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editrix's review against another edition
This was just okay. I was bothered by a lot of things (the shift in perspectives to minor characters who illuminate nothing; the lack of creative arc or any urgency; the sneaking suspicion that this was just highbrow fan fiction), but there were some pretty turns of phrases here and there. (“The wide four-poster bed with its diaphanous hangings looks like a ship about to sail.”) The lack of emotional dynamic range was...odd; it felt like the entire book was told in monotone, which is surprising given that the subject was literature known for its high drama.
I chose this as a treading-water book while I waited for something better to arrive in the mail, and it turned out to be just that. I was in the water moving my arms and legs around, and I definitely felt wet, but I didn’t really go anywhere.
I chose this as a treading-water book while I waited for something better to arrive in the mail, and it turned out to be just that. I was in the water moving my arms and legs around, and I definitely felt wet, but I didn’t really go anywhere.
kfont42's review against another edition
3.0
This is a light, fluffy, enjoyable read for anyone who has read and loved Jane Eyre. Understanding that this is a fictionalized account of her life, I was intrigued by her relationships and the different inspirations for events and characters. It made me even more curious about Charlotte, and makes me anxious to read Villette and motivated to read Gaskell's biography of Charlotte Brontë.
mazer_31's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
rachelgertrude's review against another edition
4.0
I read this book in an airport, expecting that it would be standard, light and frothy airport fare. Strangely, it took me right to early Victorian London, so that I looked up from the book and had to remember I wasn't there. This book is Charlotte Bronte in glimpses, in word snapshots. It is such a "quiet" book, quiet like those women who are mad but are hiding all of the anger behind a frozen smile. It is like sitting in a very quiet room, and hearing the rustle of people's skirts as they walk, or the sound of the wind outside, and looking at the faces of your family every now and then as you read or write. But in all of this silence, you can hear all around an intense whispering of words which are only alive on the unspoken page.
Refreshing to me was Kohler's ability to create an atmosphere that never hinted by any means to be other than Bronte's time. I remember watching Somewhere in Time, where the guy is able to visit the past by a sort of mind manipulation, but if on his journey to the past, he sees any reminder of the present, he will instantly be recalled to his own time. In the end, he finds a penny in his pocket from the present day, and it ruins everything.
It seems like many historical fiction writers can't help but throw a 2012 penny into their picture of the past, either overemphasizing famous names and news stories of the time, or trying too hard to write dialogue of the past but making silly mistakes by throwing in modern colloquialisms. How did Kohler avoid doing this? I don't know!
I felt that she painted the real Charlotte somehow. Today we remember Charlotte Bronte for her moral courage, for her emotional honesty, for her passionate intensity. But we forget some of the things about Charlotte Bronte's nature that probably perplexed those around her: her pride and inability to accept criticism clearheadedly, the manner in which her intense emotions probably frightened people off: the fact that until she was recognized for her work, she was obscure and treated so. I am glad that Kohler included these things, and made Charlotte's life and struggles real.
Refreshing to me was Kohler's ability to create an atmosphere that never hinted by any means to be other than Bronte's time. I remember watching Somewhere in Time, where the guy is able to visit the past by a sort of mind manipulation, but if on his journey to the past, he sees any reminder of the present, he will instantly be recalled to his own time. In the end, he finds a penny in his pocket from the present day, and it ruins everything.
It seems like many historical fiction writers can't help but throw a 2012 penny into their picture of the past, either overemphasizing famous names and news stories of the time, or trying too hard to write dialogue of the past but making silly mistakes by throwing in modern colloquialisms. How did Kohler avoid doing this? I don't know!
I felt that she painted the real Charlotte somehow. Today we remember Charlotte Bronte for her moral courage, for her emotional honesty, for her passionate intensity. But we forget some of the things about Charlotte Bronte's nature that probably perplexed those around her: her pride and inability to accept criticism clearheadedly, the manner in which her intense emotions probably frightened people off: the fact that until she was recognized for her work, she was obscure and treated so. I am glad that Kohler included these things, and made Charlotte's life and struggles real.
miss_moonshine's review against another edition
3.0
As a novel this doesn't really work for me. I was too far removed from the characters to come to care for them quickly, and by the time I did, the short work was finished.
peripety's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this because I love Jane Eyre and this book was a gift from a friend. The best I can say is that I tolerated it. It just wasn’t written in a style that I enjoy reading very much, and that’s okay.
patriciamcm's review against another edition
2.0
I loved [b:Alice I Have Been|6540352|Alice I Have Been|Melanie Benjamin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1441679893s/6540352.jpg|6732584] & I even enjoyed [b:Cassandra and Jane: A Jane Austen Novel|3092126|Cassandra and Jane A Jane Austen Novel|Jill Pitkeathley|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1267770418s/3092126.jpg|1956319], so naturally I thought i'd enjoy this book as I just finished reading Jane Eyre. Boy was I wrong.
This book starts out slow, and continues to be slow, and just when it picks up (3/4ths of the way in) it ends. I get that the author didn't want to take too much liberty with the history of Charlotte Bronte and her family, and her writing was beautiful, but this book was dull and boring. A book this short should not have taken be 2 1/2weeks to get through.
This book starts out slow, and continues to be slow, and just when it picks up (3/4ths of the way in) it ends. I get that the author didn't want to take too much liberty with the history of Charlotte Bronte and her family, and her writing was beautiful, but this book was dull and boring. A book this short should not have taken be 2 1/2weeks to get through.
missmoonshine's review
3.0
As a novel this doesn't really work for me. I was too far removed from the characters to come to care for them quickly, and by the time I did, the short work was finished.
genxyogireader100's review against another edition
5.0
A delightful book for all Bronte fans. This is a fictional representation of how the novel Jane Eyre came to life. It is also the story of the Bronte family and the various personal struggles of each family member. I highly recommend it, although the ending is a bit rushed.