Review : Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict
Posted on July 16, 2009 by kay
Genre : Austen Fiction, Chick Lit
My Rating : 4 1/2 stars
Rude Awakenings was like a candy bag : you wish it would last longer, and yet you can’t stop yourself from going through it as quickly as possible. It was that good! It was fun! While Confessions had been completely unsatisfying in the end, Rude Awakenings answered most of my questions – and even some more.
Having re-read Confessions a little over a week ago, the story was still fresh in my memory. One thing I really enjoyed was the difference between the two books’ narration styles. They were similar, but through the language you really had a feel that the two women didn’t come from the same place and time. The author made a fantastic job on the two characters, who have similarities in their personnalities without feeling “the same”.
I also preferred Jane as a narrator; while Courtney seemed a little whiny at times (many times I wanted to give her a good “shoulder shake”), Jane was an adorable and curious narrator. Of course, she was at first scared and cautious, but she quickly learns to appreciate her new life. Her puzzlement, and amazement for all things modern was adorable but believable. Her look on modern life was hilarious, but also very true! She made observations on today’s women lives that were right on point, without being contradictions to her own character.
Most of all, this book was fun. I laughed many times, and out loud I should add. You have to love a book that brightens your day like that!
I also appreciated the part the love story plays in the book. Oh, it’s there, and you hear some word about Wes or Frank or even Edgeworth mostly every page. But fortunately, Jane has other concerns : re-organizing Courtney’s life means putting back in place many things, from her work situation to her precarious financial status, without forgetting the annoying neighbor. Her happiness doesn’t depend exlusively on her love relationship, and that’s a good thing to read!
Although this book has a parallel story line to the one in Confessions, I would recommend reading them in the order they came in. There are many explanations, allusions and references to Confessions in Rude Awakenings, and you will certainly enjoy reading the second book the last. Plus, isn’t it better to keep the best for the end?
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