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Hazel (1853 KP) rated Jane Steele in Books
May 24, 2017
Classic Retelling
This eBook was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review
“Reader, I murdered him.” Jane Steele is a gothic retelling of the renowned Jane Eyre written by the celebrated Charlotte Bronte. Crime writer, Lyndsay Faye, creates an entirely new story, whilst appropriating the skeletal structure of the original classic. However, Jane Steele is nothing like the Miss Eyre everyone is familiar with. She is far more headstrong and independent, and also a murderer.
Before readers are discouraged to hear that their beloved Jane is portrayed as a criminal, the murders that occur are more of a homicidal or self-defense nature, as opposed to premeditated serial killing. In fact the first death, occurring when she is a nine year old orphan, is not her fault at all, however it prompts Jane’s wealthy aunt to pack her off to boarding school, and thus the similarities with Jane Eyre commence.
Written in an autobiographical manner, Jane describes her years at the virulent school, where she and the other girls experience abuse at the hands of the ignoble schoolmaster. As readers will recall, Eyre’s life improves in her later school years, however Jane Steele’s education comes to a premature end, resulting in her fending for herself in 19th century London.
As the blurb indicates, Jane returns to the house she grew up in after the death of her aunt, affecting to be a governess for the current owner’s ward. Mr. Charles Thornfield, a bachelor, is Jane Steele’s version of Rochester, minus the wife in the attic. The contents of the cellar, on the other hand, are a different matter…
From a romantic point of view, all happens in a similar manner to Jane Eyre, however this is where the comparisons end. With concealed crimes and secrets, as well as an unsolved murder, the story becomes the thriller it initially proposed to be. The incisive Jane Steele takes matters into her own hands – figuratively and literally – as she determines to resolve the unanswered questions.
Although not written with the intent to be comical, the stark contrasts between original and retelling create humorous scenarios. The nature of the main character in comparison with the time frame, a period where women had very little rights, makes the narrative far more exciting and amusing than the earlier novel – although not necessarily better.
Lyndsay Faye maintains the atmosphere of the 1800s with her affinity for eloquent turns of phrase and choice of words. She is a prolific author full of wonderful ideas; her ability to create a new story out of a well-known classic is a formidable skill. What is admirable is they way in which Faye has made Jane Steele a novel in its own right, and not merely a rip-off of Bronte’s work.
The skillful composition and wording will likely be loved by all, its only downfall being the reaction of hardcore Jane Eyre fans. Those who wish for the classics to be left alone and not pulled apart by contemporary authors or film directors may adopt a negative attitude towards to publication of Jane Steele. On the other hand, many will absolutely love this gothic retelling, appreciate the similarities and enjoy the new twist to the storyline. Personally, I am with the latter group.
“Reader, I murdered him.” Jane Steele is a gothic retelling of the renowned Jane Eyre written by the celebrated Charlotte Bronte. Crime writer, Lyndsay Faye, creates an entirely new story, whilst appropriating the skeletal structure of the original classic. However, Jane Steele is nothing like the Miss Eyre everyone is familiar with. She is far more headstrong and independent, and also a murderer.
Before readers are discouraged to hear that their beloved Jane is portrayed as a criminal, the murders that occur are more of a homicidal or self-defense nature, as opposed to premeditated serial killing. In fact the first death, occurring when she is a nine year old orphan, is not her fault at all, however it prompts Jane’s wealthy aunt to pack her off to boarding school, and thus the similarities with Jane Eyre commence.
Written in an autobiographical manner, Jane describes her years at the virulent school, where she and the other girls experience abuse at the hands of the ignoble schoolmaster. As readers will recall, Eyre’s life improves in her later school years, however Jane Steele’s education comes to a premature end, resulting in her fending for herself in 19th century London.
As the blurb indicates, Jane returns to the house she grew up in after the death of her aunt, affecting to be a governess for the current owner’s ward. Mr. Charles Thornfield, a bachelor, is Jane Steele’s version of Rochester, minus the wife in the attic. The contents of the cellar, on the other hand, are a different matter…
From a romantic point of view, all happens in a similar manner to Jane Eyre, however this is where the comparisons end. With concealed crimes and secrets, as well as an unsolved murder, the story becomes the thriller it initially proposed to be. The incisive Jane Steele takes matters into her own hands – figuratively and literally – as she determines to resolve the unanswered questions.
Although not written with the intent to be comical, the stark contrasts between original and retelling create humorous scenarios. The nature of the main character in comparison with the time frame, a period where women had very little rights, makes the narrative far more exciting and amusing than the earlier novel – although not necessarily better.
