Villette (Revised) | 
pickOof what an ending and what a lovely book— don‘t get me wrong, Jane Eyre is fantastic but why don‘t more people read Villette or The Professor?!
Speaking of which…happy graduation, my friends! Congratulations to all who celebrate 🎉 my colleagues and I truly love seeing everyone walk across the stage 🎓
I loved this one the first time I read it, enough to buy a new edition because the one that I had was very ugly. First time I got really invested and it did take me into a rabbit hole of darkness.
Although I found interesting the reread now that I know it's largely based on Charlotte Brönte's experiences and it has beautifully written chapters,I did struggle a bit with all the comments and thoughts about Protestantism and the English chauvinism⬇️
"I could not go in: too resistless was the delight of staying with the wild hour, black and full of thunder, pealing out such an ode as language never delivered to man - too terribly glorious, the spectacle of clouds, split and pierced by white and blinding bolts", in "Villette", by Charlotte Bronte.
#IdiomInsight
#UnderTheWeather has its roots in maritime language. When a sailor became ill or seasick, often because of violent weather conditions, that sailor was sent below decks to the most stable part of the ship, which was under the weather rail. The phrase under the weather rail was shortened to the idiom under the weather.
The quote by Lucy on a ship is from this “Ten of the Best: Cases of Sea Sickness” article: https://shorturl.at/nPV07
bailedVilette was my March #Bookspin. I just wasn‘t invested enough in this one. Maybe some day I will come@back to it. Otherwise I had a great reading month. Percival Everett‘s The Trees was by far my favorite read (my #Doublespin) followed by Foster by Claire Keegan and The Poet X. No #BookspinBingo as usual. @TheAromaofBooks
bailedMy love for Jane Eyre isn't enough to keep me reading this book. It draaags, and there's a big detail that Lucy keeps to herself that has given me pause. If this isn't an oversight by Brontë, Lucy is either very careless in her recounting (which doesn't feel like the case) or she really doesn't like the reader. But then, she seems not to like a lot of people, so why should the reader be any different? Still, not enjoyable, so I'm calling it quits.
Audiowalk scene this afternoon. The landscape doesn't match the tone of the book very well, but I enjoyed it anyway. I'm going to need to look at the print book to decipher the French in this novel. Duolingo hasn't prepared me well enough for comprehending through listening alone.
Apparently not done talking about the Lookingglass production of Villette and how it introduces us to Lucy Snow yet. https://youtu.be/hPzNwMqSgpA
If you‘re a Brontë fan in Chicago, jump on the opportunity to see the Lookingglass production of Villette. I absolutely loved this production that so successfully and succinctly distilled Villette and Lucy Snow. There are major cuts to the text, but as a book lover and dramaturg, I believe this is an example of cuts done well.
so-soI understand that it's highly autobiographical, and I appreciate Brontë's reflection and psychological observations; but these weren't enough to make me like the book. It was slow, there were so many coincidences, and at points it was terribly overwritten. But most of all, it really bugged me that Lucy was falling for someone who repeatedly insulted her and invaded her privacy. Maybe Charlotte fell for jerks, too... ⬇️
pickOverall, I‘m giving this a pick, but it‘s not an incredibly strong one. I found Lucy‘s story interesting and I‘m glad I read it, although there were plenty of frustrating aspects. Reading it as part of a readalong absolutely helped with the reading experience.
A bit more elaboration under a spoiler tag in the comments. ⬇️
#PemberLittens #audiobook #1001books
pickWell. Not exactly sure how I feel about this but I‘d have to say it‘s a pick because I‘m glad I read it. On the other hand, my favorite character was probably the most shallow and self centered of the bunch, so I may just have odd taste. Also, @BarkingMadRead led the buddyread and I like anything she hosts.
pickOur group #Pemberlittens just finished reading this one in a group buddy read. I love reading books like this with a group as it‘s fun to get everyone‘s opinions. I liked this one although I‘m not thrilled with how it ended. Than again it‘s a Brontë book so it tracks. Still, I enjoyed the book and the characters.
so-soI'm not sure how I feel about this one. The characters were generally unlikeable, the plot was hard to follow at times, and the ending was ambiguous. Yet I found myself rooting for Lucy despite her making some terrible decisions 😅
Overall I'm glad I read it with our #pemberlittens group because I may not have finished it otherwise. Thanks @BarkingMadRead for hosting
pickNot entirely sure how to rate or review this. I really liked the writing style which is important to me, and there‘s a lot to unpack here so I‘m glad I finished it. But I didn‘t enjoy the second half. I kept wanting to scream at the characters like I was watching a b movie. Not sure I would have stuck with it if it wasn‘t a #pemberlittens #chapteraday read, and it was definitely @BarkingMadRead ‘s hashtags that kept it enjoyable, so huge thanks!
