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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
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:
Yes
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
relaxing
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:
No
JANE! JANE! JANE!
...you forgot to recharge your phone again!
Okay, so besides the more unlikely plot points, the depressing school, the less than enlightened view of mental illness and dour detour into spiritual rigidity, ...I continue to love this book and it still gets 5 stars. Why? The conversations. Between Jane and Mr. Rochester. Between Jane and Aunt Horrible. Between Adele and anyone. Between Jane and ...even St. John. I love the dialogue. Still entertaining after 30 years.
...you forgot to recharge your phone again!
Okay, so besides the more unlikely plot points, the depressing school, the less than enlightened view of mental illness and dour detour into spiritual rigidity, ...I continue to love this book and it still gets 5 stars. Why? The conversations. Between Jane and Mr. Rochester. Between Jane and Aunt Horrible. Between Adele and anyone. Between Jane and ...even St. John. I love the dialogue. Still entertaining after 30 years.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Rereading Jane Eyre after 25 years, when I was about halfway through, I wanted to give it six stars, or demote nearly every other book to which I'd given five. My breathlessness tempered a bit in the second half, but still - oh, oh! It's more beautiful, more moving, more funny, more insightful, and more impassioned even than I remembered. Jane is a superb heroine, fierce and flawed. She applies her mind and her heart with equal fervor, and as such is a delightful narrator and a delightful person to spend many pages with.
(And she learns Hindi. I mean, how many books does one read in which a character applies herself to the study of Hindi? Don't ever let it be said that mid-19th-century heroines are not relatable to modern readers.)
Sure, Rochester is obnoxiously Byronic. But you have to give this to him: Embedded as he is in the patriarchy of his time, he loves Jane as his mental equal. He loves her because of what goes on between her ears, because of what he gets from conversing with her, and because her courage to challenge him when she knows that she is right and he is wrong.
Sure, there are plotting issues. It more than strains credulity that a random coach taken a random distance in a random direction would drop Jane on the doorstep of long-lost cousins she never knew she had. And it's mighty considerate of Mrs Rochester to kill herself just when Jane most needs her out of the way. ("Unsatisfying deaths of antagonists for $500, Alex." Mrs Rochester's demise ranks with Charlie Bruno's drunken tumble from a boat in Strangers on a Train when it comes to dispatching of characters who have outlasted their expedience.)
But the plot is never the brilliance of Jane Eyre. The brilliance is in Jane herself, her insight, her cleverness, her self-deprecation, her passion, her courage, her occasional rashness, her wit. Bronte's execution bares the full intensity of Jane's emotions - all of them, and she experiences many in her Bildungsroman - with a superb hand. I have fallen in love as surely as Mr Rochester.
(For you audiobook folks: Drop whatever you are listening to and get Thandie Newton's reading of this book from Audible. It is AMAZING. I usually find that the readings by big name actors are fine but not necessarily better than the readings by Audible's excellent professional voice actors. However, Ms Newton absolutely owns the emotional range of Jane Eyre. She is wonderful. I can't overstate this.)
(And she learns Hindi. I mean, how many books does one read in which a character applies herself to the study of Hindi? Don't ever let it be said that mid-19th-century heroines are not relatable to modern readers.)
Sure, Rochester is obnoxiously Byronic. But you have to give this to him: Embedded as he is in the patriarchy of his time, he loves Jane as his mental equal. He loves her because of what goes on between her ears, because of what he gets from conversing with her, and because her courage to challenge him when she knows that she is right and he is wrong.
Sure, there are plotting issues. It more than strains credulity that a random coach taken a random distance in a random direction would drop Jane on the doorstep of long-lost cousins she never knew she had. And it's mighty considerate of Mrs Rochester to kill herself just when Jane most needs her out of the way. ("Unsatisfying deaths of antagonists for $500, Alex." Mrs Rochester's demise ranks with Charlie Bruno's drunken tumble from a boat in Strangers on a Train when it comes to dispatching of characters who have outlasted their expedience.)
But the plot is never the brilliance of Jane Eyre. The brilliance is in Jane herself, her insight, her cleverness, her self-deprecation, her passion, her courage, her occasional rashness, her wit. Bronte's execution bares the full intensity of Jane's emotions - all of them, and she experiences many in her Bildungsroman - with a superb hand. I have fallen in love as surely as Mr Rochester.
(For you audiobook folks: Drop whatever you are listening to and get Thandie Newton's reading of this book from Audible. It is AMAZING. I usually find that the readings by big name actors are fine but not necessarily better than the readings by Audible's excellent professional voice actors. However, Ms Newton absolutely owns the emotional range of Jane Eyre. She is wonderful. I can't overstate this.)
her writing feels surprisingly current and i was enjoying it but it’s just too long for what i have the headspace for at the moment. also it was due back to the library—my refills were out and my time was up.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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:
No
3.75. rochester is LITERALLY the blueprint for colleen hoover men