Jane Eyre

This is the Puffin Classics edition, published in 1994

Title: Jane Eyre
Author: Charlotte Bronte
First Published: by Smith, Elder & Co, 1847
Audience: 15+
Rating: 4.5 stars
About: The orphan Jane Eyre has never had a home. Hated by her Aunt Reed, she is sent away to Lowood school where she lives a bland and sheltered life for the next eight years. However, after taking the post of Governess at Thornfield, she meets the not-so-handsome Mr. Rochester, and finds in him the love, security and friendship she's been searching for. 

"Birds began singing in brake and copse: birds were faithful to their mates; birds were emblems of love. 
What was I?"

Out of all the classics I've read lately this has got to be my absolute favourite. I've seen the recent film version of Jane Eyre, starring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender, which was released in 2011 and I thought I loved it. But then I read the book and I love that so much more. If you ever feel at a loss as to what to read this summer, pick up a classic as you may be pleasantly surprised by what you find, I definitely was. 

I was impressed by the amount of tragedy and despair contained within this novel as it isn't completely and utterly doom and gloom like many novels I've read recently. Whereas most of the time, when a character has had a difficult childhood, happiness and contentment is usually absent entirely which makes it difficult, in my opinion, for the adult character to be well-rounded and unaffected. But in Jane Eyre, her prospects improve steadily with the change in each situation, providing a refreshing change. Jane moves from her bleak situation with her Aunt Reed, to a slightly more loving - if less comfortable - life at Lowood School, then eventually to Thornfield, where she admits to being happy and to finally feeling at home. What I thought was interesting about Jane's childhood was not that it was a lack of material comforts or a comfortable home which made it sad, but a lack of love, friendship and family. She then finds all of these things in Mr. Rochester, something which makes their love so much more valuable and captivating to read.


As love stories go, this has to be my absolute favourite. It's ahead of Wuthering Heights, The Notebook, Never Let Me Go and maybe even The Time Traveller's Wife. The way their relationship develops is so tender and cautious that it provides time for the passion expressed to simmer and grow, meaning that when they do confess their mutual love in that famous and powerful interaction, it does not seem melodramatic or forced but controlled, eloquent and truthful. It is these attributes which create a love story which is not only passionate but also intelligent and utterly breathtaking. It does not conform to that modern trend of sacrificial love, where the two characters would sacrifice their lives and good names to be together. Instead, Jane places both their morality and relationships with God above their own happiness, in an attempt to do what is right rather than what is selfish. I think that this is a powerful message which should be more readily conveyed in modern society, but it is also this old traditional charm which captivates me.


My only criticism is that occasionally the storyline became long-winded and unexciting, but the way Charlotte Bronte narrates with such articulate beauty kept my attention so that this did not become a deteriorating factor. For this reason, I give Jane Eyre 4.5 stars out of 5.




 

The Picture of Dorian Gray

This edition was published by Vintage in 2007

Title: The Picture of Dorian Gray
Author: Oscar Wilde
First Published: by Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, 1890
Audience: 14+
Rating: 4 stars
About: The character of Dorian Gray is beautiful, youthful and innocent, so much so that Basil Hallward decides to capture his looks in a portrait. Mesmerised by his own reflection, Dorian sells his soul to the Devil, so that his painting will age and change, while Dorian stays young forever.

 "There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written or badly written. That is all." 

What I absolutely love about Oscar Wilde's writing is his humour, wit, and his ability to be beautifully descriptive. Despite its age, I was able to really get into this book, which shows how the language he uses is utterly timeless, probably one of the many reasons why this novel is still so popular.

 Another charm of this novel is its subtlety, a characteristic of the time it is written, which is a huge contrast and break from the explicit nature of most modern books. This is no Fifty Shades of Gray (pun!), even though Dorian is implied to have been having sexual relations with numerous women (and men) through the majority of the story. Wilde describes how "Women who had wildly adored him, and for his sake had braved all social censure and set convention at defiance, were seen to grow pallid with shame or horror if Dorian Gray entered the room." This is as lucid as the descriptions become, and so the main protagonist is always veiled in an air of mystery. His activities seem to the reader to be no more than rumours spread by other characters in the novel, as we are only present with Dorian during his public and apparently moral endeavours, and so we only know the extent of his moral deterioration when the state of the portrait is described. We only witness Dorian's second life when Basil, the painting's creator, feels and sees the full power of Dorian's new darkness, shattering all illusion of him still being a moral and good individual.

