My Favorite Victorian Novel | Villette
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- Опубліковано 25 жов 2017
- To celebrate Victober 2017, here are my top 10 reasons why you should read VILLETTE by Charlotte Brontë.
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Timestamps:
1. George Eliot said so: 0:25
2. Autobiographical insights: 0:48
3. Lucy Snowe is unreliable AF: 1:18
4. Unrequited love, ugh : 3:24
5. It's raining (two) men!: 5:21
6. 19th-century mental health: 5:51
7. Did Charlotte Brontë take opium? Maybe!: 7:02
8. Smug Protestants and religious intolerance - yikes!: 7:48
9. An ambiguous ending! (no spoilers): 8:45
10. How to be an independent lady: 9:07
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Goodreads: tinyurl.com/43pks567
Twitter: tinyurl.com/2y2cytzj
👏🏻 Happiness 👏🏻 is 👏🏻 not 👏🏻 a 👏🏻 potato
I could literally tattoo this on my forehead 😂 the best line in the book
Except that the entire sentiment behind that quote is completely false and absurd. The deluded belief that we can't manifest our own realities, and must wait idly for God, "destiny", or providence to bestow happiness upon us is the reason why Judeo-Christianity (Puritanism, at that) is poison. Lucy Snowe exists through life with a Learned Helplessness, and she can only blame herself. "Religious intolerance is not OK" Bah!
This is why I think I should read it asap😂
YESSSS. I LOVE THIS QUOTE OMGG
@@ClaireReadsBooks, if you want to know what really happened in "Vilette" you need to read "The Professor."
Pshhh Charlotte definitely tripped on opium at least once in her life hahaha
I've never seen someone deliver such brilliant dialogue while seeming so down to earth at the same time. Great review
What a great way to do a book review....so much more interesting than a mere recitation of plot! Read on!🎃
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! And thank you for this feedback, it's so helpful :)
@@ClaireReadsBooks, my grandfather was born in 1891 and married a Catholic even though he was a Protestant. Neither of them ever went into the other's church other than it was a Catholic wedding. My two aunts became Catholic like their mother and my father and uncle became Protestants like their father. All four of their kids were given two years Catholic school and two years public school and then two years Catholic school and then two years public school all throughout their schooling.
I remember as a kid born in 1973 arguments about religion, politics, and sports all the time and there is no limit to what I will debate.
My feedback to you is that in this timeframe to think of a Protestant and Catholic marrying and how they would respond to hearing anything about their communion not being the correct communion would be highly offensive and dividing. It all rang true and would not be "high horse" so much as logical feelings. People believe themselves to be right. Otherwise, they would not believe as they do.
I wouldn't've thought anyone could say anything that would make me want to read Villete, but watching this has persuaded me!
That makes me so happy! If you do pick it up, you'll have to let me know what you think! :)
Claire Reads Books Thanks, Claire, will do!
Claire Reads Books Fiinished reading Villette today and just want to say thanks again for making this video. I love the character of Lucy Snowe, her maddening (in a good way) unreliability and her piercing psychological and emotional insights. Also, Charlotte Bronte makes the more unsympathetic characters in the book completely relatable. Villette is a novel that will stay with me for a very long time.
Villlette is a wonderful beautiful novel. The first time I read it , i didn't really love it but then I read it again a few years later and really enjoyed it. It doesn't get the love that Jane Eyre gets.
It's such a great book! And yeah, I read it after high school and thought that was a good age-if I had read it when I was younger I don't know that I would have liked it as much. But it's definitely one of my all times favorites :)
@@ClaireReadsBooks, Charlotte Brontë is my 7th favorite author and my favorite female author. The only woman to write a book in my top ten books of all time.
7) "Vilette" by Charlotte Brontë
68) "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
139) "The Professor” by Charlotte Brontë
163) "Shirley" by Charlotte Brontë
20) "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" by Anne Brontë
97) "Agnes Grey" by Anne Brontë
173) "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Brontë
The 1943 "Jane Eyre" is the best movie version of this story.
FAVORITE AUTHORS must have two books in the top 100 books of all time.
