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Gabriella Risatti's Reviews > Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre
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** spoiler alert **
SPOILER ALERT. YOU MAY NOT WANT TO READ THIS REVIEW IF YOU PLAN ON READING JANE EYRE.
I read Jane Eyre for the first time as an adult and I can't help but feel sorry for every junior high or high school student who was forced to read this book.
I thought getting through this book was very difficult. I assumed I would love it since I generally love books by Jane Austen, but I didn't find many similarities at all. Jane Eyre was boring and unbelievable. I did enjoy the first half of the book because I had such hope for her, but then it just became dull and unrealistic. I never bought the romance between Jane and Mr. Rochester, nor did I buy the coincidence of her happening to arrive on the doorstep of the only relations she has in all of England during her time of need. I also find it strange that she dedicates the last paragraphs of the book primarily to St. John Rivers, when he was such a small part of her life, not to mention the fact that the part he did play was primarily negative.
Bronte failed to draw me into the lives of these characters or like them, frankly, which made this a very long read for me.
I read Jane Eyre for the first time as an adult and I can't help but feel sorry for every junior high or high school student who was forced to read this book.
I thought getting through this book was very difficult. I assumed I would love it since I generally love books by Jane Austen, but I didn't find many similarities at all. Jane Eyre was boring and unbelievable. I did enjoy the first half of the book because I had such hope for her, but then it just became dull and unrealistic. I never bought the romance between Jane and Mr. Rochester, nor did I buy the coincidence of her happening to arrive on the doorstep of the only relations she has in all of England during her time of need. I also find it strange that she dedicates the last paragraphs of the book primarily to St. John Rivers, when he was such a small part of her life, not to mention the fact that the part he did play was primarily negative.
Bronte failed to draw me into the lives of these characters or like them, frankly, which made this a very long read for me.
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Jane Eyre.
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Reading Progress
August 27, 2007
– Shelved
Started Reading
September 1, 2007
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Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 96 (96 new)
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Clare
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rated it 5 stars
Mar 09, 2009 02:22PM
my gawd are u kidding me????? this book was amazing i reread with such pleasure!!!!!
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Once again, the Bronte lovers and the Austen lovers butt heads. I thought Jane Eyre was much better than anything Austen ever wrote, as Austen's novels are about as romantic (to me) as stale bread. St. John may have been in a small section of the book, but he definitely didn't play a small role in Jane's life. His actions, no matter how negatively one views them, forced Jane to face reality and try to come to terms with her situation. And it was only after being away from Rochester and being assured a marriage (to St. John) that she could look at her relationship with Rochester objectively. In a way, St. John helped her to figure out how she truly felt about Rochester, and his constant nagging forced her to grow up and use the will that Rochester had helped instill in her to turn St. John down.
I guess you could say St. John was Jane's hurdle.
im not going against austen! I love austen novels mroe than bronte!!!!!! ive read EVERY jane austen novel but i still love jane eyre, it just seems darker to me than austen novels.
I coulded agree more with how odd I thought it was that Bronte's last paragraphs were devoted to St.John, and also with it being just a very long read.
well, i was one of those unfortunate high schoolers forced to read this dull and dark book this past year. seriously, the ENTIRE time it was like reading it with a dark cloud over my head. there was no real happiness or motivation to me. i didn't believe her and rochester's love also. i just saw it as she had a crush on him and he wanted someone new and different. i liked the central character of jane as she is independent and stubborn. but, to me, the story just didn't flow and was too long for such a short plot. completely incredible.
Yes!! I found it long and uninteresting. What really ruined it for me was when she just up and left to try survive on the streets! Why on earth, especially in those times, would she do that? For the sake of dignity?! Any sensible person would of just stayed untill they found another position. So dramatic and stupid.
Finally! I'm currently reading this one, and it took a while to find a review of this book that matched what I'm feeling! Thank you!
This book is a masterpiece. Bronte work has a complexity which Austen;s will never accomplished. If you want entertainment read Austin , if you want meaning read Jane Eyre.
Honestly I couldn't agree more. I really liked the begenning of the novel and then as soon as she stepped into mr. Rochesters life it started getting really dull.
I honestly loved this book, why do people say they hate this? Jane and Mr. Rochester, queer, but…strangely fitting�
I hate both Bronte and Austen with an equal passion, so I have no dog in this fight.
Pride and Prejudice? Sucks.
Jane Eyre? Also sucks.
Pride and Prejudice? Sucks.
Jane Eyre? Also sucks.
What? I read Jane Eyre when I was 14 and it was one of the best books I've ever read. I don't see how it could be boring.Austen is okay, and her social commentary is rather comical at times, but her books are not nearly up on the same level as Jane Eyre.
