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kayo32's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
impla77's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
One of the more distracted books from the Brontes, Shirley seems to have more characters than it can deal with. In lieu of following one character, we flit from one to another, in a way that is not very satisfying to the whole story. Our title character, and easily the most interesting character in the story, only shows up about halfway through (or it feels that way anyway), and we follow the sympathetic but also quite pathetic Caroline Helstone before that, who does nothing but be depressed and pine, and Robert Moore, her ‘love interest’ who does nothing but lowkey ignore her and antagonise the locals until the end of the book. Shirley’s love interest, Louis Moore, shows up even later, and after some pining from Shirley (who thinks shes contracted rabies lol) alls well that ends well.
An interesting look into hard times for the working class in the North in the Napoleonic era, and some great feminist passages from Shirley and Caroline but on the whole just too scattered and messy to really excel.
An interesting look into hard times for the working class in the North in the Napoleonic era, and some great feminist passages from Shirley and Caroline but on the whole just too scattered and messy to really excel.
gregoreads's review against another edition
4.0
Shirley had a very tedious start for me, and I thought I was going to have already forgotten it by the time I finished it. And by god, the beginning was slow and unnecessarily long. But once Shirley shows up, the ball gets rolling. She is a firecracker character, and brings out the shine of the other characters around her. Charlotte Brontë’s dialogue is *chef kiss* and I was grinning and laughing basically non stop for the last 200 pages because the wit was getting tossed around in force. It definitely didn’t need to be this long, so I can’t give it full marks, but man, I ended up loving this.
momo_'s review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ctaniem's review against another edition
2.0
Dnf. Skipped to the end to find that Charlotte even admitted to not knowing the what the point to the story is! I hope Villette is better :/
zenithharpink's review against another edition
3.0
This was a thoroughly enjoyable read, I loved the language and every minute of enjoying the beauty of the prose. That aspect of the book was nearly flawless. In spite of this enjoyment, I found myself often confused, and that's where this book earns only 3 stars.
I was not confused in what was actually happening, that piece was clear enough. What I was frustrated with was the character dynamics-they drifted in and out of focus, character chemistry generally didn't resonate with me, and there were aspects of characters that I found inconsistent. Characters were described in detail frequently, but their behavior and other characters interactions and judgement didn't align with the author's description. Perhaps this was a bit anachronistic of me as a reader 150 years after this had been written, but it grated nonetheless.
I would recommend this book to those looking for a beautifully written book, by a well-known and gifted author. The focus really isn't there, but it's an enjoyable read nonetheless.
I was not confused in what was actually happening, that piece was clear enough. What I was frustrated with was the character dynamics-they drifted in and out of focus, character chemistry generally didn't resonate with me, and there were aspects of characters that I found inconsistent. Characters were described in detail frequently, but their behavior and other characters interactions and judgement didn't align with the author's description. Perhaps this was a bit anachronistic of me as a reader 150 years after this had been written, but it grated nonetheless.
I would recommend this book to those looking for a beautifully written book, by a well-known and gifted author. The focus really isn't there, but it's an enjoyable read nonetheless.