A review by gannent
Shirley by Charlotte Brontë

medium-paced

3.0

Loved the first half of the book. Was extremely let down by the second half of the book. Shirley was a great and fun character and I really liked her friendship with Caroline. I also really enjoyed the way the narrator would directly address the reader; that was fun. I didn’t like

either of the final two romances very much. I really hated how the last third or quarter of the book was given over to male points of view. I really liked how woman-centered the book had been to that point and I didn’t care at all to see things from the men’s perspective. I also really hated how Shirley wanted a man to master and take her. Ugh. I know it’s a different time and that was how relationships and gender roles worked but still, ugh.