Home :: Books :: Audiocassettes  

Arts & Photography
Audio CDs
Audiocassettes

Biographies & Memoirs
Business & Investing
Children's Books
Christianity
Comics & Graphic Novels
Computers & Internet
Cooking, Food & Wine
Entertainment
Gay & Lesbian
Health, Mind & Body
History
Home & Garden
Horror
Literature & Fiction
Mystery & Thrillers
Nonfiction
Outdoors & Nature
Parenting & Families
Professional & Technical
Reference
Religion & Spirituality
Romance
Science
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Sports
Teens
Travel
Women's Fiction
Villette

Villette

List Price: $89.95
Your Price: $89.95
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 3 4 5 >>

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Disappointing, verbose story of a repressed woman
Review: If Bronte had cut at least 200 pages then we'd have had a fascinating study of the interior of a nineteenth century woman's life in Belgium with insights into the consequences of sexual repression and religious dominance.

As it was there were pages of sermonising about catholicism and Christian belief and a tortuously slow realisation of her feelings for other men. The writer presumed the reader had an excellent grasp of French, which is unfair from an English novellist.

I found the eulogies on the charcters thought to be good tedious and discomforting and the harsh view of others outside her close acquaintance cruel and harsh. It was a real struggle to complete the book and the ending with its deliberate almost chiildlike ambiguity infuriating.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Villette (Bantam Classic)
Review: If you like Jane Austin, hang on to your hat. Charlotte Bronte's book is similar in that she has about 30 well-described characters for you to memorize in the first 50 pages, presenting a period of time spanning several years, with lots of plot twists and foreshadowing, but this is no lightweight reading. The struggle between selfish desire and true sacrificial lovingkindness is going to tear you to the quick. She survives naivite because she is willing to do what is right regardless of personal suffering. Lucy is a real hero for those of us who want desperately to do what is right above merely "acquiring stuff" or "being accepted". The ending is not satisfying. Lucy knows that deep contentment won't be found in this lifetime, only in Christ's presence when this corrupt and temporary body finally rests, and goodness of heart is rewarded.

In this edition, the introduction is helpful, but wordy. You will have to know French, and lots of it, but there are notes on obscure references.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Quite unusual - you have to "feel" your way through this one
Review: It is easy to see why it remains one of the most important of Bronte's work. It explores the psychological complexities of a strong female character, who chooses to live in a world shut off from social conventions of her time. She does not recognise the social order that prevails, neither does she accepts the material aspects that society places a premium on. Proud, unrelenting, isolated - her views are only partially shaped from her protestantism. Lucy "sees" the world as a non-participant and as a voyageur, only being involved when the situation absolutely warrants this. Alone and unanchored in a "sang froid" world that she faces, Lucy experiences the emotional anguish of unrequited love, and almost misses to see true love as being in a form of M. Paul who shares a peculiar affinity with her.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Would've Given It a 5-Star Rating If Not for...
Review: its rather hurried and ambigious ending, which leaves the reader having to form his/her own version of the ending ie. whether a happy or sad one. (Read the Signet Classic, the afterword by Jerome Beaty explains that Charlotte Bronte actually wanted a somewhat sad ending to the story, but her father wanted it to be a happy one, so Bronte compromised by leaving the ending 'hanging' so that the readers can decide for themselves how the story ends.)

Apart from the above dissapointment, this is a marvelous classic and beautifully written, a great and indepth analysis of the workings of the human heart and mind. I loved it better than Jane Eyre (except for the ending: Jane Eyre's is more complete and satisfying). You'll love the character of M.Paul - despite his eccentric behaviour, he's really a darling with a heart of gold, which Lucy Snowe soon discovers!

