A Jane Austen Education

by William Deresiewicz

A coming-of-age literary journey in which the author learns to appreciate the simplicity and subtle follies within Austen’s writing. While clearly well-considered, the book didn’t make Austen any more appealing to me. Her characters don’t inspire admiration so much as pity, not for their genteel routines of picnics and card parties, but for the relentless nonsense they endure. The women, especially, suffer through absurd circumstances, yet this is somehow framed as enviable and heroic. No way, it's just bleak. While I don’t share the author’s enthusiasm, I do respect anyone who ventures beyond their usual reading preferences. That alone earns some credit.