivel. On second thought, she probably wouldn't either.

I have, however, been wanting for some time to begin keeping a log or journal of what I've read. I read a lot. Too much, really. And after awhile, it all kind of runs together. I'd like to have a list of books I've read, and some notes about what I thought of them, in case I want to go back and re-read something I enjoyed, or check out an author's other works. And this, I thought, might be interesting.

You see, I read almost anything. Just like with my diet, I try to consume what is most nourishing. But more often, I wind up snacking on junk. So while I sometimes like to sink my teeth into great literature, or feed my brain with interesting non-fiction, much of my consumption is the literary equivalent of potato chips. My eclectic reading list, I thought, might be the fodder for some potentially lively discussion.

Feel free to add your own opinions. Argue, agree, laugh with me or at me. Recommend your own favorites. I'd love to hear from you!