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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
Received this as an ARC through Netgalley. First of all, I only rated this three stars, but it's more like 3.5/4 for me. My brain is still in the book and I don't feel like I can rate it properly right now. I must say I am surprised I picked this up at all. I have tried reading "Jane Eyre" multiple times and never gotten through it. For me though, it almost felt like this, Rochester's story and the story of "Jane Eyre" through Rochester's eyes had more meat to it. I found his perceptions and his life very much more interesting than I thought I would. I also enjoyed getting his backstory. In parts of "Jane Eyre" I have gotten through, he always feels like this big mystery. I think seeing more of him and understanding his emotions more, lent to "Jane Eyre" enough to make it where I am actually considering going back and trying Jane again. Overall, interesting and I'm glad I read it.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This didn't work. I desperately wanted it to; Jane Eyre is probably my favorite novel. I was eager to read her story from the perspective of Rochester but I think that's where this book's failure lies: this story is Jane's story and no one else's. It just doesn't work from the perspective of Rochester.
Though Shoemaker tried to mirror this novel and Jane Eyre in the backstory section and Thornfield section, it only felt bloated and then kinda silly. Rochester loving Jane isn't as groundbreaking and scandalous as Jane loving Rochester. He's a man; he can do whatever he wants. That sort of mentality ran through the book from beginning to end. Though Rochester was presented as having a difficult life, it just didn't work. He was still a rich boy (emphasis on boy) who ended up in a marvelous house with whatever he wanted. Jane had to defy social convention in order to gain her happiness; Rochester didn't.
(Also, Rochester reads as overtly feminine. That didn't work either.)
Forgive me if this review doesn't make sense—I'm currently sick in bed. All the same, I expected a lot more.
*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for a review.*
Though Shoemaker tried to mirror this novel and Jane Eyre in the backstory section and Thornfield section, it only felt bloated and then kinda silly. Rochester loving Jane isn't as groundbreaking and scandalous as Jane loving Rochester. He's a man; he can do whatever he wants. That sort of mentality ran through the book from beginning to end. Though Rochester was presented as having a difficult life, it just didn't work. He was still a rich boy (emphasis on boy) who ended up in a marvelous house with whatever he wanted. Jane had to defy social convention in order to gain her happiness; Rochester didn't.
(Also, Rochester reads as overtly feminine. That didn't work either.)
Forgive me if this review doesn't make sense—I'm currently sick in bed. All the same, I expected a lot more.
*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for a review.*
I always love when authors 're-write' a story from another character's perspective. The thing I loved most about this book was getting a backstory of Mr Rochester as it gives a new insight into his character in Jane Eyre and why he acted the way that he did. The description of the various settings are written so well that you feel like you're there, standing right next to Edward Fairfax Rochester the entire time. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would highly recommend it to anyone.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
By the time I got to the Jane Eyre sections I was simply too fed up with the plodding, listless style to even care. I can understand the impulse to make this novel a mirror of the original, going through Rochester’s life, but crikey it was a boring life.
Protams, nav tik izcili kā oriģinālstāstā un nevarēju vien sagaidīt līdz grāmatas 3. Daļai kur bija tieši par Džeinu, bet Ročestera stāsts arī bija tā vērts lai izlasītu. Man nekad īsti nepatīk lasīt to pašu stāstu no cita skatu punkta, bet galu galā man nepatīk arī to pašu grāmatu lasīt otrreiz un varbūt tāpēc tieši pārstāsti ir domāti tādiem kā man. Bija jauki atgriezties pie mana visu laiku mīļākā power couple.
Not as good as original, but as I don't like rereading the same book this is quite a good alternative, but sadly I don't really enjoy retellings from another point of view also. Putting all that down I did enjoy this book, because this is frankly my favorite power couple since I was a little girl. It was quite interesting to see how the childhood of Mr Rochester was going on, but the book also felt quite slow (and yes I know it was the way of expression when the book was originally written), couldn't wait for them to meet and see how Rochester was going to think of Jane. I enjoyed it. :)
Not as good as original, but as I don't like rereading the same book this is quite a good alternative, but sadly I don't really enjoy retellings from another point of view also. Putting all that down I did enjoy this book, because this is frankly my favorite power couple since I was a little girl. It was quite interesting to see how the childhood of Mr Rochester was going on, but the book also felt quite slow (and yes I know it was the way of expression when the book was originally written), couldn't wait for them to meet and see how Rochester was going to think of Jane. I enjoyed it. :)
I think I had really high hopes for this books. I did enjoy it, but there are some things that didn’t match my expectations. Obviously Bertha has some issues so she was a little wild and vulgar. There were a number of events in his life that I thought were a really good explanation of his character and just a couple that I felt didn’t match what I would have guessed.
It was really interesting to see the events of Jayne Eyre through a different character's eyes and now I need to read Jane Eyre again! This book is definitely worth a read for any Jayne Eyre fan
After reading “Wide Sargasso Sea”, reading a novel about Mr. Rochester’s life before he meets Jane always has me a bit nervous, because I disliked the characterization of Rochester in that novel. This novel however was a wonderful surprise. I found Mr. Rochester’s characterization from a child to an adult to be very well thought out, and true to the original as created by Charlotte Bronte. And even though the plot has to follow certain milestones in Rochester’s life, the author was able to add a lot of interest and depth to events in between the main ones.
Rochester’s childhood was interesting in how it mirrored Jane Eyre’s in her loneliness. Rochester didn’t quite have it as bad as Jane, but he suffered from indifference, the apparent hatred of his brother, and being sent away to school very young. I thought it was an interesting connection that made this novel read in a similar way to Jane Eyre, as the reader gets to see what events shapes Rochester’s character. These events were charming to read about - the author portrays the time and setting very realistically, and it felt realistic to believe that Rochester had these experiences.
Although the pace of the story could be slow, I always felt engrossed by what was happening. The writing was a big help in this I think. It captured the time’s vernacular without being hard to read, and also painted the characters vividly enough to capture the imagination.
When the story reached the Jane Eyre section, I was very excited to dive in. It was excellently done for the most part, however there was an added plot thread that felt very off to me. It didn’t detract too much from the overall story, but it also didn’t feel necessary. The story parallels “Jane Eyre” pretty closely though, without really diving too much into the romance, so I felt like the first two-thirds of the book was actually the better part.
This was a fantastic read overall, and a great tribute to Jane and Rochester.
Rochester’s childhood was interesting in how it mirrored Jane Eyre’s in her loneliness. Rochester didn’t quite have it as bad as Jane, but he suffered from indifference, the apparent hatred of his brother, and being sent away to school very young. I thought it was an interesting connection that made this novel read in a similar way to Jane Eyre, as the reader gets to see what events shapes Rochester’s character. These events were charming to read about - the author portrays the time and setting very realistically, and it felt realistic to believe that Rochester had these experiences.
Although the pace of the story could be slow, I always felt engrossed by what was happening. The writing was a big help in this I think. It captured the time’s vernacular without being hard to read, and also painted the characters vividly enough to capture the imagination.
When the story reached the Jane Eyre section, I was very excited to dive in. It was excellently done for the most part, however there was an added plot thread that felt very off to me. It didn’t detract too much from the overall story, but it also didn’t feel necessary. The story parallels “Jane Eyre” pretty closely though, without really diving too much into the romance, so I felt like the first two-thirds of the book was actually the better part.
This was a fantastic read overall, and a great tribute to Jane and Rochester.
The first half was okay, but the second half was disjointed with the author trying to make the character she created fit with the original characterization in Jane Eyre. I thought this book would make him more likable, but I ended up disliking Mr. Rochester even more.