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| G.P. Putnam's Sons |
Lyndsay Faye
2016
The Summary
"A sensitive orphan, Jane Steele suffers first at the hands of her spiteful aunt and predatory cousin, then at a grim school where she fights for her very life until escaping to London, leaving the corpses of her tormentors behind her. After years of hiding from the law while penning macabre “last confessions” of the recently hanged, Jane thrills at discovering an advertisement. Her aunt has died and her childhood home has a new master: Mr. Charles Thornfield, who seeks a governess.
"Burning to know whether she is in fact the rightful heir, Jane takes the position incognito and learns that Highgate House is full of marvelously strange new residents--the fascinating but caustic Mr. Thornfield, an army doctor returned from the Sikh Wars, and the gracious Sikh butler Mr. Sardar Singh, whose history with Mr. Thornfield appears far deeper and darker than they pretend. As Jane catches ominous glimpses of the pair’s violent history and falls in love with the gruffly tragic Mr. Thornfield, she faces a terrible dilemma: Can she possess him--body, soul, and secrets--without revealing her own murderous past?
"A satirical romance about identity, guilt, goodness, and the nature of lies, by a writer who Matthew Pearl calls 'superstar-caliber' and whose previous works Gillian Flynn declared 'spectacular,' Jane Steele is a brilliant and deeply absorbing book inspired by Charlotte Brontë’s classic Jane Eyre."
The Good
Not so very long ago, I actually picked up the advanced readers copy of Jane Steele and read it within a couple of days. More recently, I found the audiobook of Lyndsay Faye's novel and, I have to say, I wasn't disappointed. I enjoyed rereading Jane Steele and I found I liked the story just as much the second time around.
Susie Riddell does a pretty great job as narrator. I liked the way she told Jane's story, the cadence and tone of her voice that created a character who felt real. It was enjoyable, and I found myself finding new facets of the story to appreciate and admire.
Overall, it's a great audiobook. Short and, while it's definitely not sweet, fun, Jane Steele is an excellent choice for any reader seeking an off-kilter romance or a deeply twisted take on a classic. However, I will say I enjoyed reading the book more than listening to the audiobook. For some reason, I just appreciated the feeling of the book in my hands than the earbuds in my ears as I listened to Jane's story.
But that's more personal preference than anything.
The Bad
Honestly, I had a few moments where I became annoyed by the accents. Don't get me wrong, Susie Riddell does a great job of reading Jane Steele; however, I was always a little annoyed by Thornfield's voice. It wasn't awful, but it did take me a little longer to acclimate to his character than usual.
Likewise, I never did warm up to Rebecca's voice. She had a softness to her voice, a sort of whiny sound that I just didn't like. Confidentially, I was glad when I moved beyond her story and found myself strictly accompanying Jane.
The Ugly
Blood and gore.
Jane, as she warns readers in the first pages of her "memoir," is a murderess. She's not a gentle, tame individual like the Jane we know from Jane Eyre; rather, she's a rambunctious, foul-mouthed young woman who knows her way around a knife. She's deadly and she can prove it, too.
The Summary
"A sensitive orphan, Jane Steele suffers first at the hands of her spiteful aunt and predatory cousin, then at a grim school where she fights for her very life until escaping to London, leaving the corpses of her tormentors behind her. After years of hiding from the law while penning macabre “last confessions” of the recently hanged, Jane thrills at discovering an advertisement. Her aunt has died and her childhood home has a new master: Mr. Charles Thornfield, who seeks a governess.
"Burning to know whether she is in fact the rightful heir, Jane takes the position incognito and learns that Highgate House is full of marvelously strange new residents--the fascinating but caustic Mr. Thornfield, an army doctor returned from the Sikh Wars, and the gracious Sikh butler Mr. Sardar Singh, whose history with Mr. Thornfield appears far deeper and darker than they pretend. As Jane catches ominous glimpses of the pair’s violent history and falls in love with the gruffly tragic Mr. Thornfield, she faces a terrible dilemma: Can she possess him--body, soul, and secrets--without revealing her own murderous past?
"A satirical romance about identity, guilt, goodness, and the nature of lies, by a writer who Matthew Pearl calls 'superstar-caliber' and whose previous works Gillian Flynn declared 'spectacular,' Jane Steele is a brilliant and deeply absorbing book inspired by Charlotte Brontë’s classic Jane Eyre."
The Good
Not so very long ago, I actually picked up the advanced readers copy of Jane Steele and read it within a couple of days. More recently, I found the audiobook of Lyndsay Faye's novel and, I have to say, I wasn't disappointed. I enjoyed rereading Jane Steele and I found I liked the story just as much the second time around.
Susie Riddell does a pretty great job as narrator. I liked the way she told Jane's story, the cadence and tone of her voice that created a character who felt real. It was enjoyable, and I found myself finding new facets of the story to appreciate and admire.
Overall, it's a great audiobook. Short and, while it's definitely not sweet, fun, Jane Steele is an excellent choice for any reader seeking an off-kilter romance or a deeply twisted take on a classic. However, I will say I enjoyed reading the book more than listening to the audiobook. For some reason, I just appreciated the feeling of the book in my hands than the earbuds in my ears as I listened to Jane's story.
But that's more personal preference than anything.
The Bad
Honestly, I had a few moments where I became annoyed by the accents. Don't get me wrong, Susie Riddell does a great job of reading Jane Steele; however, I was always a little annoyed by Thornfield's voice. It wasn't awful, but it did take me a little longer to acclimate to his character than usual.
Likewise, I never did warm up to Rebecca's voice. She had a softness to her voice, a sort of whiny sound that I just didn't like. Confidentially, I was glad when I moved beyond her story and found myself strictly accompanying Jane.
The Ugly
Blood and gore.
Jane, as she warns readers in the first pages of her "memoir," is a murderess. She's not a gentle, tame individual like the Jane we know from Jane Eyre; rather, she's a rambunctious, foul-mouthed young woman who knows her way around a knife. She's deadly and she can prove it, too.
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