CBR13 BINGO: People
I am not a re-reader. I think that I have only re-read maybe 2-3 books EVER. There are so many books out there, and so little time. I’m not a particularly fast reader so I stick with the new experiences rather than re-living the old. That being said, this novel did have me wondering just why on earth I haven’t suspended my self imposed “rule” for all of the Jane Austen novels. I dragged out the reading of her novels for YEARS because I knew it was finite. After reading them, I scratched any itch with movies, television shows, re-tellings and novels about people who read Jane Austen novels. So, here we are again.
Jenner’s novel is a sweet and melancholy little book about villagers (and one famous Hollywood actress) in a small rural British community who come together to preserve the legacy of Jane Austen and her family. Each of them is carrying on in the wake of a World War as well as personal and familial tragedies. Sharing a deep love of Jane Austen and living in the village where she spent the last years of her short life only enhances their passion. From all backgrounds: doctor to servant to movie star to farm hand, each is very tapped into the Jane Austen zeitgeist: suffering in silence, thwarted romance, small town gossip, and the struggle to discover one’s purpose.
It’s a lovely book full of well developed characters that if not for their love of Jane Austen may have never met.
You know what? I think I may re-read Persuasion now. I mean, if not for myself, I should do it for the Gateway CBR Bingo square, right?
One note: While the Jane Austen Chawton House does exist and was preserved for visiting and study, this is an entirely fictional account. I was kind of disappointed to learn that.