A review by _inge_
Villette by Charlotte Brontë

reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

There are a couple of things I don't like in this book, such as the occasional fat shaming, the slow first half, how neatly all the characters are connected and how the people Lucy sees or meets are constantly described at length for the reader to guess who it is before she reveals it. In the end, it was immediately apparent who she was talking about, but still we had to get through a bunch of description.

Despite that, I liked this book and I'm glad I stuck with it. The main character is introspective, observant, fierce and independent in some ways, but also subdued when it comes to speaking her mind in front of men. The side characters are fully fleshed out, which is part of the reason it takes so long for the story to really take flight. I loved her descriptions of Ginevra Fanshawe's disagreeable behaviour and how (her perspective of) Mme. Beck changes throughout the novel. 

There are many elements that can still be found in modern romances, such as the decoy love interest, the conflict caused by non-communication and perceived competition in the love department before people end up together. 

I had to listen to the end twice because it was so sudden and very open to interpretation. 
It is said to have been changed by the author to be vague rather than having the unhappy ending after such a build up.
 I think I should like to read this again - with my eyeballs this time instead of listening to it. I'd see if I can find some foreshadowing of the intended ending and some more clues about how reliable the narrator actually is.
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