Lyndsay Faye maintains the atmosphere of the 1800s with her affinity for eloquent turns of phrase and choice of words. She is a prolific author full of wonderful ideas; her ability to create a new story out of a well-known classic is a formidable skill. What is admirable is they way in which Faye has made Jane Steele a novel in its own right, and not merely a rip-off of Bronte’s work.
The skillful composition and wording will likely be loved by all, its only downfall being the reaction of hardcore Jane Eyre fans. Those who wish for the classics to be left alone and not pulled apart by contemporary authors or film directors may adopt a negative attitude towards to publication of Jane Steele. On the other hand, many will absolutely love this gothic retelling, appreciate the similarities and enjoy the new twist to the storyline. Personally, I am with the latter group.
Natasha Khan recommended Innocence & Despair by The Langley Schools Music Project in Music (curated)
Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories in Books
Mar 15, 2018
I read this novel as my BookBum Club book for November! Check out <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/297482-bookbum-book-club">this page</a> to find out more about my very own Book Club!
I decided I wanted to read a seasonal book this year and I found this one lurking on my shelf from last year when I also decided I wanted to read a seasonal book but didnt.
Ive reviewed each of the short stories one-by-one. Theres only 4, so its not a massive review, dont worry!
~
<b>The Mistletoe Murder</b>
I really loved the writing in this one! It hooked me straight away. I instantly connected with our narrator, even though shes a bit of an enigma. With short stories, you rarely get to know the characters very well, but I liked how our narrator was strong willed and sassy.
This story is a classic whodunit murder mystery. Not as complex as Christie, but definitely gives off those vibes. The conclusion to the story was pretty obvious, but the last little paragraph bought a smile to my face!
~
<b>A Commonplace Murder</b>
This one takes on a completely different tone from the story before it. Rather than being a cosy murder mystery, this one is that little bit darker. Youre introduced to a not very likeable narrator who holds an innocent mans freedom in his hands.
The story for this one is grittier and dirtier and comes to a shocking conclusion. When I first finished this one, I was adamant I didnt like it, but after letting it brew for a while, I realised that this one is very clever, and since it was published in 1969, was probably innovative for its time, and I can appreciate that!
~
<b>The Boxdale Inheritance</b>
This one was definitely my least favourite of the batch. It was definitely still a nice old school mystery to read about but it wasnt exactly exciting like the last two. This one took me a little longer to read than the others because I was getting distracted by various bits which didnt happen when I read the other two stories.
It was a nice introduction to Dalgliesh, and I think the conclusion of the crime was actually more intricate than the others, but it didnt gel with me like the others did.
~
<b>The Twelve Clues of Christmas</b>
I really liked this story in the collection! I connected with Dalgliesh in this one much more than I did in the other beforehand. I also liked how the characters in this one were sassy and outright with each other.
Even though the crime in this was easily guessable, I really enjoyed the way it was set out and how we came to know about the 12 clues of who committed murder!
~
Even though I hate a modern cosy mysteries, when it comes to old-school ones, I love them! This short story collection was exactly what I needed to help me on the track to enjoying reading again. I read it one sitting, and even though it is a short book, thats not something I do very often, so it really had me hooked!
I decided I wanted to read a seasonal book this year and I found this one lurking on my shelf from last year when I also decided I wanted to read a seasonal book but didnt.
Ive reviewed each of the short stories one-by-one. Theres only 4, so its not a massive review, dont worry!
~
<b>The Mistletoe Murder</b>
I really loved the writing in this one! It hooked me straight away. I instantly connected with our narrator, even though shes a bit of an enigma. With short stories, you rarely get to know the characters very well, but I liked how our narrator was strong willed and sassy.
This story is a classic whodunit murder mystery. Not as complex as Christie, but definitely gives off those vibes. The conclusion to the story was pretty obvious, but the last little paragraph bought a smile to my face!
~
<b>A Commonplace Murder</b>
This one takes on a completely different tone from the story before it. Rather than being a cosy murder mystery, this one is that little bit darker. Youre introduced to a not very likeable narrator who holds an innocent mans freedom in his hands.
The story for this one is grittier and dirtier and comes to a shocking conclusion. When I first finished this one, I was adamant I didnt like it, but after letting it brew for a while, I realised that this one is very clever, and since it was published in 1969, was probably innovative for its time, and I can appreciate that!
~
<b>The Boxdale Inheritance</b>
This one was definitely my least favourite of the batch. It was definitely still a nice old school mystery to read about but it wasnt exactly exciting like the last two. This one took me a little longer to read than the others because I was getting distracted by various bits which didnt happen when I read the other two stories.
