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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
I was a bit skeptical when I got this book from the library. I love Jane Eyre and thought this would be along the lines of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I was wrong. This book is a retelling of Jane Eyre while also being an entirely separate story altogether. I enjoyed the characters, appreciated the "scandal-ness" of it and enjoyed the unique spin on one of my most favorite books.
Halfway through this book, I REALLY wanted Jane and Clarke to be a couple, and Charles and Sardar to be a couple. So while I liked it and enjoyed the twists and turns, I was still a bit disappointed by the ending. Nice to know that Clarke at least had those feelings.
Bloody good fun. Ignore the blurb. This is not a gothic retelling. It's satirical and dark and respects the language as it frolics with it. It knows the socioeconomic and political realities of the day (as the Brontës well did) and how often cruel and sickeningly unfair they were, and decides to play a little "what if?"
Do not go into it expecting Brontë. Seriously.
Do not go into it expecting Brontë. Seriously.
“Reader, I murdered him.”
Fantastic re-imagining of Jane Eyre. So funny and beautifully written. This is another book that belongs in my top 25, actually my top 10. The dark humour is pitched perfectly, the heroine is complex but likeable and the supporting cast memorable.
If you've read Jane Eyre you'll love it and if you haven't you'll still love it.
Fantastic re-imagining of Jane Eyre. So funny and beautifully written. This is another book that belongs in my top 25, actually my top 10. The dark humour is pitched perfectly, the heroine is complex but likeable and the supporting cast memorable.
If you've read Jane Eyre you'll love it and if you haven't you'll still love it.
Really fun read. I enjoyed the way the story twisted and turned yet kept alive the tie to the original Jane Eyre in a unique way.
Probably more like a 2.75ish. Not rounding up to distinguish between other 3's I liked better. I really like Lyndsay Faye but this one just didn't do it for me. Didn't hold my interest. Took forever to finish. Redeemed itself a bit in the end. But not until the very end.
I love Jane Eyre. I've read it maybe a dozen times since I was a pre-teen.
But as I got older I found Jane more annoying - why the hell didn't she just stay with Mr Rochester and be happy? Who cares that he has a wife - she's a lunatic! Why would you leave without taking any money with, isn't that just stupid?! etc.
Jane Steele is not like that. She takes responsibility for, and prioritises, her own happiness.
She's badass but her voice is still very Janey.
Some of my favourite bits:
We tell stories to strangers to ingratiate ourselves, stories to lovers to better adhere us skin to skin, stories in our heads to banish the demons. When we tell the truth, often we are callous; when we tell lies, often we are kind. Through it all, we tell stories, and we own an uncanny knack for the task.
***
I relate to this story almost as I would a friend or a lover – at times I want to breathe its entire alphabet into my lungs, and at others I should prefer to throw it across the room.
***
With hard work added to the formula, it would be enough; I might linger here, and so bury myself in projects that no one should see I was transparent by daylight, a ghost with a soul of smoke and secrets.
***
We are all of us daily decaying, after all; the speed is our only variant.
***
Then and there I vowed that Clarke should escape me; I should never seek her out, never threaten her fragile freedom, for all that my chest felt as empty as the wide spaces between the stars she so adored.
But as I got older I found Jane more annoying - why the hell didn't she just stay with Mr Rochester and be happy? Who cares that he has a wife - she's a lunatic! Why would you leave without taking any money with, isn't that just stupid?! etc.
Jane Steele is not like that. She takes responsibility for, and prioritises, her own happiness.
She's badass but her voice is still very Janey.
Some of my favourite bits:
We tell stories to strangers to ingratiate ourselves, stories to lovers to better adhere us skin to skin, stories in our heads to banish the demons. When we tell the truth, often we are callous; when we tell lies, often we are kind. Through it all, we tell stories, and we own an uncanny knack for the task.
***
I relate to this story almost as I would a friend or a lover – at times I want to breathe its entire alphabet into my lungs, and at others I should prefer to throw it across the room.
***
With hard work added to the formula, it would be enough; I might linger here, and so bury myself in projects that no one should see I was transparent by daylight, a ghost with a soul of smoke and secrets.
***
We are all of us daily decaying, after all; the speed is our only variant.
***
Then and there I vowed that Clarke should escape me; I should never seek her out, never threaten her fragile freedom, for all that my chest felt as empty as the wide spaces between the stars she so adored.
Lyndsay Faye weaves a brilliant, page-turning romance about identity, guilt, lies, and love. Jane Steele is an unconventional young woman, who rebels against the Victorian traditions. The Jane Eyre inspiration scattered throughout is the icing on the cake.