I personally dislike most 'happy endings' and yet enjoy Austen - in moderation however. I love brooding, stormy tragedy and everything about this book screamed that I would enjoy it.
And yet, I completely agree with the OP.
And yet, I completely agree with the OP.
I'm with you! I just don't understand the appeal of this story and I find it unbelievable too. I didn't buy Jane and Rochester's romance either...plus, he is jerk. I just don't get it.
I read this at 16 and I did not find it difficult to read. If you do try again and use a dictionary. Do not knock a book simply because you can not understand it.
How would a dictionary help with not buying the romance between Jane and Rochester or finding the characters dull and unbelievable?
One of the best books I have ever read, and I read it at 14 or 15.
you fail! i read this book in elementary and have loved it since!
OMG! Damn, how comes you say such ugly things about Jane Eyre? or about any book at all. Show a little respect. FORCED? Come on! Grow up! You have no respect! You are so... No, no, I wouldn't say anything about you. Though I WILL say ugly things about you damn review! This is so irritating!!!!! Why the hell are you...??Read it about 3 times, yet this is one of the best books (though I do consider this as my favorite book on earth).
Perhaps you're one of those people who considers the abominable Twilight Saga a brilliant work of literature. In that case; it was certainly explain your terrible taste in books.
I read this book when i was in sixth grade, thats right, eleven years old, and its my favorite book of all time, thats really sad that the people hating on it were older then that when they did. I understood the story when I read it in elementary and knew its value, common now, that says alot
Love is something that can never be understood,and is an unstoppable force dont you atleast understand that?Because if you do, thats what Mr. Rochester and Jane have, they love each other
Ashley wrote: "Bronte is anything BUT boring. Her use of gothic/romantic imagery and intrigue sucks you in alone. You must not have been reading very actively..." Agreed. The tone and vocabulary she utilizes is amazing. The fact that she also has a complex and exceedingly interesting and enjoyable plot paired with her incredible writing style, makes her one of the greatest writers ever.
Karla wrote: "you fail! i read this book in elementary and have loved it since!"My point was not that I read it when I was young, it was that I read it in high school, at which time Gabriella thinks it would be a boring reading book.
this was the first book assigned in English of 9th grade. What a way to start off the year! Jane Eyre acted as a fantastic sleep inducer due to the long unecessary details. Cliffsnotes are the way to go. Why this book is a mandatory read for high school puzzles me. It is too hard to get into and since it was written so long ago, a lot of the story seems outdated and unrelatable.
Bronte rules Austen sucks monkey eggs hehehe
Farfished9 wrote: "Bronte rules Austen sucks monkey eggs hehehe"so true!
Danna--really?? you agree? wow...thanks...I feel so...validated...usually I'm shamed for Austen bashing hehe...maybe I just need smarter friends...lol j/k
I haven't tried to read anything by Jane Austen, but if she writes in any way similar to Charlotte Bronte, I am sure I will hate it. I have never read something so bland in my life. I had to read it for a YA college reading class and have never been more bored with a book in my life. I tried to regular read it and thought that maybe I could get through it...when that didn't work I tried audio. All this book did was assist in my sleep cycles. It was unrealistic and drab.
Farfished9 wrote: "Danna--really?? you agree? wow...thanks...I feel so...validated...usually I'm shamed for Austen bashing hehe...maybe I just need smarter friends...lol j/k"Ho, well, alright. In fact I watch Pride and Prejudice the Movie (the best verion of it, from 2005 with Keira Knightely). Beautiful. The book was just unbearable. I know this is not a nice thing to say about such a lifelong classic, but in my honest opinion, the book is very boring. Maybe I will read it in English one day, because what I have read is a fine transalation to Hebrew. I am assured it is not the reason why I did not like the book, but still I will try (:
The movie is SO great! I think the best movie based on a book, and I have seen some of those...
I like these kinda books because they show me how little things have really changed since then. We tend to think these stories are set in a time that isn't at all relatable to how we live now...but...I find more similarities than differences, really. It always tickles me how I feel shocked at how this sorta thing is still the same...or that sorta thing is still like that today...then I think...why am I so surprised? People have always been people...OooOo and I looooove when the 'upper class' people tell each other off...they're like...all proper and shit...all fancy and speaking in this condescending ass way that lets the one they're doggin' on know that their own sense of morality and propriety won't be lowered just because they've been brought to tellin' em off. I'm like...ohhhhh dang--they just said you're a low class ho...haha. I find that amusing as hell...hehehe. Hella drama...=)
I really enjoyed this book after reading it in ninth grade for a summer assignment. I'm re-reading it and still loving it. I respect your viewpoint, but I'm puzzled at how anyone could dislike this book ;)
I feel differently about this, but will not put you down for it. Every person is entitled to their own opinion. Thank you for voicing your own. However, I thought the beginning of her life was boring. I do not like the rigidity of the first novel, nor do I like young Jane. To me, she is immature. I truly love adult Jane. While she still has the same passion she carries in her adult life, she is more sure of her own self. Yes, I realize Jane was a child, but seriously, I thought David Copperfield was a more believable orphan child..
