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kay_weda1228's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting read. This was well-written and, I feel accurately depicts the life of a woman in 19th century (think Georgian/Regency/Victorian) England. Jane Eyre specifically shows the life of an impoverished orphan and how she overcomes the struggles of her station in society, eventually forging a better life for herself.
While I liked it, I hope I never have to read it again, mainly due to the old-fashioned English and lengthy sentence structure.
As a side note: Mr. Rochester takes forever to say anything important (literal monologues of "word salads") and St John (Pronounced Sinjin) Rivers is very stubborn.
Trigger Warnings: Domestic Violence/Abuse; Death; inhumane treatment of those considered "mentally insane;" stabbing and bitting (one character); mentions of burn scars, loss of eyes/vision, and amputation. These are not very graphic and by the time you wade through the fluff of the sentences, you forget what situation the character is in.
(Disclaimer: this novel is considered "gothic" and Mr. Rochester could be called a "Byronic hero," so these triggerwarnings are similar to other books in the "gothic" category–such as Mary Shelley's 1818 Novel, Frankenstein, which is a "gothic horror.")
While I liked it, I hope I never have to read it again, mainly due to the old-fashioned English and lengthy sentence structure.
As a side note: Mr. Rochester takes forever to say anything important (literal monologues of "word salads") and St John (Pronounced Sinjin) Rivers is very stubborn.
Trigger Warnings: Domestic Violence/Abuse; Death; inhumane treatment of those considered "mentally insane;" stabbing and bitting (one character); mentions of burn scars, loss of eyes/vision, and amputation. These are not very graphic and by the time you wade through the fluff of the sentences, you forget what situation the character is in.
(Disclaimer: this novel is considered "gothic" and Mr. Rochester could be called a "Byronic hero," so these triggerwarnings are similar to other books in the "gothic" category–such as Mary Shelley's 1818 Novel, Frankenstein, which is a "gothic horror.")
reidswife's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
annamaryd365's review against another edition
4.75
Goddamn, I loved this book. It feels almost redundant to say given the author but it was remarkably well written. Every character, even ones we only know for a chapter or two, is so alive and well-realized. In addition, the prose is so beautiful that I often found myself gasping merely at the way moments were described. I felt so deeply for Jane the whole way through and consistently loved her perspective. My only gripe with the book is that sometimes plot points seem a bit too coincidental (especially the fact that the people who take her in just *happen* to be her cousins) but I am able to forgive that as the story is so rich anyway. If you love classics and are willing to read a long, slow-paced book, I would whole heartedly recommend this!
gabrielab's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
chuyu_love's review against another edition
5.0
Honestly this book was beautiful, charlotte really out did herself.
tally8967's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
livres_de_bloss's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed he first half of this. It was atmospheric, tense and at times, downright frightening. If the story had ended when Jane left Thornfield, it would have been a five-star book.
The second half was less enjoyable. It got really God-bothery. It seemed so far fetched. The writing was mostly filler. It was boring.
In terms of readability, this was a bit hit and miss. There were times that I was riveted and other times (mostly in the second half) where it would wax romantic for pages and was quite a slog.
I have a hard time with people romanticizing these male characters in old books. (See my review on Wuthering Heights.) I honestly thought Mr Rochester was volatile and abusive. I didn’t like him at all. He seemed to want to dominate Jane and he was pretty nasty to her at he start. Never mind what he did to poor Bertha!
St John was also a jerk. He was obtuse, self-serving and manipulative (it was pretty rich of him to use the God-bothering to try and pressure Jane into marriage... wtf?).
These two men were terrible and honestly if they were Jane’s only choice of husband, she should have just stayed on the teaching/governess path and died a spinster. It appears that, to Jane, after her experience with St John, Mr Rochester didn’t look so bad... but that’s not how it works. How Jane would ever be comfortable married to and living with a man that had is beyond me!
TL;DR: if this has ended when Jane left Thornfield - instant five stars. The second half rather spoilt it and the ending was disappointing; I expected more from Jane, I guess.
The second half was less enjoyable. It got really God-bothery. It seemed so far fetched. The writing was mostly filler. It was boring.
In terms of readability, this was a bit hit and miss. There were times that I was riveted and other times (mostly in the second half) where it would wax romantic for pages and was quite a slog.
I have a hard time with people romanticizing these male characters in old books. (See my review on Wuthering Heights.) I honestly thought Mr Rochester was volatile and abusive. I didn’t like him at all. He seemed to want to dominate Jane and he was pretty nasty to her at he start. Never mind what he did to poor Bertha!
St John was also a jerk. He was obtuse, self-serving and manipulative (it was pretty rich of him to use the God-bothering to try and pressure Jane into marriage... wtf?).
These two men were terrible and honestly if they were Jane’s only choice of husband, she should have just stayed on the teaching/governess path and died a spinster. It appears that, to Jane, after her experience with St John, Mr Rochester didn’t look so bad... but that’s not how it works. How Jane would ever be comfortable married to and living with a man that had
Spoiler
imprisoned his wife in a remote country estateTL;DR: if this has ended when Jane left Thornfield - instant five stars. The second half rather spoilt it and the ending was disappointing; I expected more from Jane, I guess.