Title: JaneAuthor: April Linder
Publisher: Poppy
Published: 23rd September 2010
Source: eBook
Forced to drop out of an esteemed East Coast college after the sudden death of her parents, Jane Moore takes a nanny job at Thornfield Park, the estate of Nico Rathburn, an iconic rock star on the brink of a huge comeback. Practical and independent, Jane reluctantly becomes entranced by her magnetic and brooding employer, and finds herself in the midst of a forbidden romance. But there's a mystery at Thornfield, and Jane's much-envied relationship with Nico is tested by a torturous secret from his past.
Part irresistible romance and part darkly engrossing mystery, this contemporary retelling of the beloved classic Jane Eyre promises to enchant a new generation of readers.
I LOVE Jane Eyre. It is the perfect novel to pick up on a cold day and I usually manage to read it start to finish curled up in my armchair in a couple of days. Bearing this in mind I was quite excited to jump into this book and see how it could be retold based in modern day. Jane Eyre the quiet and awkward governess becomes Jane Moore the collage student who takes a nanny job after the death of her parents makes her unable to continue her studies. Mr Rochester becomes Nico Rathburn rock god with a troubled past. I had a little difficulty with the Mr Rochester character. I the original book Rochester is a difficult and mean man with a teasing and charming side to him. In Jane Eyre it works and through the reading of the story you fall in love with his character but for me Nico Rathburn was difficult, mean and teased Jane but I found it impossible to find him charming.
This was not the only the only thing I had problems with in this novel. If you have not read Jane Eyre and know nothing about the story, this next paragraph my spoil part of the plot for you!!
One of my favorite things about the book is that it has something for everyone, an awkward romance, a crazy wife locked in the attic, a smattering of attempted bigamy, death and good old fashioned arson. This all worked for the time period it was set in. You could understand only 2 people knowing that Mr Rochester had a crazy wife locked in the attic. However I did not feel that this played so well in the present day, especially when the main character lives in the public eye and he was married to a beautiful woman. For me this was just too much of a jump that everyone forgot he was married before.
With all that out of my system I did not dislike this book. I thought that the rest of the story was well told for the present day. I especially enjoyed the period later on in the book where Jane was apart from Nico. I think this book would be a great introduction to Jane Eyre for anyone interested in the story. On the whole I enjoy reworkings of classic books, unfortunately I think this classic is just to close to my heart for me to be completely on board with all the modernisations.
Your thoughts are very well expressed. Thanks for writing this review! I just heard about the book and wasn't sure what to expect.
ReplyDeleteDo you really think no reworking would do justice to JANE EYRE, or do you think this one in particular did not?
Btw, we are four YA writers and avid readers, and we just started a new blog to talk about YA literature. It's not so much book reviews as talking about different issues, trends, etc. We would love to see you there!