Blue on Jane

Just one more peek inside Donald Miller’s Blue Like Jazz.

I was going to pull out the section where he talks about his love affair with Emily Dickinson, in honor of my friend Barbara. And, no, I don’t mean his love of Dickinson’s poetry, I mean his actual crush on the person of Emily. But Donald was too much in love, and talks way too much about her for me to encapsulate here.

So, instead I am including his swipe on Jane Austen, in honor of my friend Tamara.

From Blue Like Jazz:

”Here’s a tip I’ve never used: I understand you can learn a great deal about girldom by reading Pride and Prejudice, and I own a copy, but I have never read it. I tried. It was given to me by a girl with a little note inside that read: What is in this book is the heart of a woman. I am sure the heart of a woman is pure and lovely, but the first chapter of said heart is hopelessly boring. Nobody dies at all. I keep the book on my shelf because girls come into my room, sit on my couch, and eye the books on the adjacent shelf. You have a copy of Pride and Prejudice, they exclaim in a gentle sigh and smile. Yes, I say. Yes, I do.”

Hee, hee.

He isn’t right about Pride, of course, but I’ll defend Jane later. For now, let me revel in whatever potential controversy I may be causing in the Austenion world.

Just my thoughts,

Sean