Book of the Week #50 "Lizzy and Jane"
by Katherine Reay
At eighteen, Lizzy (or Elizabeth, as she prefers to be
called) lost her mother to cancer. Now, at thirty-three, she's a chef at her
own restaurant, Feast, in New York. She rarely visits her home state of
Washington and doesn't keep in touch with her sister, Jane. Yet now her sister
has cancer. Her father, who has always felt responsible for the differences
between Lizzy and Jane, begs Lizzy to come back and spend time with Jane.
Things haven't been going well at Feast, and Lizzy accepts the offer, hoping
that time away from the restaurant will help her career. Yet when she arrives
in Washington, things are up and down between Lizzy and Jane. At first, Jane doesn't
seem very sick, but her illness soon rears its ugly head. Lizzy is offended
when Jane can't keep the food she prepares down and still harbors a grudge left
from Jane's absence during their mother's illness and passing. She talks to
Jane and finds out what flavors taste good to her now that the chemo has
altered her taste. Lizzy finally figures out how to prepare foods that Jane
will be able to keep down without getting sick, yet things are still rocky with
the anger they both hold against each other. Amidst the turmoil, Lizzy becomes
close with her sister's friend Nick. Over the course of the month, she finds
herself torn between Washington and New York. One of which she wants to
I have mixed feelings about this book. I like it, but it
just feels like there's something missing for me. I don't know exactly what,
but it lacks something that could give it a good boost. I think part of the
problem is I'm not terribly fond of Lizzy, or Elizabeth as she's sometimes
called. She just doesn't stand out to me. She doesn't seem like a person that
is happy, and I know she's supposed to be struggling, but even in the scenes
where she is supposed to be happy and the writing says that she is happy, I
don't feel like she really is. And she really was not nice to her sister. I get
that Lizzy was mad that Jane didn't spend time with their mother while she was
sick, but I don't know that Lizzy should have said some of the things she did
while Jane was sick. I mean, they had fights while Jane was at the hospital
having chemotherapy. That just doesn't seem right to me. Another small issue I
have with the book is that the title led me to believe Pride and Prejudice would play a big role in it, but it didn't.
That is one of the least mentioned Austen books in Lizzy and Jane. But that's not really a huge issue, though.
What I did like about the book was Cecilia. It was so
nice to see such a caring nurse that really wanted what was best for her
patients. She was also a good friend for Lizzy; someone totally opposite from
her that brought out the best in her. And even though Lizzy kind of got on my
nerves through a lot of the book, it was nice to see her take the time to
understand why Jane and Tyler weren't eating and find a way to make food that
tasted good to them. It's a neat concept. As someone who has been surrounded by
cancer patients my entire life, I don't know how realistic it is, but if it is,
I think it's amazing.
All in all, Lizzy
and Jane may not have been one of my favorite books, but there are certain
elements of the book that I liked. If you're a big fan of contemporary women's
fiction, then you will probably enjoy this book.
I really liked this book. I gave it a 4 star. How funny, it never even occurred to me that there weren't any references to Pride and Prejudice as the title would imply. ha! I think everything rang true with me because I have a friend going through breast cancer and so many things rang a bell with me in the story. I love how books speak to people differently :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed this one, Julie. :) Sorry to hear about your friend.
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