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illyanadallas222's review
5.0
“Lucy, take my love. One day share my life. Be my dearest, first on earth.”
Oh How I fell in love with Lucy Snow (Villette is subtly biographical so did I just fall more in love with Charlotte Brontë? ;) )
From how deep she loves, to how strongly she defends what is right and the subtle digs at Jane Austen (ha ha, nothing against JA, but we both agree she is slightly overrated ;)) Lucy the protagonist and narrator shares with you the journey that is her life and shares with you the intimate fears, dreams and feelings she has throughout. The sense of foreboding that you feel throughout this unexpectedly gothic novel, epitomises Charlotte Brontë’s brilliance at its finest. Her narrator is utterly relatable. She teases, conceals, overthinks, ‘over-feels’ what it feels like to be a woman, not just within the 19th century, but beyond. The subtle dilemmas between Protestantism and Catholicism (a dilemma featured often within English literature) are still relevant today in 2020.
Charlotte Brontë will forever be one of my favourite authors (no literally, swipe right :P), her writing so effortless and keeping me up till 2am wanting to know what happens next to our in the Steadfast and aspirational life of Lucy Snow.
Oh How I fell in love with Lucy Snow (Villette is subtly biographical so did I just fall more in love with Charlotte Brontë? ;) )
From how deep she loves, to how strongly she defends what is right and the subtle digs at Jane Austen (ha ha, nothing against JA, but we both agree she is slightly overrated ;)) Lucy the protagonist and narrator shares with you the journey that is her life and shares with you the intimate fears, dreams and feelings she has throughout. The sense of foreboding that you feel throughout this unexpectedly gothic novel, epitomises Charlotte Brontë’s brilliance at its finest. Her narrator is utterly relatable. She teases, conceals, overthinks, ‘over-feels’ what it feels like to be a woman, not just within the 19th century, but beyond. The subtle dilemmas between Protestantism and Catholicism (a dilemma featured often within English literature) are still relevant today in 2020.
Charlotte Brontë will forever be one of my favourite authors (no literally, swipe right :P), her writing so effortless and keeping me up till 2am wanting to know what happens next to our in the Steadfast and aspirational life of Lucy Snow.
nealagrace's review
3.0
Jane eyre is so much more fun. However the ending of this was kinda baller. Idk what to rate bc it lowk was way longer than it needed to be but she ATE W THAT ENDING.
mitskacir's review
2.0
This book was a slog. It’s insanely long, has long stretches of untranslated French dialogue, and has very little plot. If you’re interested in lots of character development and interiority, this book may appeal more to you. Ultimately for me it was about a woman with terrible taste in men who isn’t willing to make her feelings known and struggles with loneliness and unrequited love her whole life. Perhaps a close, analytical reading of this book would yield more satisfying insights, but as a casual audiobook listen I finished the book without gaining much besides a tally towards my reading goal.
thefullbronte's review
2.0
Haiku:
The end betrays us,
His thoughts shouldn't enter in,
Your story, not his.
The end betrays us,
His thoughts shouldn't enter in,
Your story, not his.
biolexicon's review
1.0
I couldn't finish it. Honestly, I'm heart-broken. I loved Jane Eyre so much I thought this was a sure bet. But there's some emotional connection I had with Jane that I never got with Lucy. So I'm just left with dense descriptions and a slow plot.
I wonder why that is, why I connected with Jane but not Lucy..? That probably says something about me
I wonder why that is, why I connected with Jane but not Lucy..? That probably says something about me
mnwakeford's review
5.0
I first read this years ago and decided to re-read this in 2023. While the story has gothic elements and implausible dramatic twists, I found it still a very powerful read. Narrated by Lucy Snowe, a young Englishwoman who falls on hard times, it recounts how, with the last of her savings, she travels to the continental city of Villette (modelled on Brussels) where she finds employment as an English teacher in a boarding school. Bronte's storytelling is powerfully emotive as we see the contrast between Lucy's inner turmoil (her excruciating loneliness, poor mental health and unrequited love) and the way she presents herself to the external world with a cool and calm demeanour. To those around her, she is a nobody, a person of little importance who fades into the woodwork. The only person who truly sees her is the tetchy and cantankerous professor, Monsieur Paul. He is not a typical romantic hero, but there is something incredibly moving about the way he shows his love for Lucy, who of course has to endure many tribulations before eventually finding happiness. My only gripe is the ending, which is ambiguous. My romantic soul would have wanted an actual HEA, but never mind.
Sidenote: I didn't have a problem with a lot of the dialogue being in French, but I can imagine that non-French speakers would struggle with this.
Sidenote: I didn't have a problem with a lot of the dialogue being in French, but I can imagine that non-French speakers would struggle with this.
kcrawfish's review
5.0
Lucy Snowe is a hard narrator. She takes you in, but doesn’t quite trust the reader with herself. She observes those around her almost like she wishes she was a disembodied narrator of a novel in which she was removed. This is obvious in her narrative style, and is almost humorous when, late in the novel, she attends a fair alone, incognito, and is shocked to her core when she is recognized, not once, not twice, but three times! Imagine.
Her life is hard, cold nights and mornings earn her her icy name, but she isn’t here to tell you about herself.
In a book with little levity at the outset, it took me until about 25% before I could bare up under the narrative yoke. She finally seemed an active agent, her story was the one being told, and it had hope in it. Textures and light moved around her, while she allowed it.
Her humor was surprising. I enjoyed her interactions with students and her ability to tease those around her. She has strange friends, in particular a young, flighty student who seems to cling to her because Lucy knows the girl is rotten to her core. It’s an odd dynamic. These moments of levity were a breath of fresh air in a close attic! Finally life and engagement despite her efforts to turn marble!
Murky, unreliable narrator! I might have love for Lucy, but I don’t think she had any for me, or at the least doubted her words fell upon sympathetic ears.
Good, gloomy book. Utterly fitting to the weather I’ve been having while reading it, overcast and grey.
Her life is hard, cold nights and mornings earn her her icy name, but she isn’t here to tell you about herself.
In a book with little levity at the outset, it took me until about 25% before I could bare up under the narrative yoke. She finally seemed an active agent, her story was the one being told, and it had hope in it. Textures and light moved around her, while she allowed it.
Her humor was surprising. I enjoyed her interactions with students and her ability to tease those around her. She has strange friends, in particular a young, flighty student who seems to cling to her because Lucy knows the girl is rotten to her core. It’s an odd dynamic. These moments of levity were a breath of fresh air in a close attic! Finally life and engagement despite her efforts to turn marble!
Murky, unreliable narrator! I might have love for Lucy, but I don’t think she had any for me, or at the least doubted her words fell upon sympathetic ears.
Good, gloomy book. Utterly fitting to the weather I’ve been having while reading it, overcast and grey.