UPDATE 9/8/22 — The Southeast Neighborhood (DC) Library Jane Austen Book met to discuss this book, and the consensus was that, ultimately, this book was not as strong as the others in Sonali Dev’s Austen series. The point of these notes is not to critique, but this is a kind of warning — check out the others in this series instead — all of which V. Spatz has read and recommends more highly.
The first six pages of The Emma Project somehow manage to be both laugh-out-loud funny and incredibly sexy; the first scene introduces the central characters through their interactions with three established couples, returning from Sonali Dev’s previous Jane Austen adaptations. Virginia Spatz only got through six pages while walking home (not reading in cross walks or otherwise endangering neighbors, but maybe startling some with her guffaws) from the DC Public Library and reports:
“Even if the rest is a somehow a disappointment, which I sincerely doubt, those first few pages are a lovely antidote to whatever ails you. Dev’s Jane Austen adaptations tackle some serious issues while sharing a delightful group of family and friends — most of Southeast Asian descent and apparently dedicated to supporting and annoying one another in equal measure — through inventive story lines faithful to Austen in their way.”
Here’s some basic info about the book itself from the publisher. And here’s the author’s website: Sonali Dev.
The Jane Austen Book and Movie Club at the Southeast branch of the DC Public Library has not yet read this title but has discussed others by Dev. The book club is still virtual, and here is more info on the club and next event: https://dclibrary.libnet.info/event/6562030
Image: Book cover shows title and author’s name with a few background flourishes — a city’s skyline and two birds.
Virginia Spatz is a Hill Havurah member and organizer of this blog as well as the recent series of daily emails between Passover and Shavuot based on Recounting Exodus along the Anacostia.
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