Book Review: Jane Slayre

Book: Jane Slayre

Author: Charlotte Bronte and Sherri Browning Erwin

Recommend: Definitely! Especially for fans Jane Eyre.

I am a huge fan of the original version of this book, Jane Eyre. It has always had a spooky quality that appealed to me. When I saw this on the shelves I simply had to read it. After tackling Pride and Prejudice and Zombies I was a bit apprehensive but dived in any way. I am glad that I did.

The author nearly seamlessly incorporates vampires, zombies and werewolves into the original story of an orphan who is employed as a governess to the ward of a man with a secret. For some reason the idea of Jane being a vampire hunter was not odd to me. She did so out of necessity, not because she wanted to. In places where the story deviated from the original tale, the wording was so well done that I could almost swear it had been penned by Miss Bronte herself.

The only fault I could find with the book was the voodoo controlled zombies hiding under the guise of Christianity. No self-respecting bokor would have mixed Christianity with voodoo. It was the only point of the story that felt just a bit weak to me. I understand the author’s motivation behind the decision but it just didn’t quite flow as well as the rest of the book did.

Overall, this was a great read and fit with the spooky feeling that the original tale already had, adding to the story in a memorable way. I think this one is going to have to become part of my collection. I definitely see a desire to reread this version again soon.

Final Rating:

Buy it new

Notable Character: Jane Eyre

Plain Jane

I am starting a new series of posts in addition to my book reviews and bookworm rants called notable characters. Instead of focusing on the book itself, I decided to take a slightly different approach and discuss some of the characters that stand out the most to me in some of my favorite books.

The first character I knew I had to tackle was Jane Eyre. She is not the most popular of the romantic heroines but the one I find the most compelling. An average girl who finds the right man for her who loves him even though he has a secret that could ruin them both. She makes the right choice even when it is painful and is rewarded for her brave decisions in the end.

I love Jane because she is so ordinary and reserved. She doesn’t seek the spotlight but stands up for what is right when she feels it is necessary. Jane is not your typical, look at me, type of heroine. She stays in the shadows, content to observe rather than be in the thick of things. I find her skepticism refreshing and real. She cannot believe that someone as wealthy as Mr. Rochester could ever love a simple governess, which at the time would be very unusual.

Jane and Adele

Her compassion for little Adele, even after she finds out the truth of her parentage, is amazing considering the attitude that would have been prevalent at the time. As a teacher myself, I connect well with her attitude towards her pupil are great even though she comes from a rough background. It reminds me how much those kids who come from a rough background need me even more than those who are lucky enough to have stable home lives.

I recently introduced my mom to this book. She was immediately sucked in and it kept her attention for quite a while but she recently confessed that she got bogged down in the book. I smiled and told her exactly where she got bogged down and I was right. If you find yourself reading through this one and get tied up in one spot, I would encourage you to push through. The reward is worth the 50 pages or so where the story seems to derail a bit.

Jane and Edward

I love the way that Jane loves people even though she is reserved and a classic introvert. She is one of my favorite characters and if you haven’t read Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, you are missing out on one of the best heroines of the time.

I’m also toying with the idea of doing a list of notable authors but not sure. Would that be interesting to anyone?

Book Review: A modern version of a favorite classic!

Book: Jane

Author: April Lindner

Recommendation: It was quite good.. almost as good as the original.

I have always been a big fan of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. It was one of my favorite books growing up. I’ve worn out several copies and occasionally pick it back up, especially when I’ve read lots of books that I found to be disappointing and am simply dying for a good read. I find the story completely captivating. It is the original dark romance.

When I read the back cover of this book, I couldn’t help but pick it up, just to see how poor a job the author had done. I was surprised to find that not only did the author not ruin it, she did a good job of updating the story in a modern yet familiar way. This story follows a young woman named Jane who is having to drop out of college since her parents died and take a job as a nanny for a somewhat reclusive rock star’s daughter. As she gets to know her employer, she begins to fall for him. Just as it seems like everything is going right, his darkest secret ruins them both.

The author’s version of Jane embodied the spirit of the orginal while creating a more independent version that is more fitting of modern times. Nico is just as brooding but slightly less harsh than Edward. I personally didn’t like how much they changed his name but I supposed some things had to be different. I liked the fact that they gave Nico something to do. It gave his character a focus that it would have lacked had the author simply tried to translate him directly. Even little Maddy is a great update from the little girl in the book.  I loved the pacing and way the story was balanced. Just enough of the old tempered with some change, although not so much as to make it unrecognizable.

There were only a couple things I didn’t like. To begin with, the whole section with River and his sisters was a bit awkward. I think that the character wasn’t updated enough. I also didn’t like that you don’t get to see the end result for him this time. I am  not a particular fan of that portion of the book anyway, so I think I might have some bias there. My other complaint is the fact that the love story played out somewhat differently than it did in the book. That part was a bit too modern for me. It was done tastefully though, which at least that much I appreciated.

This one is definitely worth your time. If you haven’t read the classic, I can almost guarentee that this book will make you want to. I’m considering fishing my copy out and tearing through it or reading it on my nook now that I’ve read this.

Final Rating:

Buy it new