The Jane Austen Book Club is a sweet book. It’s not great, but it’s better than the average romance novel (believe me, I know…).
Karen Joy Fowler managed to write an unpretentious novel that entertains, while at the same time tackling a literary subject. The structure is good (six characters, each one gets one Jane Austen book and one chapter to reveal their life and personality), she makes jokes (unfortunately, the whole thing suffers in the translation I’ve read) and it’s generally very enjoyable.
Sometimes I would have loved a little more decision, though. Fowler tries to display diverse opinions about the books, which I like. But she or her characters never reach any conclusion and seem to be mostly of the same opinion anyway.
In any case, it’s a quick read and it also gives you some interesting view points on Jane Austen novels. But to be honest, what I enjoyed most, were the quotes in the end of famous people about Jane Austen. Some were really very funny, and it’s interesting to see how different the perception is.
kalafudra's Stuff 
I had picked up this book with high expectations and was disappointed. It is sweet but not meaty enough, and the book club meetings dont seem substantial enough, though I enjoyed the way they highlighted some little known character.
I didn’t expect much from it (only light entertainment) and that I got.
“not substantial enough” is definitely the right description…