Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

Out of my deck of cards. Unlike most, if not all, other 13-yr old girls on this planet, I did not pick up Jane Eyre during junior high (I’m not saying I strayed from Victorian romances, but that I picked up Wuthering Heights instead). I believe if I had read this book back then, I would have swooned over the romance much more than I did (after all, isn’t it the fantasy of every school girl to learn that that cute boy she has a huge crush on, the one that seems so unattainable, is secretly having a huge crush on her?). However, as a school girl harboring crushes of her own, the rest of Jane Eyre would have probably gone right over my head. As such, I’m glad I didn’t pick this up until now, since I was much more interested in Jane’s strengths as a character, completely independent of the romance storyline with Edward “Stephanie Meyer only wishes she could write Byronic heroes this good” Rochester.

Like an orphan out of a Dickens’s story (or like any heroine in a Mexican soap opera), Jane goes through some pretty tough times before finding happiness. Orphaned as a little girl, she is taken in by her uncaring aunt, then sent to a strict religious boarding school (the kind where it’s always cold and everyone is always hungry and the Man always finds a way to suck the joy out of life), and then confronted with the death of her only friend. Eventually she becomes a teacher and gets a job as a governess with Rochester as her employer. I guess I let the cat out of the bag by saying there is a romance between the two (no surprise there, though, right?) but, for a tragic heroine, things are never that easy. That’s just volume one of this book.

Anyway, there’s more to it of course, but the point is Jane survives and rises above a number of trials that would have broken down most people. I like the description given in the back of the card, and I don’t see the need of saying it any better: “Jane Eyre lives in a world of cruelty and injustice, yet nothing breaks her spirit. Readers today are still inspired by Jane’s rebellion and passion – traits that were considered merely daring in a society that had little use for a single woman.”

Now I know next to nothing about Victorian society, but I can imagine how some of Jane’s actions would have been pretty scandalous, or against what was expected. Above all else, and despite how cliché it sounds, she remains true to herself, and is committed to maintaining her sense of integrity and morality despite whatever hell may come after. Now there’s a role model that is worth reading about (not to sound preachy, but this book and this character beat the hell out of most of the young adult garbage that is out there these days).

My only complaint is that the narrative itself is pretty boring. I don’t mean the writing style is bad, just that it’s extremely proper and too straightforward (if that makes any sense…). Bronte also tends to go on and on at times, which can get a bit drowsy (I did possibly end up merely skimming some pages; I definitely skimmed over most of the whole St. John argument). Knowing that there’s no reason for comparing Emily and Charlotte other than because they are sisters, I will just say this: Wuthering Heights has more originality and drama, but Jane Eyre has more normal, relatable, and likable characters.

19 down, 33 to go.

The Subtle Knife - Phillip Pullman

Book two of Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy (audiobook format). I'm not sure what to say about this book...I think I liked it, but it took me nearly a month to finish (listening to, not reading) because I couldn't make myself stop listening to Broken River Prophet and put this on instead. That is partly due to BRP being awesome, but it was also due to Subtle Knife not being very engaging. Yes, that might be a good description, not engaging. I can think of things I liked: I loved Will (a lot of that might have to do with how good the actor's voice is); really liked Mrs. Coulter who is the kind of villain you love to hate, though there wasn't enough of her in this book; inter-dimensional travel is a plus to any fantasy story IMO (check The Riftwar Saga); the Specters turn every adult in one particular world into essentially zombies (zombies always being another plus in any genre); you get a relatively decent cliffhanger at the end, enough to make me read the first chapter of the last book right then; and, kinda unrelated, it was very well acted.

But, overall, it was a bit of a sleeper. There wasn't enough intrigue, not much mystery, and nothing totally unexpected happened. Will and Lyra meet up in an alternate universe from their own, where they realize they are both on related quests and must help each other (or, I think Lyra is told by her golden compass that she has to help Will, but same deal). After that, they run into some good people, some bad people, lose some things, acquire others, travel a lot, escape the "authorities," realize they are destined for greatness if they can only overcome their personal doubts and fears (Will), don't get to realize that they are destined for greatness if they can overcome the people that are trying to kill them (Lyra, but hang tight, your time will come in book 3), and get help from others who must make sure these two succeed above all else.

I sound mean, I know. To be fair, it's not a terrible setup, and there are a lot of different bits and pieces going on at once that will lead up to something. But, it sounds kinda rehashed, the story-telling is too serious, and maybe I'm going deaf, but I'm not really sure what this is all leading up to. At this point, I think the main conflict is that there's a side that wants to bring down God and another side that doesn't agree (yes, God). Why bring him down? Well, as far as I can make it out, Pullman is turning the tables: instead of a God that represents good (the way we know it), God in this story is the bad guy. Long ago, when the angels rebelled in Heaven and lost, things started to go bad. Now a similar war is coming, but this time "the right side must win."

Now I'm not saying that this plot is objectionable. It's actually pretty interesting, the idea that you would need to overturn a Supreme authority that you consider your God because, in actuality, he's a jerk. It worked for Stargate. But Pullman doesn't give us much in the way of back-story. Presumably that's book three.

That’s my take, anyway. At this point, I’m not jumping up and down with excitement to start book three (I’m certainly not using two Audible credits to get it, rather than the customary one, so I’ll have to read the hardcopy at some point). I’m hoping that the twist in book three is that Lord Asriel (the guy leading the rebellion against God) ends up making things way worse and everyone that supported him is left standing with egg on their face. Then again, if that does happen, it won’t be much of a twist. And if it doesn’t happen, then we just end up with a story about a guy beating God with a subtle knife and a golden compass (I guess an amber spyglass will feature somehow, as well).