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lunelis 's review for:
Brightly Burning
by Alexa Donne
[b:Jane Eyre|10210|Jane Eyre|Charlotte Brontë|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327867269s/10210.jpg|2977639] is my favorite book of all time and Jane herself is my favorite heroine. I would die for Jane.
But I'm not an especially pedantic person when it comes to the things I love; I don't immediately dislike retellings for not getting all the details right or for being different. In fact, I usually only care when a retelling does a story/character some true, grave injustice. So I'm not going to sit and pick apart this book for all the ways it, obviously, doesn't match up to one of the best books on the planet despite being a retelling.
This part will probably have spoilers of both Jane Eyre and Brightly Burning, but I'll try to put a warning on spoilers for this book. Jane Eyre, however, is a widely known public domain property so there's no holding back on that.
With that said, Brightly Burning is not a very faithful adaptation and instead just takes a variety of plot elements from Jane Eyre to create a much more tame, sci-fi retelling. It also, sadly, did miss the mark on many of the characterizations. I also really dislike that, rather than a prior marriage driving away our heroine, Which makes Hugo seem morally reprehensible in a way that lying about an arranged marriage isn't.
Now, you can argue that keeping a mentally ill woman locked in an attic to spare her from an asylum has its own quandaries and I know some people have tried to evaluate why Bertha was in the attic and if she was really crazy and take a more kinder look at her while vilifying Mr. Rochester by saying he caused her madness, but that's neither here nor there. The point is that falling in love with someone outside of a bad marriage you can't get out of isn't as much of a taboo as
Just saying.
But, that unfortunate plot change aside, I did enjoy the book overall. It wasn't anywhere on the level as gripping or emotional as Jane Eyre, but it was a nice little read that utilized the framework of my favorite book. I would rate it a nice 3 for being generally good. Maybe a 2.5 if I'm really holding it up to scrutiny and criticism. Stella and Hugo were passable, but, were lacking. I also don't get why Mari was basically just written off without any punishment and only had to play doctor to be redeemed; like that was WAY glossed over, as was the ending. We spent more time talking about farms than Stella and Hugo's relationship.
Though if you're looking for a quality retelling of a 19th century novel that has a more futuristic tone, I highly recommend [b:For Darkness Shows the Stars|8306761|For Darkness Shows the Stars (For Darkness Shows the Stars, #1)|Diana Peterfreund|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1338529086s/8306761.jpg|13155802]. The author of Brightly Burning is also releasing a remake of Persuasion with a similar sci-fi tone, but you really can't beat For Darkness Shows the Stars. It's not super romantic, but the world building and characterization are excellent.
But I'm not an especially pedantic person when it comes to the things I love; I don't immediately dislike retellings for not getting all the details right or for being different. In fact, I usually only care when a retelling does a story/character some true, grave injustice. So I'm not going to sit and pick apart this book for all the ways it, obviously, doesn't match up to one of the best books on the planet despite being a retelling.
This part will probably have spoilers of both Jane Eyre and Brightly Burning, but I'll try to put a warning on spoilers for this book. Jane Eyre, however, is a widely known public domain property so there's no holding back on that.
With that said, Brightly Burning is not a very faithful adaptation and instead just takes a variety of plot elements from Jane Eyre to create a much more tame, sci-fi retelling. It also, sadly, did miss the mark on many of the characterizations. I also really dislike that, rather than a prior marriage driving away our heroine,
Spoiler
it's the fact that he allowed a woman on his ship to create deadly viruses that were taken by a murderous man because he didn't want his very ill mother to be executed for murdering his father.Now, you can argue that keeping a mentally ill woman locked in an attic to spare her from an asylum has its own quandaries and I know some people have tried to evaluate why Bertha was in the attic and if she was really crazy and take a more kinder look at her while vilifying Mr. Rochester by saying he caused her madness, but that's neither here nor there. The point is that falling in love with someone outside of a bad marriage you can't get out of isn't as much of a taboo as
Spoiler
playing a role in a viral epidemic that kills a lot of people.Just saying.
But, that unfortunate plot change aside, I did enjoy the book overall. It wasn't anywhere on the level as gripping or emotional as Jane Eyre, but it was a nice little read that utilized the framework of my favorite book. I would rate it a nice 3 for being generally good. Maybe a 2.5 if I'm really holding it up to scrutiny and criticism. Stella and Hugo were passable, but, were lacking. I also don't get why Mari was basically just written off without any punishment and only had to play doctor to be redeemed; like that was WAY glossed over, as was the ending. We spent more time talking about farms than Stella and Hugo's relationship.
Though if you're looking for a quality retelling of a 19th century novel that has a more futuristic tone, I highly recommend [b:For Darkness Shows the Stars|8306761|For Darkness Shows the Stars (For Darkness Shows the Stars, #1)|Diana Peterfreund|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1338529086s/8306761.jpg|13155802]. The author of Brightly Burning is also releasing a remake of Persuasion with a similar sci-fi tone, but you really can't beat For Darkness Shows the Stars. It's not super romantic, but the world building and characterization are excellent.