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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Let me start off by saying I Love Jane Eyre. Gothic, Victorian literature is my Jam! The Bronte sisters are who I curled up next to in the crisp winter nights off the Hudson. This is a loose retelling of Jane Eyre as serial killer, Jane Steele. It’s completely bananas but it works. Can often get verbose, but I was invested by the end. If you have love for the O.G. Jane, I encourage you to pick this up and compare the different heroines.
Actual rating is 3.5 stars. Not quite a 4-star although aptly enjoyable. Also very excellently narrated, and I wish this narrator has more audiobooks in the future. The reason I read this was because I was in the mood for something in the classical realm, but I often have such a short attention span when reading books like this that audio is the way to go. It has the same sort of satisfying storyline, intrigue, satire, and romance that the classical books have, so if you like Austen and Bronte, maybe you’ll enjoy this too.
To say this is a Jane Eyre retelling is largely misleading. It’s more a story inspired by Jane Eyre, with a heroine a self-confessed fan of Jane Eyre. I really like Jane Steele though. She’s a good-hearted murderess if that’s something possible. She takes into her own hands the deaths of people who abuse and inflict hurt upon others. All her life trials and the way she reacts to each of them only serve to endear her. You can tell she would grow up to be quite the woman during all those chapters of her as a child.
Some people say that the book became bad when they got to the romance part, but for me it was okay. Jane got this new dimension to her when she fell in love, and frankly I didn’t mind the romance because the girl deserves a bit of happiness. I was pleased anyway that she stayed true to character even though she was reeling from heartbreak. What I actually hated about this book were the parts where I was being told the things that happened rather than shown, in another way. It was a literal TELLING of past events in what felt like a very flat way compared to how colorful Jane’s forays (which we got to actually witness) growing up were. It really took away from the flow for me. In any case, I enjoyed it as a whole.
To say this is a Jane Eyre retelling is largely misleading. It’s more a story inspired by Jane Eyre, with a heroine a self-confessed fan of Jane Eyre. I really like Jane Steele though. She’s a good-hearted murderess if that’s something possible. She takes into her own hands the deaths of people who abuse and inflict hurt upon others. All her life trials and the way she reacts to each of them only serve to endear her. You can tell she would grow up to be quite the woman during all those chapters of her as a child.
Some people say that the book became bad when they got to the romance part, but for me it was okay. Jane got this new dimension to her when she fell in love, and frankly I didn’t mind the romance because the girl deserves a bit of happiness. I was pleased anyway that she stayed true to character even though she was reeling from heartbreak. What I actually hated about this book were the parts where I was being told the things that happened rather than shown, in another way. It was a literal TELLING of past events in what felt like a very flat way compared to how colorful Jane’s forays (which we got to actually witness) growing up were. It really took away from the flow for me. In any case, I enjoyed it as a whole.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Inspired by Jane Eyre and Nicholas Nickleby, Jane Steele takes similar story telling trends from her namesake. Absolutely riveting from the first page to the last. I really don't have the words to probably express my happiness that I read this, and read it with a friend so we have been able to gush over the pages.
Jane Steele is a huge fan of the novel 'Jane Eyre' and in its pages she finds some form of solace from her own life. Orphaned at a young age, disliked by her aunt and harassed by her cousin, Jane is sent to Lowan Bridge School to be educated. The only problem is that Jane murdered her cousin and, after many years of torment at school she murders her headmaster and flees to London. Surviving the best way she can, Jane racks up another two murders before returning to her childhood home as a governess, and then the real adventures start!
There is genre of novel that I have a real love for and that is the Victorian pastiche, books written with a real love for the classics but with a clever and modern twist on them. It is an incredibly hard thing to do, to get the balance right and here Lyndsay Faye has done it brilliantly. Her love of the Brontes, Dickens, etc shines through, Jane Steele is the anti-Jane Eyre and a completely twentieth century heroine but the settings and plot twists are pure Victorian Gothic. There is such a joie-de-vivre about this book and loads of little in-jokes to keep the intelligent reader chuckling - Mr Thornfield (Thornfield Hall), Patience Barbary (Miss Barbary), Quillfeather (Inspector Bucket) - as well as an understanding of the Punjab and the integration of Sikhs into British society. All in all this is a wonderful book to read, I kept thinking how clever it all was and then there was another turn, plotting is tight, language authentic and characters larger than life - I'm sad I've finished it!
There is genre of novel that I have a real love for and that is the Victorian pastiche, books written with a real love for the classics but with a clever and modern twist on them. It is an incredibly hard thing to do, to get the balance right and here Lyndsay Faye has done it brilliantly. Her love of the Brontes, Dickens, etc shines through, Jane Steele is the anti-Jane Eyre and a completely twentieth century heroine but the settings and plot twists are pure Victorian Gothic. There is such a joie-de-vivre about this book and loads of little in-jokes to keep the intelligent reader chuckling - Mr Thornfield (Thornfield Hall), Patience Barbary (Miss Barbary), Quillfeather (Inspector Bucket) - as well as an understanding of the Punjab and the integration of Sikhs into British society. All in all this is a wonderful book to read, I kept thinking how clever it all was and then there was another turn, plotting is tight, language authentic and characters larger than life - I'm sad I've finished it!
Everything I had hoped it would be. Wonderfully written, with plenty of humor and suspense. Can't wait to start recommending this!