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Austenland (Austenland, #1)
by Shannon Hale (Goodreads Author)
by Shannon Hale (Goodreads Author)
Brandy Painter's review
bookshelves: contemporary-fiction, adult-fiction
May 25, 11
bookshelves: contemporary-fiction, adult-fiction
Read on May 22, 2011
I can't believe I just gave one star to a Shannon Hale book. Never thought that would happen.
Review originally posted here.
I really like Shannon Hale's books. And I love Jane Austen. It has taken me this long to get around to reading Shannon Hale's Austenland because I had a suspicion I might be disappointed. The book is a light quick read perfect for summer reading. If you are fan of romantic comedy, either in chick lit or chick flick form, then you might enjoy it. If you are a Jane Austen fan....it is going to depend on what type of Jane Austen fan you are. If you are in the camp that loves her books (and more than the books the period movie adaptations of them) because they are Regency romances that are historical chick lit (or flicks) then you might also enjoy this. Neither of these things being true about me, I didn't. In fact I have some rather major issues with it. I almost feel bad about this because I do really really like Shannon Hale's other books. I almost wasn't going to write a review I felt so bad, but I have been stewing over this for a couple of days and just want to get some of it off my chest.
I had issues with Jane. The same issues I have with all of the similar characters to her that seem to be cropping up more and more in this type of book or movie. Jane is a single successful woman with a career and life (sort of) in New York City. Yet she is a mess because she is a desperate husband hungry crazy girl. Why do women keep getting portrayed like this? We are meant to believe that these girls are savvy enough to graduate from college, secure a job, keep a job, live within their means in a large metropolis and yet they can't wear high heels without (at some point) falling over on their bottoms? (How many times is that shtick going to be used????) I have big problems with the whole idea that a woman can not be content and completely free of desperation if she doesn't have a boyfriend/husband. Each chapter of this book is introduced with a history of one of Jane's failed relationships. These highlight exactly how crazy desperate she is for this kind of relationship. Of course they have all failed. Men tend to run screaming scared from crazy women.
Irony: Jane is exactly the sort of woman Jane Austen was making fun with her books.
Because that is what her books are, not romantic frolics in period gowns, but social satires. At first I thought maybe the irony was intentional. And it may have been, but it fell fall short of its mark if it was. There is one point when Jane has an epiphany and realizes that she is not Elizabeth Bennet, but more like Mrs. Bennet. I expected things to turn around maybe, and that she would become more than she was, but the change that occurred wasn't one that had me believing in its longevity. While the Jane that leaves Austenland has more confidence and has convinced herself she was not looking for a Mr. Darcy duplicate, she never convinced me she was cured. In fact, the end makes it abundantly clear that she's not. More confident, less desperate, but given where she started she still has a long way to go. Except she got her storybook ending, so where is the motivation to grow?
It was so frustrating.
The frustration was probably greater for me because I know Shannon Hale can write strong female characters better than this. The girls in her Books of Bayern: amazing. Same goes for the girls in Princess Academy. Actually, Shannon Hale can just write better than this period. Honestly, if someone gave me this book to read without telling me who wrote it I never would have believed it to be Shannon Hale.
Review originally posted here.
I really like Shannon Hale's books. And I love Jane Austen. It has taken me this long to get around to reading Shannon Hale's Austenland because I had a suspicion I might be disappointed. The book is a light quick read perfect for summer reading. If you are fan of romantic comedy, either in chick lit or chick flick form, then you might enjoy it. If you are a Jane Austen fan....it is going to depend on what type of Jane Austen fan you are. If you are in the camp that loves her books (and more than the books the period movie adaptations of them) because they are Regency romances that are historical chick lit (or flicks) then you might also enjoy this. Neither of these things being true about me, I didn't. In fact I have some rather major issues with it. I almost feel bad about this because I do really really like Shannon Hale's other books. I almost wasn't going to write a review I felt so bad, but I have been stewing over this for a couple of days and just want to get some of it off my chest.
I had issues with Jane. The same issues I have with all of the similar characters to her that seem to be cropping up more and more in this type of book or movie. Jane is a single successful woman with a career and life (sort of) in New York City. Yet she is a mess because she is a desperate husband hungry crazy girl. Why do women keep getting portrayed like this? We are meant to believe that these girls are savvy enough to graduate from college, secure a job, keep a job, live within their means in a large metropolis and yet they can't wear high heels without (at some point) falling over on their bottoms? (How many times is that shtick going to be used????) I have big problems with the whole idea that a woman can not be content and completely free of desperation if she doesn't have a boyfriend/husband. Each chapter of this book is introduced with a history of one of Jane's failed relationships. These highlight exactly how crazy desperate she is for this kind of relationship. Of course they have all failed. Men tend to run screaming scared from crazy women.
Irony: Jane is exactly the sort of woman Jane Austen was making fun with her books.
Because that is what her books are, not romantic frolics in period gowns, but social satires. At first I thought maybe the irony was intentional. And it may have been, but it fell fall short of its mark if it was. There is one point when Jane has an epiphany and realizes that she is not Elizabeth Bennet, but more like Mrs. Bennet. I expected things to turn around maybe, and that she would become more than she was, but the change that occurred wasn't one that had me believing in its longevity. While the Jane that leaves Austenland has more confidence and has convinced herself she was not looking for a Mr. Darcy duplicate, she never convinced me she was cured. In fact, the end makes it abundantly clear that she's not. More confident, less desperate, but given where she started she still has a long way to go. Except she got her storybook ending, so where is the motivation to grow?
It was so frustrating.
The frustration was probably greater for me because I know Shannon Hale can write strong female characters better than this. The girls in her Books of Bayern: amazing. Same goes for the girls in Princess Academy. Actually, Shannon Hale can just write better than this period. Honestly, if someone gave me this book to read without telling me who wrote it I never would have believed it to be Shannon Hale.
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I did not finish this book. Maybe some 50 pages and it was driving me too crazy. Though be fair, while I did not dislike the other Shannon Hale book I had read, it did not sent me to buy everything else of hers. This was the second book of hers and it put me off trying anything else. Though I will try again soon!
Lady Jane: Yes, it did have the potential to be a great growing up story. That's where I kept hoping it was going and then we got the lame ending, which was movie perfect but proved the Jane had not grown up at all.Hirondelle: Just curious, which other Shannon Hale book did you read?
Same here. I have no problem reading about a character who is deluded in a quirky way, if the author presents them as... err... *recalls a movie called All About Steve* ...strike that. I *usually* have no problem reading about a deluded character, if the author presents them as such in a humorous, tounge-and-cheek sort of way and ends the novel with the character reaching a balance in their identity (i.e. Julie Baker in Flipped). For Jane, she almost got there, but it was never that believable, nor was it explained why she was so boy-crazing or why she was so hesitant to admit her obsession with Collin Firth. I guess what SH was trying to write was a character who wanted to start a family, but never was able to find the right guy. Maybe Jane's motivations were more loneliness/affection starved? Which honestly... doesn't bode that well for a healthy relationship. Either way, I didn't find her a compelling character.
Got it in one! Dahaahaa! That's so true. I usually enjoy romantic comedies, but I just don't understand the woman who feels so incomplete and desperate because she doesn't have a boyfriend. It had the potential to be a growing up story, but it never really got there.
And you're right. It didn't feel like an SH book at all, which confused me quite a bit while reading it.