A few days ago when I came up with the idea of LOVE WEEK I knew it wouldn’t be complete without a dip into classic literature. Unfortunately… after almost 2 years of writing this blog I have learned that most people have very little tolerance for “older works.” I’m not sure what it is, the vocabulary, the structure; hell… it could be the chapter upon chapter of meaningless description, the only thing I am certain of is that more people have read Twilight than books like Pride and Prejudice or Wuthering Heights; so when I stumbled across a reworked version of Bronte’s “Jane Eyre” I knew instantly that this was the way to go.
Jane has nothing. No family, no money, and now (due to her lack of money) no chance at a proper education, but all of that is about to change. In an effort to save some cash and return to Sarah Lawrence the following fall Jane decides to become a nanny. She didn’t, however, plan on being a nanny to the infamous rocker Nico Rathburn’s daughter Maddy. Afraid of overstepping her boundaries Jane does what she does best… stays professional but detached; that is of course until Nico returns home full of piss and vinegar and decides that she WILL open up and and it WILL be with him. Will Nico be as honest with Jane as he expects her to be with him? Why isn’t anyone allowed on the 3rd floor of the house, and why can’t she seem to get him out of her head…even when it’s the only healthy thing to do.
I LOVE the original version of Jane Eyre, and while there is no way this book will ever topple it’s predecessor (duh, it’s a classic for a reason) it does a FANTASTIC job of rivaling it. Unlike Bronte, Lindner decided to keep her “forbidden love” story light (which if you’ve ever read the original can be refreshing.) And even knowing the (eventual) outcome of the story; I still found myself genuinely intrigued by it’s characters and the fates that would befall them. As a matter of fact, both Nico and Jane made subtle appearances in my dreams last night which had me grabbing for my Kindle the second I woke up, just so I could find out what would happen next. There were a few flaws (naturally) the ending wasn’t as intense as I thought it should have been, and I could have used a little more interaction with Ms. Ingram, but after sitting here for a while, I think both of those concerns would have been completely void if I wasn’t so attuned to the original version of this novel.
All in all, I think this is an easier (and very entertaining) way to catch up on classic literature without spending hours deciphering a lost language. Go ahead… take a chance, who knows… it may inspire you to dive into the real deal.
Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: Never let schizophrenics play with matches!
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[Rating:4/5]
Book Trailer
well I may have to break down and give this one a go. I was thinking as I read your review that there is no way someone would even try to re-do Jane Eyre – it is my all time favorite book. Maybe though…I will reserve judgment lol