Bibliofreakblog

The Jane Austen Book Club (DVD)

Here’s a recent conversation:

My husband: Why is every other thing you bring home from the library Jane Austen?

Me: Because of the Everything Austen Challenge.

My husband: I thought that was over.

Me: No, it’s on again.

My husband: Do you even like Jane Austen that much?

And then I told him how witty and delightful she is and how much her work is laced with satire about people marrying for money, and then he said, “well that’s why you married me, right?” which was funny because we had on our wedding day, like, $200 between us.  And this led to prudent reflection about how far we’ve come in the last five years, and how we can’t possible imagine only having $200 now.

This only slightly has anything to do with this movie, despite its being the catalyst for the conversation.  

I found the characters sort of interesting, though I predicted the end right off the bat.  Really, I was interested in the discussion of Jane Austen, which is the only reason I would have ever read the book.

My favorite bit was in the beginning when they were talking about the adaptation of Mansfield Park and how they basically made Fanny Price into Jane Austen and added the whole slavery thing, to which I felt all privileged knowing what they were talking about and nodding along.

It was a good movie, and I think I should get my husband to read P&P, but I wouldn’t make him watch this with me.