1) Leo Tolstoy (Resurrection)
2) Ivan Turgenev (Fathers and Sons)
3) James A. Michener (Chesapeake)
4) Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich)
5) Fyodor Dostoevsky (The Idiot)
6) C. S. Lewis (The Magician's Nephew)
7) Charlotte Brontë (Vilette)
8) J. R. R. Tolkien (The Hobbit)
9) Isaac Asimov (Foundation and Empire)
10) Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice)
11) Mark Twain (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer)
12 Anne Brontë (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall)
13) George Eliot (Silas Marner)
14) Anthony Trollope (He Knew He Was Right)
15) Dr. Burrhus Frederic (B. F.) Skinner (Verbal Behavior)
16) Charles Dickens (Hard Times)
17) Thomas Hardy (Jude the Obscure)
YESSSS!!!! I so support your choice! I love this book so much
I'm so glad!! And YES, that chapter where Lucy goes to the fair is incredible - and the scene where she observes Dr. John and Co. and then has that reflection about "Lucy's Room" in his heart...ugh, this book has too many stunning passages to have quoted all of them in the video, but that one is probably my favorite!
And I've also heard a number of people say they don't like this book...I guess it maybe comes across as boring if people are expecting more plot or drama (a la Jane Eyre)? Or maybe Jane Eyre is just a little more relatable? I don't know, I think this book and Lucy Snowe are maybe less mainstream but all the richer and more interesting for it!
Thank you SO much for sharing your thoughts! I adore Villette and also wish people talked more about it!
Hi, Claire! This is great. I'm currently reading and enjoying this wonderful book. You nailed it. I love the classics, their depth, sense of morality, and didactic power. I'm a novelist and draw so much inspiration from 19th century literature. It's good to see folks still reading and appreciating the classics.
Thank you 🙏🏻a million times, for this wonderful review. It lead me to read Villette, which has become one of my favorite books of all time (Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights are also HUGE favorites of mine). I was very lonely and depressed when I read Villette, and I found a great companion/friend in Lucy Snowe (who is a version of Charlotte Brontë herself). I could relate to her loneliness and her depression. Unlike many people I didn't find her hard to love and I understood why she was so secretive and introverted. That book hit me in the feels like no other ! For me it is truly Charlotte Brontë's magnum opus. Thank you for introducing me to this masterpiece !
What an articulate and insightful commentary!
What an absolutely brilliant assessment and review. Thank you for this!
I love the Brontes! Just finished reading Agnes & waiting for my copy of Villette to come in the mail. Looking forward to reading it!💗 Appreciate your review!
Check out Shirley as well! After the first few chapters things get going.
This sounds so amazing! I've never heard about this book before but it sounds fantastic. Love the way you did this!
Thanks so much, Bethany! I'm so happy to have been able to spread the word about Villette :)
Jane Eyre is my FAVORITE book of ALL time, and I've been stalling on reading Villet to keep from filling it's spot lol. Welp! You've convinced me to pick this up asap.
Ahhh, I hope you love it!! Definitely let me know what you think whenever you get around to it! :D
Claire Reads Books I sure will 🤗🤗
SOLD! This is the only Bronte I haven't read yet. I guess I might be saving the best for last lol. Excellent review!
It's so good!!
I am just SO happy this popped up in my feed! What an excellently built review! I have subscribed and cannot wait to hear more of your content!
thank you so much :)
Thank you! I had this on my TBR but forgot why. Thanks for re-igniting my interest for this book!
I'm happy to help! If you can't already tell, I love, love, love this book and am thrilled to hear it's on your TBR :)
If you read Parker's historical biographical book about the Bronte family, the 'opium' section written by Charlotte certainly is primarily based upon her lengthy experience with her brother Branwell's opium addiction. She dealt with it 'close up' as did her sisters and father, and saw its effect graphically....but probably did not want to share that with Gaskell in detail. Much of what Gaskell wrote about the Bronte's is in need of more verification and primary source support....which Parker provides in her detailed work about the Bronte's. Thanks for the good evaluation of Villette.
Yes, I've read Claire Harman's biography of Charlotte Brontë, which is where I read the anecdote about her explaining the opium scene to Gaskell. :)
Between this lovely review and the one Insert Literary Pun Here did a while ago, I am now thoroughly Viletteified! I must read this one soon!
