Customer Reviews

The Evolution of Jane

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I enjoyed reading Ms Schine's novel and I'm interested in all the negative reader reviews. I found much of the story improbable but I was still fascinated with the evolution of Jane which was her realization that Martha had not seen events in their early life in the same way. The combination of Darwin's theories and life was interesting to me also but probably many readers just want a story line. I may suggest this book to my book club; I think it will be a good one to discuss.

My book group read this book and will meet next week to discuss it. I found it to be a welcomed break-away from a conventional novel. The balance of Non-fiction/fiction was superbly crafted. Ms Shine's wit and wisdom is both provocative and entertaining. Don't we all know a Jane somewhere? Or perhaps have a little of Jane's quirky narcisism lurking in ourselves that we cringe to acknowledge? I would venture that it's this dark truth, along with the risk-taking departure from conventional format, that readers find disturbing. But if you shake off preconception, it's a terrific read. Bravo!

Up to the penultimate chapter of the book, I was extremely enthusiastic about The Evolution of Jane. It is the first novel I've read by Schine, and I was impressed by the mixed voice of levity, sentimentality, and great human sensitivity. Most of all, lines and whole passages caused me to laugh out loud. A few of her tropes, however (her mother's catchword "Chaos," the pivotal pool tragedy, Darwin's "nature red in tooth and claw," and Jane's general whininess), began to chafe with repetition. Most disappointing was the ending. It came in a rush, without much reflection or discourse, an abrupt departure from the previous flow of the book, which at its best philosophized lightly and at its worst dwelled. The onset of Ecuadorean illness, which I will spare both past and future readers, was particularly sickening. The book, in my opinion, DE-volved from this episode on. Most irritating, however, was Martha. Martha's irritating-ness served a purpose up to Jane's epiphany about thier lost friendship, but after the epiphany Martha continued to be irritating - her aloof, intractable, affable yet grating indifference to one and all - and this made the novel and the heroine both... irritating. Yet, this is not intended to be a wholly negative review. I do recommend the book for anyone in the mood for a very engaging read that is nevertheless not sustainable.

"The Evolution of Jane" is a novel that is at times brilliant, at times maddeningly pedestrian. The premise, of twentysomething Jane Schwartz's trip to the Galapogos after a divorce, is at once fascinating and flawed. While on the trip, Jane muses on her lost friendship with her cousin and soul mate,Martha, who just happens to be the tour guide on the trip through the Galapogos. The novel weaves back and forward between Jane and Martha's childhood in Connecticut, and their present trip together.

One of the problems with the novel is the narrator's voice. We are supposed to believe she and her cousin are currently in their mid-twenties, but I think their thoughts, behavior and values seem better aligned with characters twice that age.

Another problem is the character of Martha, who is vaguely drawn at best. Is she self-absorbed, elusive, narcissistic? We see so little of her, and yet the novel hinges on questions of her character. We are left to believe Jane's conclusion that Martha was not the friend Jane thought she was. But is this true? The ending was too vague for my taste.

The novel shines, though, when the author draw parallels between the evolution of the species and the evolution of families and individuals. I'm sure I'm not the only one who was inspired to hit the Natural History museum and to call my travel agent after reading about Jane's travels in the islands of Darwin's discoveries.

I'm quite surprised by the number of negative reviews of this book, but I quite frankly found it very interesting. Jane, who is recently divorced, goes on a trip to the Galapagos where she finds that the tour guide is her distant cousin/estranged best friend from childhood. What follows is a convoluted tale of relationships, the evolution of friendship, species and families. For those who have developed a blind-sided aversion to Darwin and the theory of evolution, this is probably too much to take, but for those who enjoy the process of scientific thought and analysis and spoofs thereof, this book is a treat. But then, as a scientist by choice and vocation, I'm probably biased (grin).

Needs no review. A wonderful escape to a thought provoking trip, weaved with love, and family disapointment, yet ultimately an extremely good read.

I am an avid reader, and always read Amazon.com's book reviews before I read a book. This was the first time I didn't. The title and idea of the book really grabbed me, because I can relate to loosing good friends and not knowing why. This book didn't know why either. What a great idea and what a poor book. I really had to force myself to read this book, thinking it would answer the question it said it would. What a boring book, stupid idea, and poor character development. Martha had no personality at all, and I wanted to yell at Jane, who cares that she's not your friend!! I felt the author was desperate in having Martha as the tour guide, and was even more desperate in having the seamstress appear on an island in the miidle of nowhere. When in the last pages the author feels she answers the question of "why", she comes up with another trite story line that doesn't answer the question. The only thing that made me feel better was reading the other reviews that agreed with my feelings exactly.

I was surprised by some of the negative reviews Cathleen Schine's new book had the misfortune to garner. I enjoyed _The Love Letter_ very much and found _The Evolution of Jane_ to be a further evolution of the author's skill and talent. Jane's parents treat her to a trip to the Galapagos islands after her divorce is finalized. Rather than escaping from one failed relationship she is faced with another--her best friend from childhood, Martha, picks Jane and her group up at the airport and announces that she will be their tour guide. Here, where the whole concept of evolution began, Jane faces a more difficult puzzle than why "a husky is not the same species as a wolf but is the same species as a Pekingese"--why her relationship with Martha ended. It goes into a complex discussion on the nature of friendship, whether it is necessary to the human species and if it is why did Martha forget her? Jane's whininess is amusing and any one who likes Darwin will like the description of the Galapagos. A more-than-enjoyable read!

As something to do to get over her divorce Jane sets sails for the Galapagos Islands on a tour, where she finds her erstwhile best friend, rekindles her passion for botany, new friends & has an epiphany about her life. Jane is a reader, observant of life around her. Unfortunately she has little humor still, this was a strange & different read, filled with absorbing details about the person who penned the works that did & still does cause major tectonic shifts in the ways we think about ourselves, our lives & all living things. I relished gleaning so much about Darwin & the momentous ideas for which he is now an icon. END

My entire book club was disappointed in the book. The idea was terrific, but the author failed to flesh out the characters and the plot. Even once the reader uncovers the secrets of Jane's family, who cares??? There are too many analogies and it feels like the author ran out of things to say after page 10.