First let me say that I did not finish this book. It's a bit rare for me to read a fad book (one that has been released recently and has a major motion picture based on the text). I only read the first 25 pages of my copy of The Jane Austen Book Club to decide it wasn't for me. It is incredibly difficult for me to start a book and not finish it. There are two things that I disliked so intensely that I'll share with you. First, the author begins by introducing her cast of characters. In preliminary and introductory stories on Jocelyn (the host of the first book club meeting), there is so much irrelevant and vulgar sexuality that it put me off right away. In a way I believe the author was trying to provoke a connection to the reader by putting in something that seemed "authentic" or "real" which one could relate to. She wasted no time revealing Jocelyn's intimate past in a super cheap way. No tack or taste. Secondly, I presume the author became as popular as she did because she invoked the name of a very popular author in her title. In order to be successful after doing so, I believe the author ought to have done 1 of 3 things. First, the book could have been about Jane Austen (think Shakespeare in Love). This book is clearly about the members of the club. Second she could have written a story in the same vein as Austen with a modern twist (she went too far off base in the beginning to possibly do that). Finally, she could have created a story so radically different from one of Austen's, but it would have to be remarkably good. I think the author fell somewhere in between all three of these threads and wasn't successful. It is a shame because I liked her style of writing; she had an interesting way of putting words together. It was, however, not enough to keep me glued to the book. Don't bother with this one; it's not even beach read worthy. It has even turned me off from ever seeing the movie. I'm now wishing I had a copy of Persuasion....
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