Shawn The Book Maniac Shawn, I keep finding comments from you on some of my own favorite channels....someday you must send me a list of all your favorites! I especially like this one because she does much more than just recite the plot, as mentioned in my comment above😻
Yes, Jennifer's thoughts on Villette over at Insert Lit Pun are wonderful, and I'm so happy you might pick this one up! :D
Oh dear.... this is my favorite book and Charlotte Bronte is my favorite writer. I am so glad you love it too. Most people just don't get it but oh.... I do. Years apart centuries and worlds away I get Lucy and I get Charlotte...oh and my name is Claire also❤❤❤
Fantastic!!!!! The best review of Villette
What an absolutely brilliant review you had me captivated. Purchasing this week... oh ya. xx : )
Claire!! well it was this review that initially prompted me & i finally read Villette as the intro to this years Victober & my God it couldnt have been a better fit for me. Im with you on *all* points & it lifts my spirits to hear someone do it justice as sadly it seems to get so overlooked : / It is such an amazing book- i felt masterfully manipulated all the way through & like you it is in the *all time favourites* category. Thankyou for hooking me in!! xx : )))
I'm so glad I'm not the only one in the Villette-is-a-greater-masterpiece-than-Jane-Eyre cult. Love them both tho
It's just such a great, great book :)
Soooo great 💓
I picked up a copy on your recommendation, and I loved it, Thank you!!
I fret I've yet to read Vilette!!
(rhymes)
Brilliant video Claire!
I want to read Vilette now, so you've been very successful.
Fret not! You read a lot! 😄 I would be so thrilled if you read Villette (because if you can't tell already, I love it so much)
yay! I never thought anybody would ever talk about it. it's so underrated compared to other more popular Victorian works
I know! Not that I don't love Jane Eyre, but I really wish more people read Villette, too :)
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Villette has been my all time favorite book since I read it about a decade ago. It is very dissappointing that most people only know Charlotte Bronte through Jane Eyre, a much inferior work, in my opinion. Lucy Snowe is a such an interesting, passionate, crazy, inspiring, desperate, strong, silly, wise, and just plain fascinating character that it is impossible to do her justice in one brief review. But it is fun trying!
Loved this review!
Watching this video in 2021! I'm about to pick up Villette for the second time, the first time being for a Victorian English class in college. I have to say, your 10-minute video was far superior to 5 weeks subjected to my English professor. I'm looking forward to revisiting this novel on my own terms and my own timeline.
I hope you love it on revisit! :D
Lucy is my favorite Bronte protagonist by far, but I still slightly prefer The Tenant of Wildfell Hall as my favorite of all Bronte novels, but Lucy Snowe is amazing. Also I guess originally the ending was definitively tragic, but Charlotte changed it at the behest of her father. I am sort of glad for that, because at heart I want to believe the happier ending, even if that's not what Charlotte intended.
You're like my new favorite booktuber btw, I love how ecclectic your reading is.
Ahhh, Villette is my favorite Brontë novel so far, but your high praise for The Tenant of Wildfell Hall has made me that much more excited to get to it-it's definitely the next Brontë book on my list (Anne is long overdue for me!) And I really enjoyed the ending of Villette (well, "enjoyed")...I appreciated the ambiguity of it but also liked that it retained some of the sadness and suggested the tragedy of Charlotte's original ending. Thanks so much for watching and sharing your thoughts! :)
You make some great observations. When I read this book a few years ago, I felt that it would have benefited from some judicious edits; it's interesting to get your very different perspective on what felt to me like some unrewarding digressions. I was awed, however, by that opium-driven scene near the end. I felt as if I'd been zapped into a modernist text.
I know what you mean-Charlotte Brontë definitely goes on some tangents in the book, and it's not as tightly crafted or as "perfect" a novel as something like Jane Eyre. But for the most part I found those digressions really interesting (especially the ones about art and opera). And I guess I should clarify that I didn't particularly enjoy her religious digression/rant towards the end, but I did find it pretty interesting! And you're so right about the opium scene-I wish CB got more credit for the proto-modernist elements of this book!
