Being a Jane Austen fan, I am always on the look out to find and read anything that is along the lines of a Jane Austen book. I have read many updated versions and so called sequels of her novels. Some are good and some not so good. So when I saw his book, "Lizzy and Jane" I immediately picked it up. I thought it would be a modern take on Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice," but it is not that at all.
There are many references and quotes from the works of Jane Austen, but the book is about complex family relationships, grief, and cancer. Lizzy was a senior in high school when her mother died of breast cancer. Jane was eight years older and newly married living out of the country. Each of them dealt with their grief in different ways causing deep rifts in their relationship and a strained relationship with their father. Fast forward 18 years and Jane is dealing with treatment for her own diagnosis of breast cancer and Lizzy is a chef in New York who has lost her creative edge. Lizzy takes a leave from her job and flies to the west coast to help out with Jane and her family.
What happens next involves the love of food and literature, the painful work of piecing together shattered dreams and hopes and the difficult work of working through grief, pain and loss. Throughout the book, the difficult descriptions of the reality of cancer treatment is balanced with cooking and the enjoyment of food. At times the pain was real and raw, but you witnessed the characters moving forward in working through some challenging issues. And through it all there was a thread of hope and joy that even the most difficult circumstances could not extinguish.
I also enjoyed Katherine Reay's first book, "Dear Mr. Knightley" and look forward to more books by this author.
No comments:
Post a Comment