When a classic novel such as this has been made into a film, it seems strange not to compare the modern story to the original. It is safe to say that the mysterious edge provided by the novel's narration completely dissolves in the film as everything that is implied, and more, is vividly and explicitly played out onscreen. So much so, that I find it difficult to watch, compared to the book which I found a thoroughly enjoyable read. As nothing is left ambiguous, the image of the painting loses its importance and is only used as a device to induce horror and fear in the audience, something that it does well. However, the original purpose of the painting, I feel, is to provide a canvas where the soul can be laid bare, and for the implications of people's moral actions to be expressed, even if their actions are not widely known. It is meant to show that the individual has a duty to themselves to remain pure to protect their soul, a Christian concept (even though this book was considered to be thoroughly immoral). This is why I prefer the book to the film.

All in all, I feel that The Picture of Dorian Gray is a well-deserved classic. Wilde is a true genius and artist and his philosophical slant on his narration truly captivated me. My one slight criticism is that at times his philosophy overshadowed his story telling, and for this reason I give Dorian Gray 4 stars out of 5.

The Little Stranger

Title: The Little Stranger
Author: Sarah Waters
First Published: by Virago, 2009
Audience: Adult
Rating: 2 stars
About: The Little Stranger follows the story of local Warwickshire GP, Dr. Faraday, as his post-war practise calls him to the mysterious, and slightly delapidated, Hundreds Hall. His life soon becomes closely intertwined with those of it's inhabitants: Mrs Ayres, her two grown-up children, Roderick and Caroline, and their dramatic young servant, Betty. However, soon strange things start happening at the house as the building, and the family, begin their rapid decline. But are these occurances purely psychological - as Dr. Faraday believes - or caused by some other paranormal force?

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT

"the sense of threat and strain had overspilled in his mind to the extent that even 'ordinary things'...seemed to be rising up against him."

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters was one of the novels I needed to read for my English Literature coursework, and if it hadn't been a necessity, I probably wouldn't have finished it. Technically, it was very well written, the description was fluid, the characters were believable and dynamic but out of the 500 page story, about 300 was very montonous padding. It picked up a little bit in the middle and then further towards the end of the novel but by then it was too late, I'd lost interest and I was dying to finish it and move onto something I'd actually enjoy. I think the length of the book was it's let down. I feel as though it could have been a lot shorter and quite an intense ghost story, rather than having sections of intensity separated by large periods of boredom. Having the majority of the action and catastrophe at the end was also quite exhausting. However, Waters is a talented novelist and writer and I'm sure there was some literary purpose behind the method of her storytelling - I just didn't enjoy it.

Something else that irritated me about this novel was the narrator, and main protagonist, Dr. Faraday. When he was simply describing and narrating the scene, I had no problem with him, it was once his character begun to reveal itself through his thoughts, words and actions that I became irritated and couldn't warm to him. He could be very narrow-minded, obtuse and, at times, incredibly patronising towards the other characters, specifically Caroline. I felt that their relationship in particular was very odd, more Fatherly than romantic, and his consistent blindness towards the significance of their one-sided relationship frustrated me. He also had a tendency, towards the beginning of the book, to change his opinion of the characters frequently and, I felt, without much reason. I think that his judgemental tendency stems from his feeling of self-righteousness due to his position, as a doctor, another aspect of his character which was incredibly frustrating.

I must remember, however, that the purpose of reading this was to identify the relevance of 'Houses' in this novel. While reading this I realised that the relevance of Hundreds Hall to the story and the state of mind of the characters was extremely forced and obvious, to the extent that it was even being commented on by the characters. While there are other houses referenced in the novel - that of Dr. Faraday, that of the squatters huts and of the home of the Baker-Hydes - I feel as though I'd prefer to analyse a novel, such as Wuthering Heights, where the relevance of the houses involved is much more subtle.

I'm sorry that this was more of a complaint and a moan rather than a review, but I didn't enjoy reading this book. However, Sarah Waters is a very good writer and I admire her skill but this particular plot didn't grab me. For this reason, I am giving The Little Stranger 2 stars out of 5.