Hi, I’d love to read another Brontë novel as I just finished Wuthering Heights and contrary to some people, I found the psychological chaos and disorder to be compelling, and the poetic writing was just magical. Emily Brontë feels full of life and unearthed creativity, which is good for my personal temporary depression. I’ve been researching which Brontë book to read next, and Charlotte’s seem (something I may get into in the future) as they may amplify my current & temporary feelings of isolation and loss. Unless the writing is sparked with rebellious prose and dynamic psychologies, her writing may affect me positively like Emily Brontë. Any insight you may have would be gratefully appreciated. Superb review, btw.
Well I’m convinced! Moving it up my TBR asap
I'm so glad!! I hope you enjoy it :)
You speak so well about this book! I mean, you already convinced me in the comments of one of my past videos about Villette but yeah... I gotta get to it after Jane Eyre! Could I possibly finally read Jane Eyre finally in December? Maybeee...
Thanks so much, Vanessa! I remember you saying you were still looking for a classic that suited your tastes, so I do hope you like Charlotte Brontë...and while I really love Jane Eyre, I know that it doesn't always translate perfectly for modern readers (I mean, I like Mr. Rochester, but he isn't exactly a dream guy by 21st century standards, lol), but Jane is a badass regardless! And so is Lucy Snowe, even if she's more closed off. So yes, I so recommend them both!!
Great review and very detail I would never think that there is so much to be said about a single book and in this complex way.
I am reading Villette at the moment, but Lusy seems to me too cold and sometime reckless.
Villette is my favorite book❤️
One of mine, too!
I would say this video is a success because I most definite want to read it...like now. You are so very articulate, I hope to do book reviews like you when I grow up. =)
Thanks, Amy! You are the best :D And you are perfect just as you are!
I recently sorted my classic books and i found this in my collection. I have finally decided to begin reading it!
I just read House of Mirth after you talked about it and kind of loved it! Now i'm on page 50 of this book, hope it's as poignant as the previous one!
Thanks, I'll read it again. You inspired me😊
Very cleverly explained! Thanks . It's a pity you speed it up at times. Anyway it's absolutly great!
looooved your review. i read it twice, and the first impression it gave me was: its very dense until she arrives villette, i didnt get lucy at all, but then i realized i was supposed to build her up throughout the story, but as you said, you never get to know her fully. it was very hard for me to understand some symbolisms(the cleopatra one, the Vasti one, if you decoded it plz explain😂) compared to jane eyre (maybe charlotte matured here idk) but i really liked it. Charlotte's writing is, i dont know how to explain... warm, and makes you feel at home. the story is sad but very tender too, and the final... i cried badly, but i think it is what gives everything else sense. for me, the best character is madame Beck(alias mrs heger haha) followed by monseur emanuel; the description of them both is excepcional, very detailled(you clearly get they are based on real life people)
the second time i read it, it reaaally grew up in me. its a much more realistic(or darker) and personal novel than any other charlotte's. yesss, its amazing, i fully recommend it
You said it #beautifully.I really love the way you utter all things about the book... Awesome You Are....
Thanks so much, Joseph! That is very kind of you to say :)
Dear Reviewer,
I have paused your video at 1 minute 48 seconds and am heading to amazon to purchase the kindle copy.
See you shortly . Will update.
Enjoy!
Yes! I'm convinced! I want to read! On my shelf & rapidly moving up my tbr (having read the C Harmon bio -- & have Gaskell's bio). As soon as possible -- maybe I am Lucy Snow (minus the religious intolerance, of course).
I'm so glad! It's a fabulous book - and I think you'll especially appreciate it if you've read Claire Harman's biography!!
Finally! I recognized the autobiography & just what an excellent book it is. A classic. I just think with some judicious pruning it would be a much-loved classic instead of something of a cult favorite. I also recognize that it has the CBronte genius as in Jane Eyre & The Professor, but not (so far, 150 pages in) in Shirley. Shirley (up to now) seems like a Victorian novel any such author could've written; only CBronte could've written Villette. Lucy is such an interesting narrator, unable to admit things to herself, as well as to the reader, even tho the reader has suspicions. Thanks for getting me to finally read it.
brilliant review！！
Thank you!!
