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.