I recommend that you buy the Signet Classic version which has the English translation to the over 400 French phrases found in the book.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An extremely romantic book that can never be forgotten.
Review: Jane Eyre and Villette share one thing in common both are books filled with intense passionate emotions. Though this book switches the focus of its characters from one to another. The story is so moving that that little imperfection is bound to be ignored. It's a great book and for those romantics out there this is a book I'd definitely recommend.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: I'm sorry, but not close to Jane Eyre!
Review: Lucy seems to be a somewhat schizophrenic character that you just cant get a handle on. There is nowhere near the empathy for her as some of Bronte's other heroines. The French drove me crazy and I think was only self-serving for Bronte's obvious intellect. There was never the heart rending compassion for any character in this book and although the writing was probably superior to Jane Eyre, the lack of plot and empathetic characters rates this one a dud!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: If You've Read Jane Eyre, Villette is a Must
Review: More endearing than Jane Eyre, and a darker study, Lucy Snowe embodies all the despair, depression, and heart-turnings of the plain woman. Compare her to Ginerva and she is unbeautiful, to Paulina and she is unaccomplished. But still she dares to hope in Dr. John's affections, and is deeply touched by M. Paul's friendship, the first real friendship which can sustain her troubled soul. Charlotte Bronte's last character deals with the lost-and-found families, the other-worldly interruptions, the choices of acting on her own or doing as bid, and repressed passion in the true Bronte heroine style. There is a connection here for each reader, a chance to feel as Lucy does, to hope and to anticipate, to let go and despair. For me, the novel ends differently with each reading, depending on my own life at the time (now you must read it, just to find out what I mean). I would highly recommend this novel for any serious literature student or any lover of the Brontes.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Almost as Good as Jane Eyre---And That's a Compliment
Review: Of course, Jane Eyre is Charlotte Bronte's most popular novel, and I would agree that Villette, at least in terms of reading experience, does not live up to that masterpiece. It almost does, though. Villette is one of the most haunting novels I've ever read. The characters are complex and intriguing, and the novel has a leisurely pace that I really enjoyed.

The story follows Lucy Snow, an intelligent, though cold, Englishwoman who is teaching in a French school. Lucy is a dreamer who is prone to depression. She is looking for emotional, social, intellectual, and spiritual freedom, and when this foreign society frustrates her attempts she often recedes into despair. Her character, along with Paul Emanuel's, must ungerdo some changes if she ever going to learn to live.

Overall, Villette was an entertaining and intelligent read. Bronte is a superb writer. I do recommend that you find an edition with the French translations in the back. There is a lot of French dialogue (which can be annoying sometimes) that is essential to the reading. Once this is done, Villette is an extraordinary read.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A masterpiece with an irremedial flaw.
Review: The book is superb, thought provoking, well-written, cunning and deviously deep. It is good, on the whole. With one exception. Those irritating French conversations, which appear contrived and self-indulgent, and hinder the reader. The first time I tried reading this book, I was bogged down by the French, which I consider almost a criminal offence - since it is a very fine book, one of the most mature and deeply satisfying romances I have ever read. Rarely does one encounter a romance that develops with such depth and insight, that could so easily be offensive to our sensibilities, but which succeeds. The Gothic aspects of this novel are less effective, however, than the psychological aspects of this. It is basically a very insightful and thoughtful study of human character. The ending is among one of the greatest I have ever read in its almost deliberate and cruel ambiguity, leaving us to make our own conclusions. Lucy Snowe is an extremely flawed heroine and far from the perfect narrator, but at the same time we are drawn into her world, and share with her her existence. I would recommend that in future editions the translations to the French conversations appear in footnotes ON the pages, which would greatly assist the reader.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Not for the Faint of Heart
Review: The dark story of Villette made me smile to think of the risk that Charlotte Bronte took in writing it. Unlike the Jane Austens and the Anthony Trollopes in the world, she was willing to chance an unhappy public by foregoing the sugar-coated ending that her readers expected. Instead, she chose to expose her brooding side. To this day, fans become disappointed to find that there are no formulas in the world of Charlotte Bronte; only the cold, stark realities that sadly moved her. The book itself was bracing. Although the story line was a bit slow in places, the beautiful writing kept me entertained throughout. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed and would have liked to have known the author. The real tragedy is that she didn't stay alive long enough to write more than the handful of books she turned out.


<< 1 2 3 4 5 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates