2011 Gothic Reading Challenge #2

    I was having a hard time deciding what to read next, and I was searching through my goodreads.com account reviewing what I've been reading recently when I saw they were holding a book challenge, to read Jane Eyre, take a 5 question quiz, and pick your favorite line from the book.  By doing those things I've been entered in a chance to win a new Kindle, so I figured what the hell.
    Well, am I ever glad to have stumbled upon that contest because 'Jane Eyre' stands as one of the single best books that I've read.  A Bildungsroman in type, simple enough, a story telling the tale of a young Jane Eyre grown to young woman and the roads she traveled thus, though it is the writing itself that makes this book something special and made me thirst for more Charlotte Bronte.  It is striking how obviously this book has influenced so much of what we read in fiction and see in film today, the subtle touches of heartbreak and the aching pangs of regret have echoed from these pages and have reappeared countless times, though unfortunately rarely if ever as effectively as Bronte herself did.
    A pleasantly unexpected element of this book were all the subtle touches of the supernatural, some explained away and some not, that litter these pages.  Strange and haunting apparitions and distant psychic communication.  Again, not expected in what I expected to be a stodgy tale of the Victorian era.
    Another mark to how well this was written (in my opinion, of course) was how intensely the complex and heartfelt emotions of these characters' relations resonated with me.  I couldn't help but to physically react toward certain passages.
    All said I greatly enjoyed this book and cannot more strongly recommend it to all, both young and old, both well read and not, simply put, for any wishing for as good a reading experience as is at all possible.