This is sad, mostly because of some of the comments, which take any legitimate criticism the writer of this review MAY have had and use it to support their own possibly baseless hatred of good literature. Sad.How can this book, by any means, deserve a 1-star rating? The writing is beautiful and without major error; the plot is complex and well-executed regardless of some inconsistencies or points where it could be criticized. As unpleasurable or unbelievable this book may have been to some readers, it does not, by any definition, "suck," nor is it deserving 1 star. That's just common sense, I think.
I find this review a little funny as I cannot stand to read Austin, but I love reading Charlotte Bronte. I find Austin to be too...cheery, maybe; I love the darkness of Jane.
Sam wrote: "I find this review a little funny as I cannot stand to read Austin, but I love reading Charlotte Bronte. I find Austin to be too...cheery, maybe; I love the darkness of Jane."I feel the same way
I agree in that I find it funny that the last paragraphs of the book are about St. What'shisname, but other than that its a truly amazing book!! Yes, it is improbable that Jane would end up on her relatives doorstep, but if you're an Austen fan then such improbabilities should not bother you. Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice as a fairy tale, and that's what Jane Eyre is supposed to be.
Absolutely hated every second of reading this at university, however I loved Wild Sargasso Sea which is like a spin off of Jane Eyre and is all about Bertha! Amazing read, didn't fall asleep once!
The romance between Jane and Mr. Rochester is one of the truest and most realistic love stories I have ever read in literature. I felt their longing and true love for each other, there was nothing unrealistic about them.
I am considering re-reading this book...or at least attempting it. It may be well-written, but that doesn't guarantee interest. The first time around, I simply did not enjoy it. I felt that Jane would, one minute, come across as strong and the next as submissive. She couldn't make up her mind on who she was...which I suppose makes for a good bildungsroman, but it just didn't hit the right spot for me. I think that a large part of the dislike has to do with excessive detail, which tends to happen with classics. I am glad that some people find joy in this book, but it simply wasn't for me. I will give it a few more years and try it again (did this with Animal Farm and liked it better the second time around).
It's by Charlotte Bronte, not Jane Austin.
How can you like Austen's writing style and not Bronte's? I don't understand.
I felt exactly the same about this book..I mean c'mon, what are the odds of meeting her only relations, and, yeah, the first half (in my opinion) is better. But I'm not a Bronte or a Jane Austen fan
Sarah wrote: "Karla (Mossy Love Grotto) wrote: "I hate both Bronte and Austen with an equal passion, so I have no dog in this fight.
Pride and Prejudice? Sucks.
Jane Eyre? Also sucks."
God bless you. I complet..."
Well, it is understandable since people who love books such as Fifty Shades of Grey don't enjoy and understand classics such as Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice. Just something I observed.
Pride and Prejudice? Sucks.
Jane Eyre? Also sucks."
God bless you. I complet..."
Well, it is understandable since people who love books such as Fifty Shades of Grey don't enjoy and understand classics such as Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice. Just something I observed.
"Well, it is understandable since people who love books such as Fifty Shades of Grey don't enjoy and understand classics such as Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice. Just something I observed."--Gattaca hehehehe
So I go to this little hole in the wall bar, once or twice a month, to read late at night when I can't sleep and need to get out at the same time...I've been going there for years and years...never been with out a book. This is a *Cheers* like place...mostly all regulars...no new people. Anyway...
About 10 times in the last year or so...some drunk guy has stumbled over to my private table there in the back...and hicupped at me, "Whaaat-cha reading now, Librarian?" (they call me the librarian because I guess only librarians read...I dunno...clever)And they say..."Oh...I read a book! I read a book too...and it's really really good...It was called...uhhh...it was...umm..."
And I sigh and wearily ask..."Was it 50 shades of grey?" and they hiccup again and gasp, "Yeah! How'd you know??" and I think...because every drunken duche in here seems to want to recommend that book and that book only. Heellllooo...I'm reading literature, here (I'm not a literary snob but damn...ugh)
Finally someone who I can relate to!
How exactly did you think that Jane eyre would be ANYTHING like the work of Jane Austen? Bronte and Austen are two totally different writers from two totally different periods. Smh, next thing you know you'll be complaining that wuthering heights was unrealistic. Totally not the point.
If you listen closely, you'll find that every time someone assumes that Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters have a similar writing style, you can hear an edition of Fifty Shades of Gray earning its binding.
