A review by lynnaeaowens
A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter by William Deresiewicz

3.0

This is a memoir that ties in lessons learned from Jane Austen's works. I appreciated the early essays where Deresiewicz explores his initial perspectives regarding Austen and his difficulty appreciating her works. The "lessons" he ties in early on feel natural and were compelling. However, as the book progresses, the attempt to tie each novel to a trite lesson feels forced. Obviously the author is working within the constraints of the narrative of his life and the narratives of Austen's plots, but I felt like by the end he was making grand summaries about broad topics like "love" without actually delving into the novel he had titled the chapter after!


3/5 Well-written and interesting, but not fully executed.