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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you love Jane Eyre as I do, you may enjoy this book. The greatest downfall of this book is that the author attempted to recreate Brontë’s own writing style. While the author is certainly very talented, I don’t personally think this particular challenge could be completed by anyone. In the end, I found the attempt distracting.
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’ve had this book sitting in my kindle for weeks now because I was waiting to read it and review close to the publication date. After all this time of anticipating Mr. Rochester, I am pleased to say that Sarah Shoemaker did an excellent job in presenting Mr. Rochester’s side of the story and in showing readers how he became to be the man portrayed in the story of Jane Eyre.
The story begins with the childhood of Edward Fairfax Rochester and his early days of life at Thornfield. Following his 8th birthday, Rochester is sent away to a small boarding school where he meets his closest childhood friends and from there Rochester is sent to be an apprentice at a manufacturing mill.
His father has plans for Edward’s life that he never reveals to Edward until the last minute. Edward unwittingly believes that going to Jamaica to handle his father’s business interests is the best thing to happen to him, when in reality, Jamaica is the place where he is most shockingly betrayed by the very people who should have had his best interests at heart.
Mr. Rochester is a novel full of wonderful and decent characters, but also full of deceit, betrayal and scandal. Edward reminded me somewhat of Job from the Bible because of all his suffering. After years of heartache, Edward became the man that we meet in the novel Jane Eyre.
I think it would be fun to read Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester simultaneously, or at least pick up at the point in each book where they first meet. Mr. Rochester would be a great pick for book clubs, as there are many themes presented in the book that would make for interesting discussion.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and had a difficult time putting it down each evening. I know there will be readers who are disappointed that Jane doesn’t appear on the scene until late in the book, but that didn’t bother me in the least because the events that came before Jane were so captivating.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for allowing me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
The story begins with the childhood of Edward Fairfax Rochester and his early days of life at Thornfield. Following his 8th birthday, Rochester is sent away to a small boarding school where he meets his closest childhood friends and from there Rochester is sent to be an apprentice at a manufacturing mill.
His father has plans for Edward’s life that he never reveals to Edward until the last minute. Edward unwittingly believes that going to Jamaica to handle his father’s business interests is the best thing to happen to him, when in reality, Jamaica is the place where he is most shockingly betrayed by the very people who should have had his best interests at heart.
Mr. Rochester is a novel full of wonderful and decent characters, but also full of deceit, betrayal and scandal. Edward reminded me somewhat of Job from the Bible because of all his suffering. After years of heartache, Edward became the man that we meet in the novel Jane Eyre.
I think it would be fun to read Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester simultaneously, or at least pick up at the point in each book where they first meet. Mr. Rochester would be a great pick for book clubs, as there are many themes presented in the book that would make for interesting discussion.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and had a difficult time putting it down each evening. I know there will be readers who are disappointed that Jane doesn’t appear on the scene until late in the book, but that didn’t bother me in the least because the events that came before Jane were so captivating.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for allowing me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Dear reader, (😉) I enjoyed this book more than I thought I was going to (considering it is a tough job to handle such an iconic character). The author did a good job of creating a backstory that allows the reader to sympathize with Rochester. I feel like having his backstory allowed for a better appreciation of his relationship with Jane. I thought the part detailing his time at Thornfield with Jane would have been longer but what are ya gonna do. It was interesting reading all of the events that happened in Jane Eyre but from Rochesters perspective (especially the gypsy scene lol) One nit picky thing was that the dialogue/writing was pretty simple which I feel took away from the emotion of the story (although I did like how the author included some of the iconic dialogue from the original). I was pretty skeptical but this book was a good read! (hehe)
I always really enjoy reading from perspectives of different characters, especially when it's done in the way that this novel has been written. Mr Rochester is an intriguing character from a brilliant story, and Shoemaker fleshes out his past in great detail, making this really enjoyable to read.
One of the things that most interested me was his relationship and marriage to Bertha, and that really didn't disappoint. We learned more about her and her background, what her family was like and why she turned out like she did.
However, I thought this did move far too quickly in a lot of places for me and was in some ways unnecessarily long - it might have worked better to end it where Jane meets Rochester in the original story, but I did like knowing and seeing all their interactions and their relationship unfold from Mr Rochester's point of view.
Seeing Jane from his eyes really puts another perspective into the story, one that's sorely needed judging by the lack of outward view of herself that we get from her narrative in Jane Eyre. I also enjoyed having more historical context added from the time - namely the slave trade abolishment and how Rochester's father can own slaves in Jamaica yet never mention them when in England. Mr Rochester's treatment of Molly was heartwarming, even if in the end the ending wasn't entirely happy.
I really enjoyed this story, as I normally do with this kind of story (based on a classical novel or previous work of fiction), and fitted really well into the original novel, which made it seem like Charlotte Bronte had written it herself.
