Review: Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I only recently discovered Jane Eyre and by recently I mean within the last few years. I acquired my edition (not the one pictured) of the novel printed "under wartime conditions" as a third edition from a used book store for a few dollars. The binding is blue cloth, the pages aged yellow and thick and it sat on my bookshelf for about a year. It wasn't that I was avoiding it so much as I had an overall disinterest in the "classics" which I considered Jane Eyre to be. There came a day, though, when I had nothing else to read and so the book made its way into my hands. Once the cover was opened I was trapped; sucked into a world unknown to me. Enthralled by the opening chapter of child abuse and neglect, curiosity, and fear, a defiant child already self-affirmed in who she was I lamented in having to put the book aside for our present day reality.

I have since read it three times yet it is never far from my nightstand. It gets better with age and with each reading your appreciation will grow for characters and author. It didn't take long for me to become completely obsessed in finding a movie adaptation which would satisfy and honor it adequately. The 2011 version comes mighty close and who can complain of Michael Fassbender's Mr. Rochester? No one.

While this may strike you as a love story at first, I encourage you to look deeper into the character of Jane. Charlotte Bronte has done a magnificent job at portraying a life of sharp corners and hard tongues in which a young woman is created as one of the strongest, most thought provoking heroines I have ever read. With exacting self-control and unwavering connection with her inner self Jane inspires me almost on the daily to be strong and true to who I am. If such a character can endure so much compared to my so little; who am I to waver? THAT is what this novel can do.

I won't ruin it for you, but her speech to Mr. Rochester in a moment of truth is just stunning. They are words I wish I had written. This level of writing is that which I strive to be able to mimic. It's absolutely brilliant.

View all my reviews

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

It is with exceedingly great enthusiasm that I announce, officially, to the bloggerverse that my debut novel, Dust, is now available for pre-sale on Amazon US, Amazon UK, Kobo, Smashwords, and Apple! Order now for just $0.99 and have it delivered to your device on release day, March 9th!

Release Party

Join us for the online release party Wednesday March 9th, 2016 from 9:00AM - 8:00PM MST. It'll be a place to chat about the book, where you'd like to see yourself in the coming years, your goals and aspirations, and a chance to win one of two prizes! 

The grand prize winner will "go home" with a brand new Kindle while the second prize is loaded with all things Wyoming!

You won't want to miss out on this momentous event! Can't stay all day? That's OK! Just swing by throughout your busy schedule to say "HI!" and let use know what you're thinking!

See a full excerpt of Dust here!

Review: Go Set a Watchman

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Let's be frank about it: Go Set a Watchman is not as good as To Kill a Mockingbird.

And that's ok.

However, when paired together, the effect is magical.

I read To Kill a Mockingbird within a couple of hours spread out over a few days. I was hooked on it for the sake of the story and a love of the characters. It was quite a bit different with Go Set a Watchman, but if you give it time you will notice that as you near the end the pages turn much faster and your heart beats in similar pace.

We've been told that Go Set a Watchman is not a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird, although it reads as such, but is, in fact, the original story that Harper Lee intended to publish. I'm thankful that both were released and in the order which occurred. Having read both novels so closely together I was able to pick out the tiny bits of story in Go Set a Watchman that turned into To Kill a Mockingbird and I'm blown away that she created a second, completely new novel with only characters and small references to connect the two. That alone deserves respect and warrants giving the second book a thorough chance.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, we are introduced to a man of noble character who is not only a loving, understanding father figure, but also a lawyer willing to represent a doomed negro boy accused of raping a white girl in the 1930's south. We praise him for his courage and compassion, his commitment to equality and teaching his children to be loving rather than judgmental. Atticus Finch eases the guilt in our minds about racial tension because he was standing proof that not all white men were bigoted members of the KKK. We grew attached to him and when the story ended we expelled a sigh of relief and felt warm all over because he didn't disappoint us.

And then, in Go Set a Watchman, we learn otherwise. As a collective community the veil of his piousness is lifted and his Godlike stature crumbles. Alongside Jean Louise, readers are rocked out of the safety of Atticus's shadow and our hearts are broken by the revelation that he is merely a man who is subject to the attitude of the mob. Rather than being all that we've decided he was we find that all he has done has been out of this need for justice and order. He upholds the law because it is the law, not because he feels compelled to protect those in need. And we rebel against him just like our heroine.