College Catch-up

I've just returned to College for four weeks before we break up for the Summer so we can start working on our A2 courses. While this is all good and exciting, it means I have no time to read things outside of the curriculum (which is annoying, I'd just started Jane Eyre) so I'm going to be commenting on things I've been reading for my courses instead. At first it's going to be a couple of plays - King Lear by Shakespeare and The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico Garcia Lorca - which should be interesting as it's something a little bit different, and then I'm going to be reading a selection of novels which centre around the theme for my coursework of 'Houses'. This means re-reading Wuthering Heights and discovering new books like Howards End by E.M. Forster and The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. I'll probably also do a bit of other extra reading, such as The Return by Victoria Hislop for some more thorough knowledge of Lorca's world, and then Fingersmith by Sarah Waters, Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh and The Go-Between by L.P. Hartley for some more House themes.

These are all just ideas of what I could be reading over the summer so I may not read all of them, but I'll give it a good go. Talk soon!

The Girl at the Lion D'Or

This library copy was published by Vintage.

Title: The Girl at the Lion D'Or
Author: Sebastian Faulks
First Published: by Hutchinson, 1989
Audience: 15+
Rating: 3.5 stars
About: Set in France in the mid-1930s, the novel follows a young woman, Anne Louvet, as she takes up a new post as a waitress in a small town hotel: The Lion D'Or. It soon becomes apparent that Anne is keeping her past secret, a secret she might be willing to reveal once she gets involved with a local, and married man, Charles Hartmann.

The Girl at the Lion D'Or was recommended to me by my sister, who'd recently taken it out of the local library. She'd described it as 'decent' and 'pretty good', so my initial impression wasn't overwhelming, but being a fan of Sebastian Faulks' work, I was eager to read another of his classics.

The pace of the novel was much slower than of those I'd been reading lately, but this was mainly due to the attention to detail contained within the description. The novel opens with a beautifully illustrated scene of a train station in the pouring rain, which immediately places the reader within the character's world. Faulks' unprecedented skill of being able to paint a scene then progresses throughout the narrative until a thoroughly depicted atmosphere of the entire town and the characters within it are created. This is what sucks the reader into the book, not the drama or twisting storyline, but the realistic nature of the place the author has created. There is also a constant political undertone which adds another dimension to the story, developing realism and a distant sense of foreboding which was incorporated into the main story.

What I enjoyed most about the novel was it's simplicity. The story follows the lives of people living within the town, mainly that of Anne and Hartmann, and it is the engaging nature of their characters which moves the story along. What is also unusual about this book is the lack of a villain. There are several characters such as Mattlin and Roland who are less likeable and untrustworthy than the protagonists, but there is no good versus evil battle. What drives the story is the accentuated importance of love, however fleeting, amongst the vastness and grandeur of everyday life. Essentially, this is a complicated, yet uncomplicated, love story between two adults as they plod through their unremarkable lives, and it is the love and lust between them which gives them the opportunity to be remarkable, even for a little while.

All in all, I felt that this novel was nice. It was beautifully written, and a captivating love story, but I didn't feel entirely blown away. That isn't to say I didn't like it, I thoroughly enjoyed it for various reasons, but I don't feel like it's a novel I'd read twice. For that reason, I'd give it 3.5 stars out of 5, but I also definitely encourage others to give it a go.

Odd Thomas

Title: Odd Thomas
Author: Dean Koontz
Published: by Bantam Publishing, 2003
Audience: 15+
Rating: 4.5 stars
About: Odd Thomas is a twenty-year old short-order cook living in the desert town of Pico Mundo, in the United States. Odd tries to lead an ordinary life, which he finds difficult due to his unique ability of being able to interact with the dead who come to him for help.

Odd Thomas is a book which has been highly recommended to me for months and after continuous nagging I finally agreed to read it. Why did it take so long to convince me? Well, Odd Thomas isn't the kind of book I'd usually go for. The way it was described made it seem genuinely freaky, a little bit like a scary movie in book form, and as a rule, I can't handle anything scary. I had nightmares after seeing Dorian Grey in cinemas. But after reading the first chapter I was hooked, and pleasantly surprised that it wasn't so much scary as tense, fast-paced and thrilling.

From the very beginning of the novel we are thrust into Odd's whirlwind world when the ghost of a little girl comes to him and informs him indirectly (ghosts don't talk) that her killer is just around the corner. Having learned of this girl's vicious rape and murder, Odd confronts the perpetrator (a former school friend, Harlo Landerson) and no gory details are spared - "you carry her blood in your pocket...oh god, Harlo. Sometimes you put it between your teeth. And bite on it". And that's just the beginning. After Odd sees a new face in the Pico Mundo Grille, one which resembles that of a fungus and is followed by hoards of bodachs (shadowy creatures only Odd can see, it is thought that they travel to this world from Hell), he realises that his sleepy little town is in grave danger. With time running out, Odd must work to unravel the horror which is about to be unleashed while also keeping those he loves safe.

