Take a photo of a barcode or cover
tamunra 's review for:
Mr. Rochester
by Sarah Shoemaker
I approached this novel with a little trepidation. Reviewers seemed to really like or dislike it. I liked it.
It's not a simple redo of Jane Eyre from the other point of view. The first two thirds of this are well-written, new fiction. Particularly in the beginning, I felt sympathy for Mr. Rochester - perhaps more than I felt the last time I read Jane Eyre. It sounds like I am in good company for preferring that part of the book over the part where he meets and woos Jane. (Quite honestly, by the end, I more sympathized with his own qualms about his behavior - such a possessive employer! But that, perhaps, is more a critique of Jane Eyre itself than this novel.) The first two-thirds give him a better, more understandable backstory. Other reviewers have commented that the author adds little new to Jane Eyre's story aside from Mr. Rochester's own feelings - but that's not a flaw. I would rather the author leave the core story intact, as she does here, to enhance our understanding of it (by giving us Rochester's thoughts), rather than fabricate new scenes with Jane.
It's not a simple redo of Jane Eyre from the other point of view. The first two thirds of this are well-written, new fiction. Particularly in the beginning, I felt sympathy for Mr. Rochester - perhaps more than I felt the last time I read Jane Eyre. It sounds like I am in good company for preferring that part of the book over the part where he meets and woos Jane. (Quite honestly, by the end, I more sympathized with his own qualms about his behavior - such a possessive employer! But that, perhaps, is more a critique of Jane Eyre itself than this novel.) The first two-thirds give him a better, more understandable backstory. Other reviewers have commented that the author adds little new to Jane Eyre's story aside from Mr. Rochester's own feelings - but that's not a flaw. I would rather the author leave the core story intact, as she does here, to enhance our understanding of it (by giving us Rochester's thoughts), rather than fabricate new scenes with Jane.