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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Though I've never been a fan of the literary device in which a character decides "I must push those I love far away from me lest their souls be damned to eternal hell by mere association," this book was far too entertaining for it to matter.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Death of parent, Murder
Minor: Domestic abuse
AMAZING! It is a retelling of Jane Eyre if she were a serial murderer. Although I was hooked by that premise because I am a huge fan of the original, I was so pleasantly surprised by the excellent writing style. She is an amazing author (based on this book alone because I haven't read anything else by her), and I can't wait to read more by her.
I cannot figure out how this book gets so many recommendations. I read the “2016 version” so maybe there is another version? The references back to Jane Eyre were tenuous and annoying. The actual total rip-off of Jane Eyre was worse. I keep seeing people say “this is not a rewrite of Jane Eyre” - um no - it is. That’s all it is.
I do not recommend.
I do not recommend.
In a similar vein to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Lyndsay Faye takes one of her favorite stories, Jane Eyre, and turns its heroine into a serial-killing badass. Although a little oversold on the serial killing, I enjoyed this twist on the original. Faye goes a little overkill on the Jane Eyre connections at times, but when they were subtle, it was delightful to see the connections shine. The story takes some surprising twists while loosely following the classic, and I enjoyed seeing a Victorian woman with a little more chutzpah in her. If you're looking for a more ramped up Jane Eyre, you might enjoy all of the tie-ins and references in this story. If you're looking for a fun novel that goes against the traditional Victorian woman, you might enjoy this if you can gloss over all of the constant Jane Eyre references.
To be honest, I don’t really like Jane Eyre as a story but I was interested in this “retelling.” I did mostly like the first third/half but afterwards, since that’s the part that’s most closely aligned with Jane Eyre and I think adds the most commentary (in a way). The main things I didn’t like about the rest of the book was how Thornfield and Jane fell in love (didn’t buy it), Jane’s character change (felt a bit inauthentic in some areas), and the portrayal of Sikh culture and history. The author did put research into it and I can’t say for certain how well it’s done, but there were some things about the presentation that just rubbed me the wrong way.
I wanted this to be a badass version of Jane Eyre (which would be highly entertaining since Jane is already such a Gothic feminist), but it was not. Jane Steele has no chill, she spends the first half of the book murdering people for almost no reason and the second half of the book throwing herself at a man who is clearly not interested in her (until, of course, he is). Also, Sikhism is a large part of the story for some reason. But not actually Sikhism...it's tokenism.
"'I imagined that you would be more talkative since you seemed eager to speak with me, sir.'
'Good Lord, no - that would be dreadful strategy....I've a knack for silence. I'll remain closemouthed and simply await developments.'"
"I did this, reader, because the most idiotic thing that Jane Eyre ever did other than to leave in the first place was to depart without her pearl necklace and half Mr. Rochester's fortune, which he would gladly have given her. If she had been eaten by a bear upon fleeing penniless into the wilderness, I should have shaken that bear's paw."
"...and crawled into bed with a wineglass full of whiskey and Jane Eyre within arm's reach."
"Here perished a species which lives to tell stories. 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."
From the author's note: "Finally, it would be disingenuous of me to suggest that this book isn't rather ridiculous"
"'I imagined that you would be more talkative since you seemed eager to speak with me, sir.'
'Good Lord, no - that would be dreadful strategy....I've a knack for silence. I'll remain closemouthed and simply await developments.'"
"I did this, reader, because the most idiotic thing that Jane Eyre ever did other than to leave in the first place was to depart without her pearl necklace and half Mr. Rochester's fortune, which he would gladly have given her. If she had been eaten by a bear upon fleeing penniless into the wilderness, I should have shaken that bear's paw."
"...and crawled into bed with a wineglass full of whiskey and Jane Eyre within arm's reach."
"Here perished a species which lives to tell stories. 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."
From the author's note: "Finally, it would be disingenuous of me to suggest that this book isn't rather ridiculous"
"I hope that the epitaph of the human race when the world ends will be: here lies a perished species which lived to tell stories”. 📚
I read Jane Steele for the first time in 2016 and I finished it for the second time today. Still swooning! A gothic Victorian setting? Feminist rage? Colonialism and the East India Company? Warriors and battles? Female friendship in boarding schools? Missing treasure? Byronic heroes? Secrets? Gut-punching sentences? This one checks ALL of my boxes. ❤️ Jane Eyre is my favorite book of all time and this retelling is SO much fun.
I read Jane Steele for the first time in 2016 and I finished it for the second time today. Still swooning! A gothic Victorian setting? Feminist rage? Colonialism and the East India Company? Warriors and battles? Female friendship in boarding schools? Missing treasure? Byronic heroes? Secrets? Gut-punching sentences? This one checks ALL of my boxes. ❤️ Jane Eyre is my favorite book of all time and this retelling is SO much fun.