While the story told in this book is very dark and usually miserable, the first person narrative told from the perspective of the novel's protagonist, Odd, is comical and light-hearted, and so for the most part the morbid storyline does not become overbearing. It is full of twists and turns which make it constantly interesting and continuously shocking, while being full of charm and wit. Each and every one of the characters is memorable and quirky in their own small way, whether it be Stormy Llewellyn, Chief Wyatt Porter, Little Ozzie, Granny Sugars... (the list could go on) and each of them have an accompanying detailed history of despair and suffering. That's my only criticism of this novel, the level of misery felt by every single character is far higher than I expected. This could be due to Odd's attraction to people whose lives have been as hard as his, but it sometimes becomes tiresome to realise that no-one in this novel has had a normal upbringing. Each new character we meet, who starts off seeming wholesome and happy, ends up having had an abused childhood, or is the last one left of their family, and this is when the sadness of this novel starts to get a little bit overwhelming.

But that is my only criticism! This book has a little bit of everything I love; romance, friendship, laughs, drama, suspense and the supernatural. The relationship between Odd and Stormy is a refreshing change as their love is already established and secure (and so sweet) so there's a certain level of maturity in this aspect of the story; the romance is focused on when/if they'll get married rather than when they're going to have that first kiss. The darker side to the story is written just as well, I distinctly remember one chapter which made my heart nearly burst from my chest as it was beating so hard. The way each minor action of the character was described made the level of suspense nearly mind-blowing, every meeting of their eyes, every inch their hands move closer to the lock of the door, without knowing what's waiting for them on the other side was delicately choreographed so you couldn't put the book down, but with that unnerving sense that you didn't want to know what happened next.

With the end of this review, I'd like to speak briefly about the ending of the book. In all honesty, it's the best ending to a novel I've ever read. It's horrifically cruel and honest and it makes you hate Dean Koontz for causing you so much grief and heartache, but the way he tells it is so clever that you can't help but worship him. Seriously, even if my review makes this book sound like something you'd hate, read it anyway just so you can experience how it ends.

All in all, Odd Thomas is a true literary masterpiece of suspense and charm, and I give it 4.5 stars! I highly recommend it to everyone and I can't wait to read the next in the series.

Call the Midwife

Title: Call the Midwife
Author: Jennifer Worth
Published: by Phoenix, 2002
Audience: 15+
Rating: 3.5 stars
About: Call the Midwife vibrantly describes the experiences of young midwife, Jenny, as she works in the London docklands in the 1950s. 

 This book has become recently popular due to the broadcast of the BBC adaptation of the same name but I started reading this book in August last year and only finished it about a month ago. But this doesn't mean in any way that it wasn't decent - once I'd started reading it again recently I'd forgotten why I'd stopped in the first place.

The writing is so fluid and the insight into the past so vivid and descriptive it feels as though you, the reader, have gone back in time. Each character is beautifully created, even though some only appear for one chapter or less, and it is impossible not to become attached to those who reoccur. There is less romance in the novel compared with the screen adaptation which could be an issue for those hopeless romantics (like myself) who can find stories rather dull if there isn't at least some 'will-they-won't-they' factor involved. On the whole though, I didn't really notice (maybe until watching the television series) as there was plenty of little love stories amongst Jenny's patients. The slight frustration came with the lack of information divulged on Jenny's love life in particular, and the lack of answers we were given to the many questions which were posed. This is understandable, however, as these are true events and true people so a degree of privacy should be upheld... it's just irritating for nosy people like me.

The only few slight problems I had with the novel as a whole was that, due to the many different short stories encompassed within the main narrative, it was quite difficult to get hooked, which was probably why I drifted to begin with. The range of lives Call the Midwife describes is what makes it so truthful however, and so this is only a minor issue if you have a short attention span and need a more high-speed narrative like the Hunger Games in order to get interested. My last comment is about the ending, or lack of finality. Personally, I didn't realise that the story had actually ended, I thought that the glossary and information about the Cockney dialect was leading onto another chapter, and when it didn't I was a bit confused. There was a distinct lack of closure surrounding the end, and it was more like the author was intending to carry on, but never got the time.

All in all, I give Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth 3.5 stars! While I enjoyed it and found it immensely interesting I was not hooked, and the ending left me feeling slightly disappointed.

Next review: something a bit different, Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

Currently reading: Paradise Lost by John Milton (eek!)