Well done!
I read this book last year and while it is no Jane Eyre it still has its moments of charm and poignancy. The mirror scene with Ginerva and Lucy was hilarious and I love Lucy’s biting comeback. “There must be good in you Ginerva to speak so honestly...Still, hapless as I am, according to your showing, sixpence I would not give to purchase you, body and soul.” The subplot about the ghost was spooky and entertaining and its revelation a knee slapper in the truest sense of the word. I also wondered if Lucy’s dislike of the Roman Catholic Church was Charlotte Bronte’s subtle way of voicing her own opinions on it. Now when is the movie coming out?
I love Villette so much but agree that Jane Eyre is a more perfect novel - but yes, the Lucy and Ginevra dynamic is so funny, and I am so upset there isn't a movie adaptation yet! And I definitely think the anti-Catholic rants were a reflection of Charlotte Brontë's more conservative streaks! Really interesting aspect of the book
At the end I wondered how Lucy and her future husband would reconcile their denominational differences-wouldn’t it have been odd for them not to attend church together which would cause a growing rift about being ‘unequally yoked’ or would they make peace with ‘praying to the same God’ as he put it. After all, the belief your church held the monopoly on salvation was more prevalent back then. Also am I the only one who frequented Google Translate for the French passages?
I really wondered where Charlotte Brontë was going with the ghost subplot but the reveal at the end was unexpected and very clever. It made me want to go back and read those passages again.
I just finished ‘Villette’ a few days ago, and I’m still trying decide whether I prefer it to ‘Jane Eyre’ or not. One of my favorite chapters was “The Concert” (XX) for two reasons: like the letters from Dr. John being her lifeblood, being deprived of happiness and tokens of affection, she assigns great value to a trivial prize she wins during a raffle at the end of the chapter: “to this day I keep my cigar-case: it serves, when I look at it, to remind me of old times, and one happy evening”; also there’s a passage earlier in the chapter, when Lucy sees the King of Queen of Labassecour and remarks, capturing the experience of perceiving (often accompanied by disappointment) in a manner that reminds me of Proust in ‘Swann’s Way’: “By whomsoever majesty is beheld for the first time, there will always be experienced a vague surprise bordering on disappointment, that the same does not appear seated, en permanence, on a throne, bonneted with a crown, and furnished, as the hand, with a scepter.” It was a fun read, but I’ll admit the constant anti-Catholic rhetoric was tiresome.
Agree completely. BTW so did Virginia Woolf. I've read it only once. I was so obsessed and overwhelmed that I assumed I must have misjudged. What female's life could this NOT have been? Ghost story and all.
Have you read Lolly Willows?
~Beware of Spoilers~
I finally read the last page of this novel today. It’d been on my TBR list since I watched your video about sad love stories 2 years ago, but I only recently dived into it - and I’m so glad I did! I too can’t figure out whether it was better than Jane Eyre or not. I think it feels like it was better, but that’s perhaps because my memories of Lucy’s story are so fresh. Also because, if Jane’s personality and view on things resonated with me, Lucy’s story resonated with me tenfold (being called a grandma when you’re still a young woman, just because you’re introverted and don’t put yourself out there, for instance). I found some of my own ponderings on life in so many passages in this novel - particularly her description of how the sun seems to almost always shine on some people here in life, while some of us get to feel only a sun beam here and there, catching a little hope, but then falling back to the good old “greyness”, if that’s a word. And it really broke my heart to read and imagine what it must’ve felt like when dr. John found his one and only in the sweet and dear Polly, just when Lucy had found the highest of hopes
this makes me so happy! :)
This is such a thorough review - did you read the Oxford Classics version? They have many explanatory notes, and it looks like from your comments you read them and discussed them. Thanks again!
Thanks so much! My copy is the Modern Library edition, which had great notes and a wonderful discussion between A.S. Byatt and Ignês Sodré in place of a traditional intro. :)
Claire Reads Books ah good to know I will check that version out. Thanks again for the review I agreed on all your points.
