Move over Jane Austen!

I thought today we'd start with an oldie, but goodie.  And contrary to what this title may suggest, I will not be reviewing Pride and Prejudice.  I figure that if multiple movies, book spin-offs, and hordes of raving fans have not already convinced you to read that book, then there is no way that I ever will.
However, the book up for review today is in the same vein as Pride and Prejudice.  Today we are going to review Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre.

For those of you unfamiliar with the storyline of the book, here is a quick re-cap:  Jane Eyre is an orphaned governess who goes to work for the wealthy Mr. Rochester at Thornfield Manor.  There, Jane is in charge of Mr. Rochester's ward Adele.  In the course of her job, she meets and falls in love with Mr. Rochester, but the mysterious gentleman has a few well-kept secrets that not only serve for bone-chilling suspense, but act as a stumbling block for Jane & Mr. Rochester's ever being together.

This book puts the "R" in Romance, is incredibly well written, and has several fabulous plot twists.  However, it is read so much less than it deserves to be. As I've been preparing this post, I've tried to come up with some reasons why Jane has been so neglected, and I think I've stumbled upon a few reasons:

1) Many potential readers of this book have seen a movie version of Jane Eyre.  Because the author describes Jane as plain (get it, "Plain Jane"?), and Mr. Edward Rochester as athletic but not very handsome, any Jane Eyre movie is very hard to cast.  Call me shallow, but most people want to watch a movie where the main characters are at least good-looking, and if they can't be good-looking, at least be highly charismatic.  As a result, I personally don't think that any of the movies do it justice, and do not beckon any viewer to want to pick the book up.

Solution:  That's the beauty of books!  You get to imagine them just as you want, and if you are like my sister, then you can imagine them both beautiful if that's what it takes for you to get excited about their romance.

(And if you do decide to ever watch the movie, I have finally found one fantastic remake.  Simply google "Jane Eyre 2011" and you will stumble upon your next chic flick.)

2) The book starts off sooooo slow.  To be honest, though I have read Jane Eyre multiple times, I've never read the first part where Jane is in the orphanage.  And guess what?  I still understand the book.  My advice?  Skip the first of the book and start off when Jane is going to Thornfield.  All you need to know about the first part is that Jane has an aunt and three cousins who don't like her, and therefore sent her to an orphanage where she was badly mistreated.  There.

There you have it, folks.  I definitely rate this book as a 5/5, and hope that, should you read it, you thoroughly enjoy it!  I predict it will be one of those that, once read, you will wonder why you never picked it up sooner.

Do you like this book, yes or no?  Leave me a comment, let me know what you think!