Rating: 
Summary: Classic!
Review: This is a classic love story that you can't go wrong with.
Rating:
Summary: How on earth can anyone find Jane Eyre boring??
Review: I'm sorry and rather shocked that our kids apparently find this marvelous novel a drag. I'm 53, and I've read it about once a year since I was 12. . .never once as a school assignment, much less a punishment. I've read for pleasure all my life. . .voluminously, addictively. . . and Jane Eyre is my alltime, number-one favorite novel. Dull?!? Good grief, silly girls, it's the first fullblooded feminist novel in English, and still the very best! It has a bright, strong, creative, misunderstood and abused kid heroine who nearly dies of her maltreatment, but survives, thrives, ignores her era's view of women as brainless porcelain dolls, experiences passionate love on her own terms rather than his, refuses to give up her enormous integrity for a false heaven, lives homeless and nearly dies of it rather than become anyone's plaything, fends off patriarchal religion with rare spirit and honesty, and finally. . .well, I'll let you read the absolutely splendid ending for yourselves, if you haven't been rendered incapable of understanding it by today's
alleged educational system. Suffice it to say that it was sufficiently radical in its day to get the author a lot of hate mail. . .to which she replied with a spirit that would've made Jane proud.
Rating: 
Summary: Jane Eyre
Review: As a young child Jane Eyre is stuck in her aunt's house. People think of her as a wicked child for she doesn't appreciate discipline and speaks her own mind. Jane's dignity is stricken away from herself when her cousin John causes her to be cast into the haunted red room, for he accused her of using "his" books and made her lose her temper.
During her stay in the red room Jane sees the ghost of her uncle, she faints and attention of the house is drawn upon her. This attention displeases her aunt and she sends her to the Lowood Academy for girls. There she meets a very important person in her life. Helen Burns is a girl very like herself, just older and more experienced. They click immediately and form a valuable friendship.
As Jane grows up she remains at Lowood until she decided that she had had enough of teaching younger girls. She placed an ad in a paper for a job which is answered by Mr. Rochester. There she takes care of a French girl and falls head over heels on Mr. Rochester.
This book hasn't been of any significance in my life. The first pages were dull and any excitement was sucked out of the pages. The overall quality of the writing was absolutely superb but the author didn't have enough life in the book. I only recommend this book to people who have a lot of spare time on their hands, or wish to give it to their children to read as punishment.
Rating:
Summary: A timeless Classic in the English Canon
Review: Few people probably need an introduction to this novel, given its popular appeal and long circulation. But some words are needed to explain its importance.At a simple level, the novel is the archetypal 'soap opera'; indeed, one can see virtually every plot found in 'Days of Our Lives' or something similar flowing through this work. But Charlotte Bronte's genius makes this wonderful work so much better than a mere one dimensional soap opera. The protagonist displays a keen intellect, a penetrating psychological understanding of those around her, and amazing powers of description. Whether it is the depressing institution of Lowood, or the passing away of Jane Eyre's childhood friend before her eyes, the scenery, the atmosphere, the emotional power, and the raw beauty of the language shine through. Bronte also makes use of the 'Gothic' element in her novel, particularly in the mysterious, mad wife of Edward Rochester, 'Bertha Mason', a sinister figure who is mad and tries to kill Rochester at every opportunity. The atmosphere in the novel is dark, spooky, and has a strong hint of the supernatural; Eyre's descriptions of the Moon often come into this. The characters themselves (apart from the caricature of Bertha Mason) are also psychologically and morally complex. Eyre pursues her career as a governess and eventually Rochester himself often using dubious means, and Rochester himself is far from a heroic figure. Who is good, or evil? Even the end offers no resolution of this (though Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea suggests Rochester is the nasty one). Although Gothic romances are not my favorite literary genre, this book is worth recommending simply for the sheer genius of the author. Charlotte Bronte, one of the finest novelists in the 19th century realist tradition,
Rating: 
Summary: Original, but boring.
Review: Do you like drama, excitement, action, and adventure? If so, do not read this book! Jane Eyre is a little English girl who is forced to live with her relatives that hate her. At the age of eight, she is forced to move to an orphan school where she has no friends and is continually abused. The book slowly drags through her life at school until she graduates. After spending eight years at school she becomes a governess for a little French brat out in the country. While living at the manor and tutoring the girl, Jane falls in love with the master of the manor. Mr. Rochester is an older man who has traveled all over the world searching for happiness. The rest of the book spends time explaining the controversy between their personalities and how they deal with each other's love. I give this book points for originality, but it needs a more gripping storyline. Only read this book if you need more reading material.
Rating:
Summary: Jane Eyre - just trying to find love
Review: First of all, I would just like to say that Jane Eyre is most likely a good book for all those bookworms out there. I am postive that you will not be disappointed with this book if you like classical and dramatic novels. Yes, the novel may seem to be a little long, but it keeps you interested and guessing to the very end. Don't get me wrong, it is not some book that is a mystery. Although, the end is very unpredictable and I had no idea which path Jane Eyre was going to take.
When I opened the first few pages of this book, I must admit that I was questioning whether or not this was going to be
a dull and drab story. It seemed as though this might be a challenging book to be able to finish. Although, after some questioning, the plot took a turn for the better. The story really started to pick up as I began to enter the life of the orphan, Jane Eyre. The uninteresting beginning was well worth reading because the story was really good.