If you want to cry, read this book.
I heard all your reasons for why to read Villette a la Stefon, because they’re all crazy reasons. Then at the end, you actually said “this book has everything!”
lol it does!
I'm from Assam ..india ..and its very helpful for me bcz this book is not available near by me so thanks to you
I'm very glad I saw your video today. I'm 146 pages into Villette and I am still not fascinated by it. I will push on because I believe in Charlotte Bronte! hehehe but really, this mystery as to her past I thought would be explained already, but no.... And I thought these were loose ends, these dry white flowers?? Where did that come from, did I miss anything? I see that if it will be explained much later and that will have a cool effect but by this page I'm just a bit put off. When I heard she would not be outspoken like Jane Eyre, I thought at least that most of it would be "about" her, not all these other characters I still don't know why they matter. At least now I see she will have more lines? Sorry! ;) Thank you for the video! I will push on :)
Oh, innnnteresting, I'm sorry you're not really enjoying it so far...but yes, just to give you a heads up, you never learn about Lucy's past, haha. I'm not sure what edition you're reading, but I feel like you're getting pretty close to a revelation about Dr. John (in Ch. 16) that might help pick things up for you (I think Lucy and Dr. John's relationship is one of the most interesting elements of the book). I think Lucy is a sort of perpetual observer, which is why the book focuses a lot on her observing the lives of others from the sidelines, which can be understandably frustrating, but I think it makes the moments when she does come out of her shell and stand up for herself all the more thrilling. But I know that some people do find this book boring, so it might just be a matter of taste! But let me know if you end up finishing it! (And the flowers thing isn't a major plot point...she just references it much later, and it's another example of her withholding information, even the most minor pieces of it). xx
I am reading the Penguin English Library edition, and I was better able to go through her depression moments after taking interest in it with your video ;) And by now I did read this revelation about Dr. John! It really shook things up! I see that things from the first chapters won't be forgotten. I am finding the religious comment very snarky and interesting. I even got a paper on this aspect of the book, of Charlotte's criticism to catholicism, but I'll save it for after reading the whole book). I am liking her more because people try to put her down because of her seriousness, but she's proud of herself, and her maners and morals, and when she said she would never like to be Ginevra, I wish I was there to applaude her ;) I was picturing her older, but she's only 23? And no info on her past? Noooooo :D hehe But I am liking it and carrying on :)
I am 165 pages in the book, not feeling it all. It is far from being as good as Jane Eyre. I will finish it, although it is a struggle right now.
Okay, I am now 315 pages in and I love it.
@@Galdra Yeah, right?😂 It didn’t really get under my skin either before I reached approx. the middle of the book, and from then on it was hard to put down. I’m left with a strange, not sad, but perhaps melancholic feeling now. It was absolutely better than Jane Eyre in many aspects, and Jane Eyre was a great, great book!
Do you think that will be good for learners who want to improve their English?
Great review Claire. Virginia Woolf wrote that this was her best work.
I agree with VW! :D
Just read it wirhout knowing the plot. Read the last 400 pages in 24 hours
I love this book more than anything :)
me too :)
if someone said why I love Villette, I will send them your video!
really a great review. too bad Villette was not made into a movie!
I agree!!
Miss your book reviews :(
"But what bodily illness could ever be like this pain?"
What happened in the end of the story according to the beginning of the 4th chapter (super interesting and relieving - THANK YOU for that information!)? Did Lucy go to India? Someone please explain this to me, I'm deperate to know this!
*spoilers* If I'm remembering correctly, the beginning of Chapter 4 alludes to a ship wreck in a storm (i.e., what happens to Monsieur Paul at the end of the book :'( )
@@ClaireReadsBooks aghh I see :'( Thank you x
I want to read this, but I’m a little leery. I didn’t enjoy Jane Eyre (cue boos and hisses). Do you think that I could still enjoy Villette?
