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Jaylia3

Reflections

Eager reader of history, mystery, classics, biographies, steampunk, lit fic, science, scifi, and etc. My reviews are mostly positive--I rarely finish or write about books I don't enjoy. My TBR is too high for that.

SPOILER ALERT!

Not what I expected

Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë

I’ve known the broad outline of Jane Eyre’s plot for a long time, of course, but that never made me want to read the book. Tragic orphan, cruel boarding school, fiercely brooding Rochester, mad wife in the attic, etc, etc. It all sounded overblown, almost ridiculously gloomy, and far too melodramatic for my taste. Then I read the book and, WOW, after (for me) a slow start it wasn’t what I anticipated at all.

 

I did not expect the wonderful relationship between Rochester and Jane, with mutual respect and lots of playful, witty banter. I did not expect the harrowing terror I felt when Jane flees Rochester’s house after the big reveal, on her own and without resources. But the biggest difference between my anticipation and reality is that I in no way expected that what would really make the book for me is Jane herself. To say she is spunky is not right, but she is smart, lively, principled, and determined. Her first person narration lays open her heart in a way that captured my mine, and her life journey moved me more than I would ever have guessed.

Source: http://jaylia3.booklikes.com/post/717299/not-what-i-expected