Her fire becomes our fire and every word she spews represents our own feelings. We've been deceived and we want revenge. But if we can see through the emotionalism of the situation and be logical we will see that Atticus hasn't changed at all and is still worthy of our admiration. We experience an awakening of consciousness just as she does. Unfortunately for us, we don't have an Uncle Jack to smack us back to reality, offer us liquor as a reward, and walk us through fully understanding what has happened. So it is easy for readers to set this book down disenchanted and disgruntled. But just as Jean Louise was able to overcome this, so can we.

If we didn't have To Kill a Mockingbird to convince us of his righteousness, if we didn't grow up with Scout and Jem and Dill this effect could never have been achieved. If Go Set a Watchman were a stand alone novel it would fall flat and, although telling of the era where racial equality was blooming, yet not bloomed, readers would leave with a "that's nice" experience and nothing more. But we do have both and never before have I been able to experience something side-by-side with a character such as this. As a writer it makes me jealous; as a reader it leaves me satisfied.

Atticus Finch earned a place as my second favorite literary character because of To Kill a Mockingbird, falling just behind Jane Eyre on that list. And his place hasn't shifted since reading Go Set a Watchman. If you catch the lesson of this novel, you'll do just fine.

View all my reviews

Review: Floating in My Mother's Palm

Floating in My Mother's Palm by Ursula Hegi

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Floating in My Mother's Palm is a warm, tranquil read that is equal parts tragedy and growth. I know - that's a complete and utter contradiction, but I have no better way to explain it. My reflections on the book cast memories of lyrical writing and original characters. Each chapter brings you to a level of secreted voyeurism over the town; some exposing every detail while others dangle on the edge of mere inferences. It reads as a history more than fiction to which fact I would not be surprised if such a childhood existed for one and a lifetime for another.

Hanna Malter is a 1950's youth growing up in a small German town where lesson plans stop when teachers reach the history of the 1930's. She is the daughter of a stoic dentist and free spirited mother and under the charge of a strict, but forgiving house keeper. Hanna is influenced by the gossip of the local pay-librarian, the tribulations of her parent's tenants, and her mother's unconventional ways. Each soul within the town has a story to tell and each a secret to keep.

I picked up this book for 50 cents at a book sale fundraiser. In fact, I purchased Ursula Hegi's entire collection at that book sale and I've slowly begun to chip away at it. I've been hooked on journal-esque memoir styled anthologies since I was in high school when my teacher assigned us The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (an absolute favorite of mine.) Of this genre, this book did not disappoint.

The short, bite sized stories within each chapter of Floating in My Mother's Palm make evening reading a cinch. The reader can speed through a chapter before lights out and sleepy eyes take over and not feel like they are about to miss out on something heroic or character ending. Although they seem independent of each other, Hegi does a magnificent job guiding the reader through the chapters while offering a rotund, rich environment in which the main character was raised.

Overall, it was a great introduction to Hegi's writing style and story telling abilities. When the last page is turned you'll be left feeling content and your life more enriched for the experience.

View all my reviews

Review: To Kill A Mocking Bird

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As a writer I was determined to find out why this book was so highly praised to the point that within a year of printing it had landed the most coveted of writer's awards: the Pulitzer Prize.

Was it because it spoke boldly about the civil rights of all men?
Was it because Harper Lee emphatically decried the injustice of racism in our courts?
Was it because she demanded to be heard on a grand platform?

No. I don't believe so.

Rather, her writing is subtle. Beautifully subtle. We are told a story, quietly and innocent. The truths which come out are that which come from the mouths of babes; the wisdom of children.

I see it now, the simplicity of her work yet the enormity of its message no matter how gently it was delivered. As a writer I can see how she did not over complicate things, but instead allowed her readers to make intelligent connections and assumptions.

As a reader I was invested - oh boy was I invested in the man known as Atticus Finch! I instantly took a liking to him and may even place him as my newly crowned favorite leading male character of all who have paraded before me. He was noble in a time of duress, he was honest and steadfast, and, most importantly, he listened to his children.

If you haven't read it, I recommend it. If you were forced to read it as a teenager for school and didn't like it, I recommend you revisit it. In a world where messages are loudly thrust at us from every angle covering every agenda; in a world where literature has become watered down and blatantly in your face this piece of history is not only refreshing, but endearing.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

"Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved reading. One does not love breathing."
- Scout, To Kill a Mockingbird

"Of course he shouldn't, but he'll never change his ways. Are you going to take out your disapproval on his children?"
- Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird

“… You’re not gonna change any of them by talkin’ right, they’ve got to want to learn themselves, and when they don’t want to learn there’s nothing you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their language.”
– Calpurnia, To Kill a Mockingbird

View all my reviews