Hmmm, I guess that would depend on what you disliked about Jane Eyre. If you disliked the romance (which is understandable - by modern standards, Rochester is no dream boat) or if you disliked the problematic madwoman in the attic storyline, then I would say maybe give Villette a try...there's no abused first wife here, and while there are elements of romance in this (and there is a love story that develops eventually), I would say that Villette focus a lot more on romantic disappointment, and the resolution of this novel isn't concerned with a romantic happy ending or "the marriage plot" in the same way Jane Eyre is. I would say the book is a lot more about Lucy Snowe trying to make her way in the world as an invisible woman. If you didn't like Jane Eyre because of the writing, though, or if you found it slow in pace or boring, then you might not like Villette, because it definitely isn't light, speedy reading, and Lucy is a little bit tougher to crack than Jane. But all that said, I do love this novel and highly recommend it!
Thank you for your thorough reply :) I didn't get the romantic vibe between Jane and Rochester. I found it annoying, because it seemed forced to fit the plot. I was also very unhappy about the attic situation. I put Villette on my TBR. Great review, by the way!
Of course! I hope you have better luck with Villette (let me know what you think if you read it!). Also, have you read Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys? It's a critique of/response to Jane Eyre both in terms of content (it's all about Bertha and colonialism) and style - I really recommend it!
This was a great review. I finished this book last week, and overall, I will confess, I did not like it. However, I can't stop thinking about it, which is odd. I think the author was too successful in making me feel her depression and unrequited love, the book made me feel too heavy. I loved the first 300 pages, but not so much the last 200. I think the secondary "love interest" caught me too off guard, and by the time I was picking up on it, I realized I just don't like him.... So many mixed emotions about this book!
I loved what you got from Villette! I first read it when I was a teenager so I'm sure I missed a lot of things - I don't remember the opium trip at all 😅 I've always counted it my favourite probably because it mirrored many of my own feelings as a teenager of being a side character observing on others and the darkness of it. I really need to read it again though!!!!
Oh wow, it's cool that you appreciated it even as a teenager - but that makes a lot of sense, Lucy definitely resonated with me as an early 20-something for similar reasons :)
Where do you find that beautiful edition?
Probably just from my local bookstore, but it’s the Modern Library edition!
May you tell me if this book has any kisses or 18+ scenes !! 😊 thank uu
@maryylsoviare5965 Girl it's Charlotte Brontë..
wasn't sure i liked Claire, but i do, her straight unpretentiousness sort of got me sold
I read it in my early 20s and I found it rather boring. Now in my late 30s I want to give it another go
Middlemarch
Bleak House
Villette
Portrait of a Lady
House of Mirth
Thank you for an awesome review. For me, Villette is the saddest book I had ever read. Love unreturned, and when love is returned, that love, at the end, is unfulfilled.
Lucy is a secretive narrator, as we all are in our lives interacting with other people, even with our family members and close friends, even with our spouses.
Here is my 1 reason to read "villette" from the great Charlotte Bronte..... Because its the greatest book of all time
i agree!
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
What is it with your kids and that F word? Gong
...the author is dead. Otherwise...love your enthusiasm.
?
K... and? What’s your point? Why does it matter? The authors of every classic are now dead. Not sure what you mean here?
@@hiigghhggg9150 Read the essay The death of the author by Roland Barthes. That's my point. With love x
Nice commentary, but why wash the F-word out your mouth, which is really out of place here.
Found your profanity (in reason #3) so off-putting and incongruous to a discussion of Victorian literature that it ruined the vid for me. (Was with you till then.) Unfortunate gaffe, if honest feedback is allowed.
Honest feedback is always allowed, but it wasn't a gaffe, it was intentional. If one swear word in a 10-minute discussion is enough to ruin the whole video for you, then you are more than welcome to just close the tab. :)
@@ClaireReadsBooks That doesn't sound like any criticism truly IS honestly welcomed, and suggesting that I just bail rather than express it seems defensive. And I obviously knew the word choice was intentional; I hoped, however, the misstep, as I saw it, was not. No offense meant, but if you would prefer I not comment on your videos, unless it's in full agreement, I won't.
Honest feedback/criticism being welcome does not mean I have to agree with it. I’m not offended at all, just letting you know that if curse words are a problem you might want to look elsewhere. If you have any thoughts about actual books, please feel free to comment any time - the only comments I delete are ones that contain hate speech and harassment. Thanks!