This story begins with Jane Eyre living with her mean Aunt Reed and cruel cousins. She goes through awful torments like being locked up in a dark room all night. The beginning of the story kind of reminded me of the enchanting story of Cinderella. Jane is then sent off to school all alone in the world to become a well-educated lady. She thinks she begins to find happiness there, but some awful things happened. She then goes to Thornfield Hall to try to be a teacher. She actually ends up falling in love with her master, Mr. Rochester. Jane once again begins to feel that everything is going well and that she actually might have found true happiness. Jane and Mr. Rochester are then about to be married when an awful secret is revealed about Mr. Rochester. Jane then has to figure out whether to stay with her one and only true love or just move on to a different life and forget that all of this happened. Jane then does take a small journey away from Thornfield to find out where to go from there.
I found that this book contained mystery, drama, romance, and
everything else a person could ask for in a book. This book is the type of book that you would want to take and curl up in bed and just keeping reading it to the very end. There was great detail about the life that Jane Eyre and all the feeling she felt were revealed to the reader. I seemed to really be part of the story and sometimes forgot where I was. There were also some amazing twists in the story that kept me guessing about who did that or why is that women so suspicious. There was also many characters that kept the story alive and interesting. Although, once and awhile it did seem as though the story was confusing. Things were being said and I was not quite sure who was saying them and places I was not quite sure what was going on. Although, with some of this negativism, everything else made up for it. All and all, it was a really good book. For me, it seems to reflect back on today's life. All Jane was doing was trying to find acceptence, love, and happiness. It seems at this day an age, that all people are trying to do is find true love and someone to be there. For this reason, I think that many of you would really love this book and read it. The novel is well worth the reading. I am sure that once you began the story that you will just want to keep reading it to find out if Jane really does find what she is looking for and if she finds true happiness. Now it is you turn to go to your library and check out this great classical novel that you are just going to love.
The grade I would give this book would be about a low grade A because sometimes it was confusing. Highly recommended for people who like drama and romance.
Rating:
Summary: It doesn't HAVE to be a drag....
Review: I gather this is required reading at a lot of high schools these days, and I'm sure that a lot of today's high schoolers do indeed think of it as a drag. It sure doesn't have to be, though, if you read from a larger perspective. To fully appreciate today's world, it helps to understand the attitudes and experiences of the past, and JANE EYRE is one of the novels that helps us understand. The book takes an orphaned girl taken in by an unloving aunt, and follows her into an unhappy school experience and ultimately into as good a career as a woman of that time and station could hope for, that of governess. Well, this is one of the earliest gothic novels and true to the genre, you know the girl's going to fall in love with her employer who, unfortunately, has a deep and dark secret. There's tragedy of sorts here and there's triumph, all told against the mores of a bygone era. There's much to learn and to enjoy here if you open up to it. It is dated, and not 100% relevant to today's life, which is why I give it four rather than five stars. It may be helpful to read and compare JENNA STARBORN to JANE EYRE. The former pales horribly by comparison, but by setting the story in the future, today's reader may gain a better understanding of the original story.
Rating:
Summary: Romance & Everyday Life
Review: When I first read Jane Eyre, I (and I think many others) was taken in by the odd combination of romance and ominous overtones that makes Jane Eyre such a unique book. Of course, the Victorian-era writing and social commentary also made an impression. But upon reflection, underneath all of this is a story of people with difficult lives learning to find and accept each other and hopefully coming to peace and happiness despite long odds. Maybe my second reading just comes from a twenty-first century mind reading things into a nineteenth century book that just aren't there. But to me, the book does have the feel of a modern story of hardship as well as a Victorian story of people trying to overcome their backgrounds to find love. Jane Eyre tells the life story of an orphaned girl sent away to a harsh boarding school by a cruel aunt. Despite the harsh nature of the school, Jane thrived at the school since she is finally out from her aunt's crushing dislike for her. She graduated and took a job as a governess for a girl in the care of a mysterious man who spent much of his time traveling abroad, Mr. Rochester. At first, the two do not like each other. This is compounded by the fact that Jane thinks she is plain looking and not worthy of his company. But the two develop a peculiar friendship, and there are many signs that their feelings are deeper. But Mr. Rochester is busy courting other ladies at the time. Mr. Rochester also seems to have a secret that he will not divulge to Jane but may have serious consequences for her. Jane's job as a governess and the friendship that develops make it seem that the book will quickly become a Jane Austen book (which of course, would not have been a bad thing) in which the man and woman from different classes find love with one another, but from the point of the friendship blooming, Jane Eyre takes a few remarkable twists and turns that I had not expected and that make for real page-turning. But it is as much the quiet desperation of both Jane and Mr. Rochester and their struggle to find each other despite this that makes Jane Eyre a book truly worth reading and treasuring.
Rating:
Summary: Sure it's dated, but it's enjoyable if you let it be
Review: I read this in order to compare it with JENNA STARBORN, and there's no doubt but that this is the true classic with its Gothic overtones and its portrayal of a strong and independent woman in times not supportive of such strength and independence in women. Many will have difficulty with this book, because it's rich in detail and rich in mood. Today's readers may need patience and understanding to enjoy this. If one relaxes and accepts the book as a portrait of the thinking of the era in which it was written, one can relate it with today's society. Basically, this is the story of a woman guided by her inner values. As such, it's not really a book for guys. On the other hand, it tells of a style of life far from that led by today's high school girls, and therefore takes careful reading. It's classic, and if accepted as a Gothic romance that reveals the thinking and attitudes of the time when written, it's a timeless story that speaks to all.
Rating: 
Summary: Jane Eyre -- Who cares?
Review: When I picked up this book, I was expecting Jane Austen, and instead had to contend with the foul Bronte way of writing: dry, emotionless, humorless -- and plain dull. I did get through the book with some effort, but I found it very bland.
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