I am Your Sunshine

I started reading The Jane Austen Book Club on my way back to the states from Japan last summer. It, along with A Long Way Down and other Chinese novels, was my in-flight reading. My in-flight book since my trip to London in 2001 had been Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I decided to have something fresh this time, since it seemed that I’m not going to finish it anytime soon (one reason is that I’ve already known the story very well, thus lack the urge to push me reading forward. Not that it’s not an enjoyable experience, don’t get me wrong.)

It’s been almost nine months. In between, I read The Burglar on the Prowl by Lawrence Block, Sideways and countless Chinese fictions. Burglar is a mystery; one would be more motivated to finished a mystery. Sideways was a book everytime I read, I’d hope I’m holding a glass of wine. Well, that’s not the reason I put down The Jane Austen Book Club and focused on it. I have to say that the language Rex Pickett used facsinated me more than Karen Fowler. And because I’ve already watched the movie, I knew Miles better than any of the book club members. Once I finally got to “know them” know them, I could hardly stop reading; however, it was already towards the end.

Something bugged me from the very beginning to the end though. It’s really annoying not knowing who is telling the story. I’m ok with third person story telling, but sometimes she refered to the club members by their names, or she (or he) and sometimes we, us or even I. It’s like there’s a ghost among them and sometimes she would attach herself on one of the characters.

Another interesting thing is that when I got to the point where Grigg recommend Jocelyn to read Carol Emshwiller after she read Ursula LeGuin, I just read a short by Carol Emshwiller!

* 心得寫太久了, 結果也沒寫出什麼… orz