Austen Powers: The Jane Austen Book Club, by Karen Joy Fowler

Review by Bruce Collier October 7, 2004 Issue

Having read only bits and pieces of Jane Austen, I hesitated before reading Karen Joy Fowler’s The Jane Austen Book Club for a review. I was encouraged by the message on the book jacket that said, in effect, Previous Austen Exposure Not Necessary. After finishing the book, I must admit I’d probably have gotten more out of it had I read more Austen beforehand. Nevertheless, the book is more about Austen enthusiasts (or “Janeites,” as one critic calls them) than it is about any one of the six novels written by the remarkable British author. In keeping with the spirit and subject matter of the novels, The Jane Austen Book Club is also about women, men, money, marriage, and society. All in 286 pages.

Jane Austen wrote six novels: Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, and Northanger Abbey, all still in print. She enjoyed limited literary recognition and little financial remuneration in her lifetime. Since her death, however, her reputation and the reputation of her works has widened to the point that the number and devotion of her readers approaches that of William Shakespeare’s fan base. There are hundreds of Jane Austen book clubs and societies all over the English-speaking and non-English speaking world. Fowler’s fictional little group consists of five women and one man. The women—Bernadette, Prudie, Sylvia, Allegra, and Jocelyn, are all ardent lifelong readers. The man, Grigg, is new to Jane Austen, branching out from a passion for science fiction.

The book is narrated by one of the five women. Who it is, you are never specifically told; though at one point I thought I had it figured out. At times the point of view shifts, to that of whichever person is telling her particular story, but we always return to the original voice. One thing every character had in common for me was that on first acquaintance, I disliked them all. Adjectives like “self-indulgent,” “judgmental,” “pretentious,” and “trivial” all came to mind. As the story develops, Fowler shows us their lives in greater detail, and, to paraphrase a French writer, to understand all is to forgive some.

I spoke of a story. There’s not much, really. The book covers six months in the lives of the club members. Each chapter is framed by a monthly club meeting, in which individual members host a discussion of their particular favorite Austen novel. Also played out in that time are memories, marital woes, unhappy love affairs, yuppie sports, cultural shindigs, a lot of wine and cheese—it’s set in California—and a denouement of sorts. What kept me interested, and reading, were the tidbits of Austen scholarship and criticism, as well as Fowler’s frequently sharp and insightful observations on people, especially her characters. It’s always annoying when you dislike a character you suspect the author wants you to like. Whenever that appeared to be happening in The Jane Austen Book Club, the narrator would bring me up short with a comment showing the character was getting on her nerves as well. Not many writers have the capacity to create a fellow feeling with the reader. There’s Fielding, Thackery, and, oh yeah, Jane Austen.

My favorite part of the book came at the end. Fowler gives short synopses of the novels, followed by 26 pages called “The Response.” This covers 200 years of footnoted critical comments about Austen from her family, fans, detractors and fellow authors. The book closes on a very funny three-page list of “Questions for Discussion,” in which the characters in the club pose questions not only about Austen, but also about The Jane Austen Book Club and their own creator, Karen Joy Fowler. If you think self-referential fiction is always irritating, read this question raised by artist Allegra:

In The Jane Austen Book Club, I take two falls and visit two hospitals. Did you stop to wonder how a woman who supports herself making jewelry affords health insurance?

I didn’t like Allegra until I read that question. Overall, the stuff at the end made the whole book worthwhile, at least for me.

There’s more to this book than met my eye. I think there’s a great deal more literary fun to be derived from it if you are familiar with Austen’s work. Nevertheless, The Jane Austen Book Club has been on the best-seller lists for some time, and they can’t all be Jane Austen readers out there. Or can they?

G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 286 pages. Available at book retailers and local libraries.

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