One of the things that most interested me was his relationship and marriage to Bertha, and that really didn't disappoint. We learned more about her and her background, what her family was like and why she turned out like she did.
However, I thought this did move far too quickly in a lot of places for me and was in some ways unnecessarily long - it might have worked better to end it where Jane meets Rochester in the original story, but I did like knowing and seeing all their interactions and their relationship unfold from Mr Rochester's point of view.
Seeing Jane from his eyes really puts another perspective into the story, one that's sorely needed judging by the lack of outward view of herself that we get from her narrative in Jane Eyre. I also enjoyed having more historical context added from the time - namely the slave trade abolishment and how Rochester's father can own slaves in Jamaica yet never mention them when in England. Mr Rochester's treatment of Molly was heartwarming, even if in the end the ending wasn't entirely happy.
I really enjoyed this story, as I normally do with this kind of story (based on a classical novel or previous work of fiction), and fitted really well into the original novel, which made it seem like Charlotte Bronte had written it herself.
It took me a little bit to get into the story because it’s written in a similar style to Jane Eyre but once I did it was endlessly fascinating. I really enjoyed Rochester’s “tale of woe” which really illuminated him as a character. And I like how well this book fits into the Jane Eyre “universe.” It made him quite sympathetic and gave explanations for some of his odd behavior. He seems less sure of himself than in Jane Eyre, but in this book we have the added benefit of his insight. Much like Mr Darcy telling his side of the story, Rochester’s story is a looking-glass version of Jane Eyre: the events are the same but they have different meaning. And the subplot of Bertha’s son added some tension as the story moved into the familiar Jane Eyre territory. I had to know how that subplot ended, especially as it intersected with the main plot.
My only disappointments with this book are about Jane: the section of the book devoted to Rochester and Jane seemed woefully short. I can understand not wanting to cover everything in Jane Eyre, but I wanted more Jane. Especially since she came across rather cold. Rochester sees through her calm and cold, but it felt more like Rochester saying he saw that rather than the reader being able to see that. This is the only place where I feel the author leaned on Jane Eyre a little too much: I might not have loved Jane if I had only read this book.
That all being said, I highly recommend this book. It’s more meaningful if you have read (and loved) Jane Eyre but I think you could read this first. My recommendation is to read Jane Eyre, then read Mr Rochester, and then Wide Sargasso Sea (Jane Eyre from Bertha Mason’s perspective). Although the two “fan fictions” don’t always match up with Jane Eyre, their willingness to diverge a little to offer another perspective makes them incredibly interesting and worthwhile.
My only disappointments with this book are about Jane: the section of the book devoted to Rochester and Jane seemed woefully short. I can understand not wanting to cover everything in Jane Eyre, but I wanted more Jane. Especially since she came across rather cold. Rochester sees through her calm and cold, but it felt more like Rochester saying he saw that rather than the reader being able to see that. This is the only place where I feel the author leaned on Jane Eyre a little too much: I might not have loved Jane if I had only read this book.
That all being said, I highly recommend this book. It’s more meaningful if you have read (and loved) Jane Eyre but I think you could read this first. My recommendation is to read Jane Eyre, then read Mr Rochester, and then Wide Sargasso Sea (Jane Eyre from Bertha Mason’s perspective). Although the two “fan fictions” don’t always match up with Jane Eyre, their willingness to diverge a little to offer another perspective makes them incredibly interesting and worthwhile.
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had little to no expectations going into this book. I thought, let's see how this author crafted Rochester's side of the story.
I'm pleased to say I consider it a fine read. It's similar in length to Jane Eyre. It even starts similarly - with Rochester's childhood. First I feared it'd be bored with too many details. But no, I very quickly became genuinely interested in his story. I liked what the author imagined for him. It felt right. Even though I knew what awaited him in Jamaica and afterwards, I was eager to continue reading and to learn more about his experiences. Jane comes into the picture way after half of the book. I was looking forward to their encounter as much as I do when reading Jane Eyre. I was not disappointed. Their interactions were nicely handled and I enjoyed reading about them from Edward's perspective.
All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I very well might just reach for Jane Eyre right now and reread my favourite passages and/or watch the mini series I love.
I'm pleased to say I consider it a fine read. It's similar in length to Jane Eyre. It even starts similarly - with Rochester's childhood. First I feared it'd be bored with too many details. But no, I very quickly became genuinely interested in his story. I liked what the author imagined for him. It felt right. Even though I knew what awaited him in Jamaica and afterwards, I was eager to continue reading and to learn more about his experiences. Jane comes into the picture way after half of the book. I was looking forward to their encounter as much as I do when reading Jane Eyre. I was not disappointed. Their interactions were nicely handled and I enjoyed reading about them from Edward's perspective.
All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I very well might just reach for Jane Eyre right now and reread my favourite passages and/or watch the mini series I love.