キャミー・タング著「戌年」連載小説 プロのドッグトレーナーであるマリ・ムトウは、厄年を迎えている。 犬小屋と訓練所の改築をしながら、いつも不服そうにしている家族と同居することになった。母と姉に言わせれば、犬の毛とよだれかけにまみれる仕事は、家族にとって恥ずべきものだという。彼女は元カレを説得し、数ヶ月間犬を預かってもらうことにした。しかし、彼の兄は、数週間前に彼女が誤って車に追突した、怒り狂ったセキュリティ専門家であることが判明する。 アシュウィン・ケイトウは十分な問題を抱えている。叔母が玄関先に現れ、同居を希望している。彼は彼女にすべてを借りているので、断ることができません。母親が家を出て行った後、ネルおばさんはアシュウィンと弟を引き取り、愛のあるキリスト教の家庭で育てた。しかも、弟のダスティもアパートを追い出され、居場所を求めている。しかし、彼は犬を飼っている。そして、その犬の飼い主は誰だと思いますか? しかし、旧友でオアフ島のノースショアでデイスパを経営する私立探偵のエディサ・ゲレロから依頼を受ける。マリの施設で奇妙な破壊行為があり、3年前に失踪したエディサの妹の財布を発見する。エディサはマリが危険な目に遭っているのではと心配する。警備の専門家であるアシュウィンがすでにマリを知っていることを知ったエディサは、忙しい若い女性を密かに監視することを彼に依頼する。 アシュウィンは、活発でのんびりとしたドッグトレーナーに不本意ながら惹かれていく。彼女は、幸せそうな母親を思い出させる。その母親の裏切りによって、彼は人と距離を置くようになったのだ。マリは、アシュウィンの冷たい外見を見抜き、彼が家族に忠実な男であることを認める。彼は、彼女のキャリア選択を批判するだけの母親や姉とは違う。 マリのバラバラな家庭とアシュウィンのバラバラな家庭の中で、過去を隠そうとする人たちから、彼らの周りに危険が迫ってくるようになる。彼らは、影で動く秘密に光を当てることができるのか? 過去に発表されたパートへのリンクはこちら。 *** 第8章 - 恐ろしくも真っ白な不動産書類 『みんな仲良くできないのかな?』 マリは無用に力を込めて箱に本を投げ入れた。最近、なぜ彼女は人生の中で全員と言い争いをしているのだろう?もしかすると、これは本当に悪いアイデア
Just Jane by Nancy Moser
Unable to find her own Mr. Darcy, she created him.
Jane Austen lives simply in the English countryside with her beloved family, entertaining them with her stories and seeking romance. She never ventures far from her own corner of the world and struggles to find her place in it. Growing up in a clergyman's home gives Jane opportunities to observe human nature at its best--and worst.
Vivid and delightful characters pour from her pen--Elizabeth Bennet, Fitzwilliam Darcy, Emma Woodhouse, Fanny Price, John Willoughby ... Jane dreams of publishing her stories and sharing them with the world, but she's just Jane from Steventon, isn't she? Will anyone ever read her novels?
In this moving and authentic portrayal, Christy Award-winning author Nancy Moser transports readers back to the life and times of the literary world's possibly most beloved heroines.
Camy here: This was a very enjoyable novel. As an Austen fan, I was very anxious to read it, and it did not disappoint.
At first, the first person present tense was a bit hard to reconcile with the fact it’s a Regency-era historical novel—it seemed odd when I’m used to third person past tense in my historical romances. However, I soon got used to it, and it gave the story more of a feeling of being in Jane’s head as things happen to her, feeling her immediate emotions and seeing her immediate thoughts.
There are a few scenes in the first quarter of the book where the story meanders—I don’t know what the purpose of the scene was, making for slow reading.
There are also parts where the voice of the character isn’t Jane’s. I know the author purposefully didn’t try to match Jane’s novelist’s voice, and an author’s writing voice is usually not like her speaking voice. However, I would have wanted the narrative to have more consistent adherence to Jane’s voice in her letters, and at some points it seemed a bit too modern and a little uncharacteristic.
The ending is not as traditionally climactic as other novels, but I found myself grinning like an idiot because of the subject matter. The facts about Jane Austen’s life that follow the ending are also neat to read.
The majority of the novel is intriguing and entertaining. I especially liked being able to see how Jane’s observations and experiences made their way into the novels I’m so familiar with. The vignette about Jane’s aunt’s false-bottomed chest, for example, that was slipped into Northanger Abbey, is both cute and funny.
The novel is rich with emotion, which will please many women’s fiction fans. The historical setting permeates the story, which will appeal to historical fiction and historical romance readers.
I found this book very enjoyable and informative about my favorite author. I’m so glad Nancy Moser took the risk to write this wonderful novel.
Unable to find her own Mr. Darcy, she created him.
Jane Austen lives simply in the English countryside with her beloved family, entertaining them with her stories and seeking romance. She never ventures far from her own corner of the world and struggles to find her place in it. Growing up in a clergyman's home gives Jane opportunities to observe human nature at its best--and worst.
Vivid and delightful characters pour from her pen--Elizabeth Bennet, Fitzwilliam Darcy, Emma Woodhouse, Fanny Price, John Willoughby ... Jane dreams of publishing her stories and sharing them with the world, but she's just Jane from Steventon, isn't she? Will anyone ever read her novels?
In this moving and authentic portrayal, Christy Award-winning author Nancy Moser transports readers back to the life and times of the literary world's possibly most beloved heroines.
Camy here: This was a very enjoyable novel. As an Austen fan, I was very anxious to read it, and it did not disappoint.
At first, the first person present tense was a bit hard to reconcile with the fact it’s a Regency-era historical novel—it seemed odd when I’m used to third person past tense in my historical romances. However, I soon got used to it, and it gave the story more of a feeling of being in Jane’s head as things happen to her, feeling her immediate emotions and seeing her immediate thoughts.
There are a few scenes in the first quarter of the book where the story meanders—I don’t know what the purpose of the scene was, making for slow reading.
There are also parts where the voice of the character isn’t Jane’s. I know the author purposefully didn’t try to match Jane’s novelist’s voice, and an author’s writing voice is usually not like her speaking voice. However, I would have wanted the narrative to have more consistent adherence to Jane’s voice in her letters, and at some points it seemed a bit too modern and a little uncharacteristic.
The ending is not as traditionally climactic as other novels, but I found myself grinning like an idiot because of the subject matter. The facts about Jane Austen’s life that follow the ending are also neat to read.
The majority of the novel is intriguing and entertaining. I especially liked being able to see how Jane’s observations and experiences made their way into the novels I’m so familiar with. The vignette about Jane’s aunt’s false-bottomed chest, for example, that was slipped into Northanger Abbey, is both cute and funny.
The novel is rich with emotion, which will please many women’s fiction fans. The historical setting permeates the story, which will appeal to historical fiction and historical romance readers.
I found this book very enjoyable and informative about my favorite author. I’m so glad Nancy Moser took the risk to write this wonderful novel.
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