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A review by holtfan
A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me about Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter by William Deresiewicz
5.0
Part memoir, part literary analysis, and part love letter to Jane Austen, A Jane Austen Education was an easy, thought-provoking, and thoroughly enjoyable read. Thanks for sending it to me, Kris.
Lucy Worsley says often in [b:Jane Austen at Home|34018949|Jane Austen at Home|Lucy Worsley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1485476449l/34018949._SY75_.jpg|55016435] that you find in Austen's works what you look for. The thought applies well here, though not in the way I expected.
What initially appealed to me was simply the male perspective it provides on Jane Austen. Just about everyone I know who loves Jane Austen is female. Heck, the only Austen-esque movie I can get my Dad and brothers to watch with me with any regularity is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. But the professor who first got me thinking 'academically' about Austen was male and looking back now I wish I had dug deeper into why she was his favorite author. (With the self-absorption of 18, I just assumed it was the same reason she was my favorite author!)
Surely, I reasoned when picking up this book, 'with a male perspective we won't get a shout out to Colin Firth's wet shirt scene for once.' (We do.) 'It will be an analysis that treats her not as a writer of romantic stories, but as a social commentator.' (Social commentary is there, but mostly romance.) 'At least it won't be one of those books where we're supposed to care about the author's search for Mr. Darcy.' (Well, I guess 'search for Lizzie Bennet' was more what we got.)
The book wasn't what I expected. But because it sounded so much like the things I already knew and loved about Austen, it made me appreciate her even more. The wonder of Austen is that her themes cross time, gender, and geography. She captures some of those elements of being human that apply everywhere. And this memoir helps draw that out.
I also enjoyed Deresiewicz's analysis of the novels. He made me appreciate [b:Mansfield Park|45032|Mansfield Park|Jane Austen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1397063295l/45032._SY75_.jpg|2722329] in a way none of my other readings about Austen's work have before.
This isn't a particularly hard hitting book. It is a memoir and with some tidbits about Jane Austen's biography thrown in with plot summaries of her books and analysis of her themes. We learn a lot about the author's own romantic woes and issues with his Dad.
But...at the end of the day, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I learned more about Austen. I never felt Deresiewicz overshadowed Austen (my biggest problem with [b:All Roads Lead to Austen: A Yearlong Journey with Jane|13636953|All Roads Lead to Austen A Yearlong Journey with Jane|Amy Elizabeth Smith|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1336338886l/13636953._SY75_.jpg|19248873].)And I genuinely looked forward to finding out what happened to him (and his journey for love) by the end.
What finally pushed it to five stars for me was simply how easy a read it was. Maybe this was a right time/right place/right mood thing. But it genuinely felt like chatting with a friend about our mutual appreciation for a great writer. The fact that I also learned to think more critically about Austen's works was just icing on the cake.
Lucy Worsley says often in [b:Jane Austen at Home|34018949|Jane Austen at Home|Lucy Worsley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1485476449l/34018949._SY75_.jpg|55016435] that you find in Austen's works what you look for. The thought applies well here, though not in the way I expected.
What initially appealed to me was simply the male perspective it provides on Jane Austen. Just about everyone I know who loves Jane Austen is female. Heck, the only Austen-esque movie I can get my Dad and brothers to watch with me with any regularity is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. But the professor who first got me thinking 'academically' about Austen was male and looking back now I wish I had dug deeper into why she was his favorite author. (With the self-absorption of 18, I just assumed it was the same reason she was my favorite author!)
Surely, I reasoned when picking up this book, 'with a male perspective we won't get a shout out to Colin Firth's wet shirt scene for once.' (We do.) 'It will be an analysis that treats her not as a writer of romantic stories, but as a social commentator.' (Social commentary is there, but mostly romance.) 'At least it won't be one of those books where we're supposed to care about the author's search for Mr. Darcy.' (Well, I guess 'search for Lizzie Bennet' was more what we got.)
The book wasn't what I expected. But because it sounded so much like the things I already knew and loved about Austen, it made me appreciate her even more. The wonder of Austen is that her themes cross time, gender, and geography. She captures some of those elements of being human that apply everywhere. And this memoir helps draw that out.
I also enjoyed Deresiewicz's analysis of the novels. He made me appreciate [b:Mansfield Park|45032|Mansfield Park|Jane Austen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1397063295l/45032._SY75_.jpg|2722329] in a way none of my other readings about Austen's work have before.
This isn't a particularly hard hitting book. It is a memoir and with some tidbits about Jane Austen's biography thrown in with plot summaries of her books and analysis of her themes. We learn a lot about the author's own romantic woes and issues with his Dad.
But...at the end of the day, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I learned more about Austen. I never felt Deresiewicz overshadowed Austen (my biggest problem with [b:All Roads Lead to Austen: A Yearlong Journey with Jane|13636953|All Roads Lead to Austen A Yearlong Journey with Jane|Amy Elizabeth Smith|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1336338886l/13636953._SY75_.jpg|19248873].)And I genuinely looked forward to finding out what happened to him (and his journey for love) by the end.
What finally pushed it to five stars for me was simply how easy a read it was. Maybe this was a right time/right place/right mood thing. But it genuinely felt like chatting with a friend about our mutual appreciation for a great writer. The fact that I also learned to think more critically about Austen's works was just icing on the cake.