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ladylothlorien 's review for:
Mr. Rochester
by Sarah Shoemaker
It took me a little bit to get into the story because it’s written in a similar style to Jane Eyre but once I did it was endlessly fascinating. I really enjoyed Rochester’s “tale of woe” which really illuminated him as a character. And I like how well this book fits into the Jane Eyre “universe.” It made him quite sympathetic and gave explanations for some of his odd behavior. He seems less sure of himself than in Jane Eyre, but in this book we have the added benefit of his insight. Much like Mr Darcy telling his side of the story, Rochester’s story is a looking-glass version of Jane Eyre: the events are the same but they have different meaning. And the subplot of Bertha’s son added some tension as the story moved into the familiar Jane Eyre territory. I had to know how that subplot ended, especially as it intersected with the main plot.
My only disappointments with this book are about Jane: the section of the book devoted to Rochester and Jane seemed woefully short. I can understand not wanting to cover everything in Jane Eyre, but I wanted more Jane. Especially since she came across rather cold. Rochester sees through her calm and cold, but it felt more like Rochester saying he saw that rather than the reader being able to see that. This is the only place where I feel the author leaned on Jane Eyre a little too much: I might not have loved Jane if I had only read this book.
That all being said, I highly recommend this book. It’s more meaningful if you have read (and loved) Jane Eyre but I think you could read this first. My recommendation is to read Jane Eyre, then read Mr Rochester, and then Wide Sargasso Sea (Jane Eyre from Bertha Mason’s perspective). Although the two “fan fictions” don’t always match up with Jane Eyre, their willingness to diverge a little to offer another perspective makes them incredibly interesting and worthwhile.
My only disappointments with this book are about Jane: the section of the book devoted to Rochester and Jane seemed woefully short. I can understand not wanting to cover everything in Jane Eyre, but I wanted more Jane. Especially since she came across rather cold. Rochester sees through her calm and cold, but it felt more like Rochester saying he saw that rather than the reader being able to see that. This is the only place where I feel the author leaned on Jane Eyre a little too much: I might not have loved Jane if I had only read this book.
That all being said, I highly recommend this book. It’s more meaningful if you have read (and loved) Jane Eyre but I think you could read this first. My recommendation is to read Jane Eyre, then read Mr Rochester, and then Wide Sargasso Sea (Jane Eyre from Bertha Mason’s perspective). Although the two “fan fictions” don’t always match up with Jane Eyre, their willingness to diverge a little to offer another perspective makes them incredibly interesting and worthwhile.