Part two of the review I saw on goodreads
Chapter 41: y‘all. Wtf just happened? #paulisfinallycominghome #orishe #iveneverwantedtothrowabookharder #wedidit #wefinished #pemberlittens check out the comments for a review I saw that I loved.
so-soWell… that was a weird book. I certainly understand why it‘s not as popular as Jane Eyre 😆 At first I thought Lucy was brave, taking big chances on life, but now I think she just wanted life to sweep her along and didn‘t want to make her own choices. And it mostly worked out for her, which makes this rather an unsatisfying read. Plus she falls in love with a jerk. #PemberLittens
These December weekends go by so fast, and I only got done about 1/3 of what I wanted to. At least I can go to bed tonight with the promise that tomorrow I will finish Villette. #PemberLittens #ICantBelieveIReadTheWholeThing
pickI‘m so glad this was a buddy read with #PemberLittens so I got to it sooner rather than later. I‘m glad I‘ve read. I didn‘t know anything about the story before I started reading so I was just here for the ride.
Lucy Snowe goes to Villette without a plan but with a hope that it will work out. She gets a job at a school.
Lucy is an observer for a lot of the time to others stories, mostly love stories, but that doesn‘t mean that nothing happens
Chapter 41…. We find out where Paul has been! #becktriestoseparatethem #paulstandsuptoher #proposesandsailsoff #andnowwewait #willlucyfinallyhaveherhappyending #inquiringmindswanttoknow #onechapterleft #pemberlittens
Chapter 40: real talk, y‘all, I‘m driving from SC to NJ today by way of Pennsylvania for lunch, so I finished the book yesterday. My notes are somewhere in the car, and I don‘t want to give too much away by mistake so let‘s just stick with Genevra and her bad choices for now…. #deHamalisthenun #nohoney #heisnotbetterthandoctorjohn #pemberlittens
pickI‘m thankful for the #Pemberlittens and our fearless leader @BarkingMadRead for helping me get to this classic sooner rather than later. But man is C. Brontë/Lucy Snowe one odd duck, even accounting for the 150 year gap in time and history. I loved the nutty plot twists and crazy coincidences and I do appreciate that Lucy kept to her own principles in the face of pain and loneliness, even when those choices frustrated me as a reader.
Chapter 39: my face when they started looking for Justine Marie. #godfathermyass #daddydearestwouldbemyguess #dontgetmestartedonthefakenun #mymoneyisongenevra #threechaptersleft #soclose #pemberlittens
Chapter 38: y‘all. This chapter was giving me a vibe…. #beckandperekeeplucyfrompaul 🤷🏻♀️ #becklovespaulloveslucy #anotherloveytriangle #paulpeacesout ✌️ #hetellslucyhewillcome #shewaitsandwaits #whyyyyyyy #beckdrugslucy #lucyparties #isthisthereallife #isthisjustfantasy 👸🏻 #fourchaptersleft #countdown #pemberlittens
Chapter 37: #enoughsaid #poorlucy #fivechaptersleft #almostthere #pemberlittens
Chapter 36: Pere and Paul try to convert Lucy and fail epically #thethingsifindongoogle #romanismvsprotestant #paulignoreslucy #hopesshewillconvert #becauseobviouslysheisevil #duh #icantwiththis #runlucyrun #notverybrotherly #sixchaptersleft #pemberlittens
Chapter 35: I realllllly don‘t like where this is heading! #weirdsceneaboutatest #twocreepyprofessors #anotherweirdcoincidence #thiswholebookisacoincident #sevenchaptersleft #pemberlittens
so-soI jumped ahead on the group read because honestly I was done with this book. It was very slow and at some points confusing. I think a lot of the story could of been cut down to make it more enjoyable. I‘ve heard it said this book was better then Jane Eyre but I don‘t agree. I think I may have softened on the book if I found the ending satisfying but I didn‘t. Some might, but I needed more to make this book a pick. Also, yet another bad romance.
