Jane Eyre

Today I finished Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I'm usually a little unsure starting a book considered "a classic", wondering whether or not I'm going to be able to enjoy it. Sometimes the writing is just too far over my head, sometimes I'm just not in the mood to think that hard, sometimes I just don't find them very engaging. Thankfully none of these were the case with Jane Eyre. If I were REALLY diligent, I should have kept a dictionary close by and looked up several words I didn't understand; but it didn't detract from the general story line, so I trudged on and made it through just fine. Overall I gave this book a 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads rating scale. I'm actually a little surprised I hadn't read it before now, it seems like a natural choice for a high school literature class.

Why did I like it? What did I like about it? Well, first of all I loved Jane's character - her strength and independence and forthrightness. I admired how her character spoke to others. She was very straight-forward and called "a spade - a spade", and did so without losing her composure. She also seemed to be able to ferret out the internal motivations of those she spent much time with, by listening, asking bold questions (for this time period especially), and thinking about the answers carefully. It seemed that most of the conversations held in her story were more honest than those I hear today. It makes me wonder if this was simply her writing style or if we have incorporated a more "politically correct" way of communicating with one another in modern times.

I also sympathized with her upbringing. As a teacher it reminds me that my students come from a variety of backgrounds, and they may be dealing with issues outside of school that have a profound effect on their self-image. How would my character be today if I was brought up under similar conditions? Would I have persevered as she did? I would guess that the very fact that I'm asking these questions is testimony to a successful novel. And that people who read it are still asking those questions 165 years after being published attests to its timelessness.

The only criticism I have is that of the "neatness" of the plot. Jane Eyre did not have a large circle of acquaintances, and yet they neatly create a full circle. Not something that would probably happen in real life, but it IS called fiction for a reason. I was very satisfied with how the story ended, so while I criticize her choice as being unrealistic, I'm glad she made it the way she did.

Now what book to pick up next? I read Jane Eyre as background for Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series starting with The Eyre Affair. I also would like to get caught up on Janet Evanovitch's bounty hunter books (#16 was the last one I read) and someone recently recommended a vampire trilogy starting with The Strain. Hmmmm..... we'll have to wait and see!