It was a nice introduction to Dalgliesh, and I think the conclusion of the crime was actually more intricate than the others, but it didnt gel with me like the others did.
~
<b>The Twelve Clues of Christmas</b>
I really liked this story in the collection! I connected with Dalgliesh in this one much more than I did in the other beforehand. I also liked how the characters in this one were sassy and outright with each other.
Even though the crime in this was easily guessable, I really enjoyed the way it was set out and how we came to know about the 12 clues of who committed murder!
~
Even though I hate a modern cosy mysteries, when it comes to old-school ones, I love them! This short story collection was exactly what I needed to help me on the track to enjoying reading again. I read it one sitting, and even though it is a short book, thats not something I do very often, so it really had me hooked!
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Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated A Deep Dark Secret in Books
May 10, 2018
It's a terrible thing when children are abused. It's more terrible when they are abused by a family member. The worst is when that family member is a parent. The person you are supposed to trust the most with your life.
Jillian Mitchell was 7 years old when her step-father started to molest her. It was one of the happiest and saddest days of her life. The day her baby sister, Layla, was born.
The abuse continued for 5 years. Starting with touching and escalating to oral sex and naked pictures. Byron, her step-father told her that if she told anyone, they wouldn't believe her and that they would blame her. And that if she wasn't going to do it, then he would get her little sister(who is now 5) to do it.
Jillian lived with this secret and never told anyone, not even her closest friend. When an incident at school, leads Jillian to find out she is not the only one in this situation, she finds the courage to stand up to her step-father (who she thought of as her real father from the beginning) and get him out of her life for good!
This is a great book and helps us understand that effects that abuse can have on children and their life as adults. Everyone handles it differently and more need to know that it is alright to speak out about it. I believe that if more children were not afraid to tell the secret, then we would have a lot less abuse out there and the cycles of teenage pregnancy and suicide would decrease.
Jillian Mitchell was 7 years old when her step-father started to molest her. It was one of the happiest and saddest days of her life. The day her baby sister, Layla, was born.
The abuse continued for 5 years. Starting with touching and escalating to oral sex and naked pictures. Byron, her step-father told her that if she told anyone, they wouldn't believe her and that they would blame her. And that if she wasn't going to do it, then he would get her little sister(who is now 5) to do it.
Jillian lived with this secret and never told anyone, not even her closest friend. When an incident at school, leads Jillian to find out she is not the only one in this situation, she finds the courage to stand up to her step-father (who she thought of as her real father from the beginning) and get him out of her life for good!
This is a great book and helps us understand that effects that abuse can have on children and their life as adults. Everyone handles it differently and more need to know that it is alright to speak out about it. I believe that if more children were not afraid to tell the secret, then we would have a lot less abuse out there and the cycles of teenage pregnancy and suicide would decrease.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Shazam! (2019) in Movies
May 14, 2019 (Updated Dec 15, 2019)
A refreshing, and often humourous entry into the otherwise troubled DCEU
Contains spoilers, click to show
I went into Shazam! with low expectations, after not being particularly taken with the majority of past DCEU films.
I left feeling pretty positive about the whole goofy experience.
As with most DC material, the film starts on a fairly dark note, introducing us to a young Dr Sivana (a truly old school super villain, dating all the way back to the late 30s).
After a bit of back story as to why he gets all villainy, the movie wastes no time introducing us to Billy Batson (Asher Angel) and the rest of his foster family, and the movie succeeds in making all of the younger characters likable.
After a bit of comic book magic, we're eventually acquainted with the true power of Shazam!
Zachary Levi absolutely shines as he clearly relishes in playing this goofy, excitable teenager trapped in the body of a God. He bounces back and forth with Jack Dylan Grazer pretty well, and for the most part the relentless stream of jokes land nicely.
The film starts to waiver slightly towards the end, as the story hurtles towards a standard comic book movie CGI showdown, with a by the numbers comic book movie performance from Mark Strong, and some sketchy CGI cloud monsters, but it's hard not to grin with the surprise introduction of the Shazam! family (something I would surely expect from a sequel).
Shazam! also struggles at times to balance it's humour with it's more serious beats, but for the most part is an enjoyable origin story that the whole family can enjoy.
I left feeling pretty positive about the whole goofy experience.
As with most DC material, the film starts on a fairly dark note, introducing us to a young Dr Sivana (a truly old school super villain, dating all the way back to the late 30s).
After a bit of back story as to why he gets all villainy, the movie wastes no time introducing us to Billy Batson (Asher Angel) and the rest of his foster family, and the movie succeeds in making all of the younger characters likable.
