I really think at some point I need to delve into my psyche and figure out what it is about me that makes me such an aficionado of authors such as Austen, Dickens and Dumas. What is the common theme that ties them together? Is it the language they use? The formal, yet satirical prose? The three authors tackle very different themes, but somehow they evoke the same feeling in me. Enough rambling.I love Jane Austen. You've heard this before. I don't know if I would enjoy her so much if it hadn't been for Karl. Maybe he made me think it was okay to like her so much, I mean, come on, he's a dude and she is one of his favorite authors! She writes about women, and love stories, right, what is so extraordinary about that? Her writing, her dialogue, her characters--they are all amazing.
If you didn't know yet, the "Lost Memoirs" is a work of fiction by a women who, like me, is fascinated by Jane Austen and wanted to fill the void that having only six completed novels leaves. The book was entertaining, it was full of actual facts about Jane Austen's family, friends, and whereabouts in the early 19th century, but the story is fictional. Syrie James writes as Miss Austen, trying to carve out what Austen lovers everywhere would like to think was her real love life and the inspiration for her books.
It fell short. But, really, how could it not? Ms. James tries to write as Austen, which basically made me feel like I was reading bits and pieces of each of her novels thrown into one pot. It had the feeling of plagiarism, and I am not saying that it was, but when you are trying to write a fictional memoir based on history and already written novels, how else could it turn out?
I can guarantee you that the beginning of 2008 is going to be dedicated to re-reading each Austen novel. Maybe then I will have the answer to what exactly it is about Austen's books that I find so exceptional.
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