Austenland by Shannon Hale
Obtained: Library
Finished: 9-Sept 2007
Story synopsis:
Jane Hayes is a seemingly normal young New Yorker, but she has a secret. Her obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, is ruining her love life: no real man can compare. But when a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-crazed women, Jane’s fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become realer than she ever could have imagined.
Decked out in empire-waist gowns, Jane struggles to master Regency etiquette and flirts with gardeners and gentlemen—or maybe even, she suspects, with the actors who are playing them. It’s all a game, Jane knows. And yet the longer she stays, the more her insecurities seem to fall away, and the more she wonders: Is she about to kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?
Commentary:
I've read a couple of Shannon Hale's young adult novels -- Goose Girl and Princess Academy -- so when I read from another book review blog that she's dipped her toes into an actual adult title, I was admittedly excited.
Jane Hayes, the title character, is actually one of the better chicklit heroines that I've encountered. She's a New York graphic designer, who hides her P&P DVDs behind her houseplant. I could think of worse hobbies than being obsessed with Colin Firth, but hey, it's a plot point, I suppose. Hale peppers the novel with short vignettes about Jane's previous 13 boyfriends, some of which are funny, some which are just pathetic. Typical girl fare, yes. A seemingly charming and successful woman fails in love relationships, so her crush on Darcy becomes an escape... so much so to the point that she eventually needs to escape the escape in order to function.
I think one of the reasons why I went through this book quicker than usual wasn't because I was curious whom Jane would end up in the end (her choice of beau was actually rather obvious, in my opinion). I was drawn more to the extent that people (yes, fictional characters are people too!) would go to in order to indulge their fandom. The other visitors to the resort want to live in Austen's universe so desperately that they would pay exorbitant amounts of many to wear waistless dresses and to sit and embroider and to play whist. One of the female characters even reveals that she's been to the resort three other times, even employing the services of a drama coach just so that she could polish her character. Sounds unbelievable, but somehow, I can actually see real people doing this. It's amazing what people would do to indulge their fantasy... just as amazing as the people who would go to the lengths to indulge these same people for the right price.