After a bit of comic book magic, we're eventually acquainted with the true power of Shazam!
Zachary Levi absolutely shines as he clearly relishes in playing this goofy, excitable teenager trapped in the body of a God. He bounces back and forth with Jack Dylan Grazer pretty well, and for the most part the relentless stream of jokes land nicely.
The film starts to waiver slightly towards the end, as the story hurtles towards a standard comic book movie CGI showdown, with a by the numbers comic book movie performance from Mark Strong, and some sketchy CGI cloud monsters, but it's hard not to grin with the surprise introduction of the Shazam! family (something I would surely expect from a sequel).
Shazam! also struggles at times to balance it's humour with it's more serious beats, but for the most part is an enjoyable origin story that the whole family can enjoy.
I had to read this book of poetry for my Modern Elegy English course at my school and I found it very interesting. This was the first elegy we had read by a female author, even though we are well over half way through our quarter. I found the poems themselves very convoluted, but they were still fascinating.
I loved the structure of the book itself. It was made to look like a continuous piece of paper, much like a timeline to which someone's life may be measured against. I thought it was really cool the way Carson would pull in the definitions of the words in Latin only to reveal about half way or three quarters of the way through that is was because she was translating an old poem that had originally been written in Latin. That gave it the sense that everything was pulled together.
One thing I enjoyed about this poem was how different it was from other elegies I have had to read over the course of this quarter. Instead of only lauding the deceased, Carson makes them realistic. She does not make them out to be some saint-like, or even god-like creature that had done no wrong. In giving them flaws and pointing those flaws out, the poem itself becomes more realistic and approachable.
I loved how it looked like everything was just scanned in, as well. It gave an informal quality to the poem that, again, makes it accessible to wider audiences than the more traditional elegies might.
Overall, this was a pretty cool poem! I suggest you pick it up if you want to read something different.
I loved the structure of the book itself. It was made to look like a continuous piece of paper, much like a timeline to which someone's life may be measured against. I thought it was really cool the way Carson would pull in the definitions of the words in Latin only to reveal about half way or three quarters of the way through that is was because she was translating an old poem that had originally been written in Latin. That gave it the sense that everything was pulled together.
One thing I enjoyed about this poem was how different it was from other elegies I have had to read over the course of this quarter. Instead of only lauding the deceased, Carson makes them realistic. She does not make them out to be some saint-like, or even god-like creature that had done no wrong. In giving them flaws and pointing those flaws out, the poem itself becomes more realistic and approachable.
I loved how it looked like everything was just scanned in, as well. It gave an informal quality to the poem that, again, makes it accessible to wider audiences than the more traditional elegies might.
Overall, this was a pretty cool poem! I suggest you pick it up if you want to read something different.
Erika Kehlet (21 KP) rated The Occasional Diamond Thief (#1) in Books
Feb 21, 2018
Kia is a 16 year old girl with a troubled family life and a penchant for languages. When her father dies, leaving her with a mother who seems to despise her and a sister who wont give her the time of day, she leaves home and starts school to become a translator. After being caught stealing to finance her new life, she is sent to Malem to act as a translator for a Select (a religious title, something akin to a nun or priest) named Agatha. This is the same world where her father contracted the illness that eventually killed him. Its also the world where her father acquired the gem he gave her right before he died a Malem diamond that it is illegal for anyone who is not Malemese to posses.
I really enjoyed this story. Kia didnt seem to be able to get a break at all, and even thought being sent to Malem kept her out of prison, it still seemed like punishment for her. Once she and Agatha arrived on Malem, the story kept moving at a pace that kept me reading, wanting to know what was going to happen next. Both Kia and Agatha were well developed, likable characters who learned and grew throughout the story. Sometimes I wanted to shout at Kia for her behavior, but considering her age it was perfectly appropriate.
There was no cliffhanger ending, and it may turn out to be a standalone novel, but I wouldnt be surprised to see more adventures for Kia in the future.
Disclaimer I received a free digital copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this story. Kia didnt seem to be able to get a break at all, and even thought being sent to Malem kept her out of prison, it still seemed like punishment for her. Once she and Agatha arrived on Malem, the story kept moving at a pace that kept me reading, wanting to know what was going to happen next. Both Kia and Agatha were well developed, likable characters who learned and grew throughout the story. Sometimes I wanted to shout at Kia for her behavior, but considering her age it was perfectly appropriate.
There was no cliffhanger ending, and it may turn out to be a standalone novel, but I wouldnt be surprised to see more adventures for Kia in the future.
Disclaimer I received a free digital copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.