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Modern Austen
Nov. 6th, 2006 08:56 amA few years ago I discovered Jane Austen in Boca by Paula Marantz Cohen, a surprisingly deft modern take on Pride and Prejudice that takes place in a retirement home in south Florida. I half-expected the book to be a broad farce with cliched elderly people but instead the book was witty and full of heart.
So, I was pleased when at the library last week I ran across Jane Austen in Scarsdale by the same author, this time doing Persuasion. The heroine is a capable high school guidance counselor whose rich family has lost its money. The book again is perceptive rather than cliched, with lots of insight into the college application process, especially as it involves rich parents and spoiled children.
Neither book whacks you over the head with the Austen parallels but readers familiar with the source material will have fun identifying the similarities of various plot threads and characters to the Austen works. These aren't deep literature but they're more than a frothy read. I'd be interested to hear other people's reviews if you get around to reading them.
So, I was pleased when at the library last week I ran across Jane Austen in Scarsdale by the same author, this time doing Persuasion. The heroine is a capable high school guidance counselor whose rich family has lost its money. The book again is perceptive rather than cliched, with lots of insight into the college application process, especially as it involves rich parents and spoiled children.
Neither book whacks you over the head with the Austen parallels but readers familiar with the source material will have fun identifying the similarities of various plot threads and characters to the Austen works. These aren't deep literature but they're more than a frothy read. I'd be interested to hear other people's reviews if you get around to reading them.
