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55 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting introduction to Charlotte Bronte, December 23, 2010
One of the advantages of having the Kindle is that you can have access to all this amazing classical literature that you'd never buy. Villette by Charlotte Bronte is one of those. There are two Kindle free books of Villette, both are identical, so it doesn't matter which one you download.
The book's plot is quite interesting: You follow Lucy Snowe though her teens into her early 20s. She's not a typical heroine: she's a plain looking, average woman - sort of the anti-Austen stereotype. Lucy doesn't even have self esteem, but manages to flee England and moves to the European mainland.
Being my first Bronte novel, it's wildly delicious. The characters are flawed, there's tragedy and particularly wonderful moments. It does make you wonder how much of the book is autobiographical, and you feel a sense of loss because the Brontes were taken from us too soon before they could complete more works. You're sucked into the isolation of Lucy and in a way, that's more interesting than the plot.
Other and more talented reviewers can give you a better review of Villette (Signet Classics) than I can. But this book is a worthy download, and will bring you into a unique literary world and make you adore the creativity of the Brontes.
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43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An amazing feminist novel from 1859!, June 4, 2005
It was her last completed book, always in the shadow of Jane Eyre. It was insightful, irreverent, angry, tragic, funny, bizarre, gothic and wonderfully honest. At the time, the novel was harshly criticized by men, even feminist men like George Eliot's lover. But George Eliot herself and Virginia Wolf believed it to be her best work.
How unusual first of all to have a heroine like Lucy Snowe, not of noble blood, not rich, not charming, not even good-looking as women (esp in the Victorian period) were expected to be. Like the other characters, she is flawed, contradictory and multi-faceted in a way one rarely sees in literature but continually witnesses in real life. Yet she is decidedly brilliant, original and imaginative like no other. Unconventional and delightfully subversive!
In many ways, this is a truly modern novel to this day. I've never read a novel that so honestly and unflinchingly captures the plight of a woman-artist making her own way in the world despite the obstacles thrown in her path.
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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enchanting, honest novel, April 4, 2006
I highly recommend this book to anyone who appreciates raw human emotion with exceptional imagery to guide the reader through the thoughtful text. After reading Jane Eyre, I felt compelled to explore other Bronte works and found this to be the true masterpiece. Although at times not as accessible as Eyre, Villette is more sincere. There are no gothic mysteries to cloud the writing, instead just a very real account of what seems to be an autobiography of Bronte's life.
The first time I read this it seemed a bit difficult to get through, but I guarantee you will not be disappointed. It is very brooding, with nothing to hide the main character's insecurity that very much parallels that of Charlotte Bronte. There is a magic in this book that is not describable, and ranks at the top of my list of favorites!
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