How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter
April 15, 2011
A literary critic confronts his callow youth and finds salvation in the pages of the English romantic novelist.
In the early pages, former Yale English professor Deresiewicz (Jane Austen and the Romantic Poets, 2005) recalls being an unlikely candidate for Jane Austen fandom, let alone the Austen scholar he later became. An aficionado of severe modernist bricks like Ulysses, he first read Emma only because he was compelled to for a course requirement. But Austen's skewering of contempt and pretentiousness among the English gentry hit home. "[S]he was showing me my own ugly face," he writes. Each of this book's main six chapters is framed around a particular Austen novel, along with a life lesson Deresiewicz took from it. In Pride and Prejudice, he learned not to be so quick to judge; through Northanger Abbey, he discovered the importance of understanding others' perspectives; Mansfield Park imparted a message about the perils of social climbing. The structure is somewhat facile, but his command of Austen's life and works is assured, and he's an engaging penitent, exposing his emotional scars without being manipulative. The Mansfield Park chapter is particularly incisive, drilling deep into his motivations for befriending a set of upper-crust New Yorkers, and bouncing that experience against the emotional parrying in Austen's novel. Deresiewicz's path of discovery has an Austenish arc. After years of dismissiveness toward others, he learned to become openhearted and—how else could a book like this end?—eventually marry his true love. Though he occasionally ventures deep into the weeds elaborating on a novel's particular plot point—some of the dust of his dissertation work sticks to these pages—he's generally careful to keep the book appealing to both Austenites and those looking for a good memoir.
Deresiewicz smartly finds the practical value of Austen's prose without degrading her novels into how-to manuals.
(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)
Starred review from May 1, 2011
Janeites face the necessity of defending their favorite author against dismissive detractors who say that Austen's world was too insular, and thus she wrote works of mere romantic confection. Deresiewicz (formerly English, Yale Univ.; Jane Austen and the Romantic Poets) agreed with this sentiment until, as a doctoral student beginning his dissertation in English literature, he began studying Austen's works. He then came to appreciate that Austen was actually a deft, often satirical observer of the society in which she lived. But this book is not strictly literary criticism; it's a memoir. As the son of a harsh, overbearing immigrant father, Deresiewicz developed a detached attitude that served him badly in personal and social relationships. He found that through lessons learned in studying Austen's themes, he was able to subjugate his ego, cultivate kindness, and realize the necessity of perpetual growth in order to live a happy and fulfilling life. VERDICT Of the plethora of books about Austen's life and work, this is a standout as it addresses the timelessness of Austen's themes to prove the personal--and universal--relevance of literature.--Lisa Guidarini, Algonquin P.L., IL
Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
April 15, 2011
A literary critic confronts his callow youth and finds salvation in the pages of the English romantic novelist.
In the early pages, former Yale English professor Deresiewicz (Jane Austen and the Romantic Poets, 2005) recalls being an unlikely candidate for Jane Austen fandom, let alone the Austen scholar he later became. An aficionado of severe modernist bricks like Ulysses, he first read Emma only because he was compelled to for a course requirement. But Austen's skewering of contempt and pretentiousness among the English gentry hit home. "[S]he was showing me my own ugly face," he writes. Each of this book's main six chapters is framed around a particular Austen novel, along with a life lesson Deresiewicz took from it. In Pride and Prejudice, he learned not to be so quick to judge; through Northanger Abbey, he discovered the importance of understanding others' perspectives; Mansfield Park imparted a message about the perils of social climbing. The structure is somewhat facile, but his command of Austen's life and works is assured, and he's an engaging penitent, exposing his emotional scars without being manipulative. The Mansfield Park chapter is particularly incisive, drilling deep into his motivations for befriending a set of upper-crust New Yorkers, and bouncing that experience against the emotional parrying in Austen's novel. Deresiewicz's path of discovery has an Austenish arc. After years of dismissiveness toward others, he learned to become openhearted and--how else could a book like this end?--eventually marry his true love. Though he occasionally ventures deep into the weeds elaborating on a novel's particular plot point--some of the dust of his dissertation work sticks to these pages--he's generally careful to keep the book appealing to both Austenites and those looking for a good memoir.
Deresiewicz smartly finds the practical value of Austen's prose without degrading her novels into how-to manuals.
(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)