200 Blog Entries!

I can't quite believe that I have just posted the 200th entry on this blog! Thanks very much to those of you reading it, whether regularly or occasionally. And please do tell your reading friends about it.

Yet Another "Modern Day Austen"?

Author Allegra Goodman has been dubbed, as have far too many women writers, a "modern day Austen." Her new novel, "The Cookbook Collector," certainly embodies echoes of Austen; it is old-fashioned in the best sense, telling detailed, character-driven stories of family and the search for love. Her main characters are two sisters, Emily and Jess, who are reminiscent of sisters Elinor and Marianne in Austen's "Sense and Sensibility." Emily -- like Elinor -- is the calm, centered older sister; she is the CEO of a tech start-up company. Jess -- like Marianne -- is the more unfocused, more emotion-driven younger sister; she is a dropout from a Berkeley doctoral program in philosophy, a member of "Save the Trees," and a bookstore clerk. But this novel is very contemporary as well, being set in the midst of the tech world on the East Coast and in Silicon Valley. Featured are computer geniuses, start-up tech businesses, sudden multimillionaires, the rises and falls of the stock market, and the events of 9/11. The title alludes to another main character, George, who has made his fortune in technology, is a collector of rare books, and has discovered and acquired an amazing collection of antique cookbooks. The passages on the cookbooks, and on some memorable meals consumed by Goodman's characters, are lyrical and compelling. Goodman is a wonderful writer, and I admire her combination of the classic "big" nineteenth-century-style novel and contemporary topics. But I can't accept the comparison to Austen, not only because NO writer has risen to the level of Austen (I firmly believe that she is sui generis), but also because Goodman doesn't achieve Austen's acute understanding of her characters, nor Austen's delicate but pointed wit.