The Story of Jane

By Catherine Cusset

Book Overview

From a Yale professor and acclaimed bestselling novelist comes a compelling work--Elle magazine's Book of the Year in France--in which love, menace, and sexual obsession unfurl at an Ivy League college.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743202996
• ISBN13: 9780743202992
• Release Date: August 2001
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.0" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Well-Written, but Depressing

I enjoyed "The Story of Jane" for the most-part, but I found it extremely disturbing and depressing. The night I finished it, I had dreams about one of my exes, and didn't sleep well. I actually couldn't sleep right away; I had to read a bit of a light-hearted, funny book before my mind could relax. What really really got to me the most was that I felt that Jane had finally moved on from Eric with this Alex fellow. When he didn't show up, I guessed who he really was. I just felt let-down--not because I was tricked, but because it had all been a game. I really have to applaud Catherine Cusset for her writing. There were moments that I was reading the words, and realizing how true they rang for me. I also like that Jane was a person who wouldn't settle. Even though she was getting older, she didn't want a loveless marriage, and she finally found what she'd been waiting for in Eric (at least momentarily). It made me feel better, since I finally made the choice to move on from my signicant other of three years. Despite it being difficult, I feel like it was the right choice for me, just like Jane had to do. I was so sad for Jane after she had the abortion. I'm younger than her, but I still feel that painful nagging in my heart, wondering some nights alone, if I'll ever have a child. I felt that Lynn got pretty "out there" towards the end too. I'd had higher hopes for her character. She really ruined someone's life. Sure, he was nuts, but I think she pushed him over the edge. In conclusion, I'd recommend the book, but make sure you've got a light-hearted comedy book to read once you finish! It's very heavy.

Deeply moving

This book was suggested to me by a friend and I read it in French three years ago, Lately, I picked it up again and reread it. I was as mesmerized by it as the first time. It is brilliant, but also subtle in many ways. I found the construction, the suspense, the vivid description of characters, places and objects totally absorbing. But it is also an impressive "lebensroman" describing the life and development of a university professor, Jane Cook, btw age 30 to 40. The protagonist is a fascinating character, torn between her quest for intimacy and her even greater taste for independence, her -- alas understandable -- reluctance to settle. The book is a hymn to love and to friendship but also an unsettling description of their fragility, their bittersweet proximity to solitude. It is a book that get's to you; be prepared to cry. Perceptive, intelligent, masterfully written, disturbing, moving - deeply human.

It blew me away....

I had no time to read an entire book on the afternoon I picked up "The Story of Jane". I made the time, however, to finish. This is a stunning novel. As a professor, I related to her character in ways that others might not, but the mix of intrigue, emotion, and beautiful writing should be embraced by all. Upon finishing it, I called several too-well-read friends and told them to buy it immediately. As someone who reads far too many books for a living, this one became a priority. I loved it, that's all.

A refreshing novel

Disturbed over a recent death, New England Professor Jane Cook steps out of her apartment to see the package on the floor next to the Times. She picks it up noticing the fountain pen ink used on the mailing address. She figures it came from Alex though there is no return address. However, Jane quickly realizes that the package was sent from New York five days ago and Alex is and has been in France. When she opens it up she finds an unbound manuscript title THE STORY OF JANE. Stunned and unable to resist, Jane begins to read her biography over the last decade or so in great detail. The writings describe her professional climb up the academic ladder and her personal descent down the personal stairwell. Though not arguing over events or people, Jane questions the feelings the anonymous author assigns her actions and reactions. Jane wonders who could know so much about what happened to her.Though the mystery of the anonymous author adds a sense of suspense, the theme of THE STORY OF JANE focuses on a contemporary woman's struggles in life. Readers see Jane through the biographer's bias especially when Jane challenges the interpretation of her feelings at the time, a historiographer's delight especially when Jane implicitly agrees with the author on the events. Still, the audience will have to accept the concept that someone can write a detailed life on someone else who is not readily documented in the media. Better yet, fans of contemporary women's fiction are the audience who will enjoy this tale.Harriet Klausner