Aline Brosh McKenna

[b:Jane Eyre|10210|Jane Eyre|Charlotte Brontë|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327867269s/10210.jpg|2977639] is one of my all-time favorite novels, so I was very psyched to try a graphic novel update. And it indeed started out pretty well, even though it ditched pretty much the entire beginning of the original work and skipped ahead to Jane taking her position in Rochester's mansion. Unfortunately, the adapter decided to junk much of the novel's ending as well, replacing Jane's sojourn show more away from Rochester with a bonkers ready-for-the movie-deal action set piece. My rating throws in an extra star just for letting me revisit Jane for a little while.

If you want a more faithful graphic novel adaptation, I actually quite enjoyed [b:Manga Classics: Jane Eyre|26591771|Manga Classics Jane Eyre|Stacy King|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1480975076s/26591771.jpg|51239290]. show less

Jane Eyre is my all-time favorite novel and has been since the first time I read it twenty years ago. Jane is a modern retelling of the classic Bronte novel in graphic novel format. It's not a carbon copy of the original - here, Jane is an orphaned art student who moves to NYC to study art and Rochester is a mysterious hedge fund manager. Adele is his acknowledged daughter and Jane is hired to be her nanny. I won't say more. *no spoilers*

The art here is beautiful and except for a short show more section where the story goes from being told on one page then the next to being told as a two page spread, the sequence is easy to follow and it's always clear who is speaking. I am still not 100% comfortable with comics as a medium, so I always appreciate when the story sequence is clear. There were just a couple of sections that lacked transition and the change was jarringly abrupt. There was also one scene that I really did not care for at all, but only because it was so out of character for Bronte's Jane, even though it probably wasn't a big deal for a "modern" woman. These couple of relatively little things keep this from being a four or five star read for me, but I still recommend giving this a shot if you are a fan of the original. show less

The updated setting works well, and Jane is a refreshed and sparkier version of the Bronte original. But there's a decidedly soft glow around Rochester that should not be there. We won't discuss the batshit denouement, either. You need to experience it for yourself. This is a mixed bag for me.

Jane moves to New York to study art and gets a job as a nanny. This graphic novel follows Jane Eyre loosely, which allows for changes that suit the contemporary setting and the format, and introduces a greater level of surprise for someone familiar with Jane Eyre. It’s not as complex or as serious as Charlotte Brontë’s novel, but it isn’t trying to be.

There were a lot of things I really liked about the illustrations, such as their use of light, colour and perspective. I wasn’t such show more a fan of the way faces were drawn. Not quite my style? show less