Comments on: Round Up (Austen Style!)

By: Karyn Silverman

Karyn Silverman — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 23:43:50 +0000

Yes! Miriam, it totally did feel like a reread. What a perfect summation of how I felt, too! It’s why this has never felt like a serious shortlister for me, although it did get a Pyrite nomination.

I liked For Darkness too, but thought there were some serious pacing issues, as well as the issues of world building Sarah and Maureen both noted. It has some ardent fans and I think some definite appeal — but nothing like the appeal of the frothy confection that is Keeping the Castle.

By: Maureen E

Maureen E — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 22:53:18 +0000

Mark, that’s an interesting point. I myself would never have thought of categorizing KATHERINES as a pure comedy, though it is very funny. Speaking entirely off the top of my head (it’s been several months since I read KTC), I would say that the deal-breaker as far as the award goes is the lack of real character development and…struggling with how exactly to put this….thoughtfulness? Though it takes on a number of issues in terms of women’s lives in the Georgian era and so on, I didn’t necessarily feel like it did so in a new or surprising way. I’m not at all sure I’ve hit on it.

By: Mark Flowers

Mark Flowers — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 22:36:23 +0000

My instincts tend to agree with the general consensus so far – fun and lightweight, not an award contender. But the discussion does cause me to wonder what precisely we would require out of a purely humorous title. We’ve had some comic novels get recognized before, but often they also deal with “issues” like THE EARTH, MY BUTT or VERA DIETZ. The only “pure” comedies I can think of on the Printz list are ANGUS, THONGS . . . and AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES.

The award is just for literary excellence, not for being issue heavy – so, what does it take for a comedy to be literarily excellent? How does KTC compare to ANGUS and KATHERINES? I’d have to reread it to answer that question, but since it does have a pyrite nomination, it probably behooves us to try to answer that question.

By: Miriam

Miriam — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 22:28:04 +0000

I found KTC simply delightful as a reader, but a bit underwhelming as an award candidate. It was a really, really enjoyable, happy-making read, and there is SO MUCH RIGHT with that and absolutely nothing wrong with it. But it was a bit slight and a bit obvious, which made it feel like a cozy re-read even though I’d never read it before–which was part of its absolutely delightful reading experience but may detract from its distinguishedness.

Incidentally, I do English Country Dance (the type of dance done in the Regency period by middle-class and upper-class Brits, though the styling has evolved and we dance both historical dances and modern choreography), and I just happened to be reading this on a night I was going to the dance. I had the book out as I was saying goodbye (I needed to read it waiting for the bus, after all) and it ended up getting passed around a small circle–all of whom wound up snerking and/or laughing out loud at the beginning of the book. It’s definitely a book that is enjoyable and approachable.

By: Maureen E

Maureen E — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 21:08:20 +0000

Now I’m picturing Austen doing Gangnam Style…oh dear.

I would agree with your assessment of both books. Before FTDSTS came out, I was really worried because Persuasion is my favorite Austen book and Anne/Wentworth my favorite Austen couple. I was a bit disappointed in it, but not for the reasons I was worried about. Basically I just felt that it was light–the worldbuilding didn’t hold together and the characters read as Austen-lite. I enjoyed it and, you know, finished it. But it didn’t provoke any deeper questions or revelations.

I was amazed by how well Kindl manages Regency language in Keeping the Castle–I can’t think of a single time when it slipped. And I’m partly dealing with false expectations because for some reason I thought there was going to be a fantasy component and then there wasn’t and I was disappointed. But I did wish that a little more time had been spent on Althea’s change of heart. It felt like a book that wasn’t quite sure what it wanted to be, although when I think about it it seems obvious (Regency coming-of-age). I don’t know if a re-read would help nail down why I’m uncertain about it or not.