Chapter 34: y‘all. I could not get Eartha Kitt in Ernest Scared Stupid out of my head in this chapter 🤣 #hunchback #anotherconnectiontopaul #nowonderhesawthenun #idontknowhowtofeel #iwillnotlikepaul #iwillnotlikepaul #pemberlittens editing to add…. #eightchaptersleft
Chapter 33: it‘s picnic day! #ginevraneedsacarriage #littlesister #wtactualf #whywouldlucymisspaulsomuch #soannoying #youdontneedhim #findyourspine #ninechaptersleft #hallelujah #pemberlittens
pickI had virtually no knowledge of this story going into it, so it was lovely to just experience things as Bronte gave them to us. Although sometimes frustrated by characters or events, I pretty much loved every minute of it.
Chapter 31: I was gonna post a pic of a dryad, but couldn‘t let this go…… #headmitshesacreeper #herentedaroomforit #runlucyrun #pedophile #but #heseesthenun #lucyisntnuts #unlessshemarrieshim #buthesnotthemarryingkind #ohdarn 🙄 #pemberlittens
Chapter 30: where Paul is compared to Bonaparte 🤣 seriously, though, this guy 🙄 #mansplaining #gettingwomenfired #firstshestoosmart #thenshestoodumb #whomadehimboss #hehateswomen #provemewrong #pemberlittens
Chapter 29: y‘all. I can‘t even, with this chapter. I just can‘t. 🙄 #whyhim #dontsettle #ewwwwww #hesacreeper #whydoesntshecare #somanyquestions #pemberlittens
Chapter 27: I‘m just gonna leave this here….. #likeaneruptingvolcano #telloffeveryonegirl #itsabouttime #yougettoldoffandyougettoldoffanduougettoldoff #pemberlittens
Chapter 26: I have so many feelings about this chapter! #beckstolelucysletters #wtf #paulemanuelhelpedher #andheisapyingonlucy #creeper #lucyhadtoburyherletters #ginevralyingtopolly #toomuch #poorlucy #poorpolly #pemberlittens
Chapter 25: a snowy holiday with our favorite #lovetriangle #lucylovesgrahamlovespolly #holyagegapbatman #poorlucy #pemberlittens
Chapter 24: Dr John ghosts Lucy #sheistoodependentonhim #youknowwherehewas #pollyandginevraarecousins #toommanycoincidences #drjohnhasatype #lucyisntit #poorlucy #pemberlittens
Chapter 23: 🔥🔥🔥 #vashti #theaternight #isthisadate #firebringsoutthebestinsomepeople 🙄 #didwejustmeetpollyagain #timewilltell #pemberlittens
Dr. John: now in competition with M. Paul for the title of World‘s Biggest Jerk 🙄 #pemberlittens #youresovain #youprobablythinkthisletterisfromyou
Chapter 22: Lucy takes her letter to the garret for privacy…. #avoidinggenevra #ghostnun #oneandthesamemaybe #hmmmmmm #callsforhelp #drjohnissorude #whenwillsheadmitshesinlove #ithinkheknows #icouldbewrong #wouldntbethefirsttime #pemberlittens
pickWell! That was an ending that I was not anticipating. One in which could be interpreted in a variety of ways. I would give you my interpretation but wouldn‘t want to spoil the novel for you. Overall, I enjoyed the book, some chapters could have benefited with being less redundant and more concise. I found it engaging but having read all of the Brontë sister works other than The Professor, I would say Jane Eyre is the greatest overall. 2 Paws Up!
Chapter 21: Lucy is back at the school, waiting for Dr John to send a letter….. #notfallingforgenevrascrap #immune #whatabrat #theletterarrives #whatsupwithpaulemanuelwhateverhisnameis #youknowbeckwantstoreaditfirst #paulisacreeper #whatdoesthelettersay #idonttrustthesechapternames #pemberlittens
Chapter 20: all I could see was the pink dress 👗 #genevracameatmrsbretton #dontmesswithmama #isshegettingjiggywithdehamal #inquiringmindswanttoknow #pemberlittens
Chapter 19: Lucy spends some time at the art museum, which bothered Paul….Emanuel….. #cleopatraoffendshim #notforgirls 🙄 #onlyforboys #perverts #whomadehimtheboss #lucyanddrjohnarechummy #hmmmmmmm #pemberlittens
Chapter 18: I mean, was that really a quarrel? #drjohnissoblind #genevrasawhimcoming #boysaredumb #nowiwannaseearealquarrel #pemberlittens
Chapter 17: Lucy hears how she was found by Pere Silas and Dr John…. #notmuchhappened #nextchapterinvolvesaquarrel #thatshouldinspirebetterhashtags #pemberlittens
