Review: _All Roads Lead to Austen:_ Encountering Latin America with Jane Austen in hand

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Ever since the mid-1990's there has been a real resurgance in the books and life of Jane Austen, who only wrote six novels in her lifetime, but the impact of which has been nearly impossible to measure. Now you can find prequels, sequels, rewrites, reinventions and the like in both films and books, ephremera of all kinds, and usually, the quality can be pretty dubious. For me, the fiction has been mostly unsatisfying, but some of the nonfiction has been surprisingly good. So when I encountered All Roads Lead to Austen, I wasn't quite certain if I was going to like it or not. For one, I found out that it was a nonfiction book, which sounded that there was a flicker of hope, and secondly, this one was written by a literary scholar and university professor. At least, thought I, the writing should be pretty good. I should not have worried. Amy Elizabeth Smith is a professor in the University of the Pacific in California, involved in a long-distance romance, and older than most. One of the great loves in her life are the novels of Jane Austen, and one day she decides to find out if there are fans of her work who are not native English speakers and readers. And so begins a year-long quest into central and South America. Her first stop is Guatemala and a group of women and Pride and Prejudice. At once Amy begins to see not just the links between herself and the others, but also the differences in culture and society between the States and Latin America. Next stop is Mexico and a happy reunion with her boyfriend Diego in Puerto Vallarta. This time the book is Sense and Sensibility, and two readers' groups. But unfortunately, Amy is struck down with an illness that floors her for three weeks, and teaches her a few important things about herself. A side note is also some reflections on Northanger Abbey and Catherine Morland, the heroine. Onwards to Ecuador, and Amy discovers the cause of her illness in Mexico, makes quite a few friends, and discovers iguanas. The book is again Pride and Prejudice, but a very different angle on it. Then there's Chile, the longest stay of Amy's adventures -- about five months -- where the remains of oppressive regimes are not so far away. Amy's students this time are expatriated American students, and it turns out that this familiar touch is just what Amy needs to find her blance again. Paraguay is her next stop, a place that is still trying to manage and pull itself into some sort of stability. It's a dicey situation for Amy, having to reconcile her rather privileged life with those who don't, and the perils thereof. And finally there is Argentina. All along on her trip, Amy has been cautioned about Argentina. But Buenos Aires is different than what she had expected, full of bookstores, restaurants, and of course tango. But the biggest surprise is Hugo, a taciturn, icy bookstore manager... All along, I found interesting people, lively conversations, new ways of visiting that were not on the regular tourist trap, and one of the best aspects -- all sorts of new books to explore and find out about. I loved this, it has opened my eyes to all sorts of new ideas, and it's such a delight to discover. Too, Amy allows her companions' personalities to shine through, and converts this memoir into more than just being a 'all about ME!' book. And there's the prize in this one. In addition to the narrative, each country has a delightful drawing to introduce it, acknowledgements and an author's note. There's also a reader's guide, for once asking some very intellegent questions and topics. Only two things were disappointing for me -- for one, I wanted more by the end! And the other was that only three of Jane Austen's novels were talked about -- Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Emma. I was really hoping that Persuasion, my personal favourite, would have been covered. But on the whole, this is one solid memoir and worth it for fans of Jane Austen's works. Five stars overall, and very much recommended. All Roads Lead to Austen: A Year-Long Journey with Jane Amy Elizabeth Smith 2012; Sourcebooks, Inc. ISBN 978-1-4022-6586-0