Miss Jane is very well written and an interesting story; however, the ending came seemingly abrupt to me. It left me wanting more, with questions unanswered. It was a decent read but not one I would return to. ( )

Think of all the difficulties you have encountered in your life. Remember the heartbreak of first love, the nervousness of meeting another human being you wanted to love and be loved by, and the doubts you entertained about whether your love, freely given, would be returned. Imagine how much harder it would be to find your place in the world if, along with all the normal difficulties life throws at us, you had a physical defect that made it impossible for you to have sex or bear children, and that left you incontinent as well. This is the life of Miss Jane Chisolm. Sounds rather bleak out of context, but that is because you don’t know Miss Jane.

This is a soft, simple book. The story is very straight forward, and yet there is a strength at the core of Jane that keeps you coloring with bright colors instead of gloomy ones. It isn’t only Jane’s story that resonates, it is also her sister, her parents and the doctor who brought her into this world and then held her hand as she journeyed through it. Dr. Thompson is a hero, in my eyes, and one of my favorite characters in a long, long while. Jane is intelligent, positive and stalwart; the kind of person you admire and strive to emulate.

Jane lives on a farm in Mississippi, and Watson’s descriptions of her life there and the nature around her are remarkable.

She loved most being in the woods, with the diffused light and the quiet there. Such a stillness, with just the pecking of ground birds and forest animals, the flutter of wings, the occasional skittering of squirrels playing up and down a tree. The silent, imperceptible unfurling of spring buds into blossom. She felt comfortable there. As if nothing could be unnatural in that place, within but apart from the world.

This seems to me to be the heart of Jane herself, “within but apart from the world”, and in just as many positive ways as negative ones. It is a book about perception. How people see Jane, how she sees herself, and how they all see each other.

Jane had never seen the look in her eyes she saw then. She almost looked empty. And for the first time Jane could remember, she saw her mother as a woman whom life had made not just hard but also exhausted and plain. Older-looking than her years.

Just as Jane came to see her mother differently, I came to see her differently as well. The weight of her life began to dawn upon me and soften my view of her behavior.

The creek would be up in such a rain, if it didn’t dump all of itself into the valley where the people of the town sat awaiting it, powerless like all of God’s children on this earth, who needed such reminding now and then that they were mortal. Ida Chisolm didn’t.

Yes, this is a quiet, flowing sort of story, not action packed or exciting, thoughtful and perhaps even brooding at times, but it offers characters you will never forget and a circumstance that would seem to break a person, but doesn’t. And therein is the magic, for if Jane is unbroken by who she is, why should any of us be broken by the things we cannot control. If the heart is strong, the spirit can win.


( )

Jane Chisholm is born incomplete; basically incontinent and probably unable to conceive children. She grows up on a working farm in Mississippi, born in 1915. Jane, and her parents to a lesser extent, handle her condition as best they can with the help of Dr. Thompson. He delivered Jane, has been almost brutally honest about her prognosis for a somewhat normal life, and becomes a trusted friend.

Despite being unable to attend school Jane grows into in intelligent and lovely young woman. Life on the farm suits her. She can never quite bring herself to get close to a man.

The story follows Jane through her life, to the end. She perseveres despite her differences and being apart from others. This is an original, brave, and beautifully written book, Brad Watson wrote about people and nature with equal aplomb. ( )

Very difficult for me to review this book, so hard to describe how powerful and beautiful I found it.(Beware- Reading a summary of the topic can be misleading!) The writing is lyrical, deep, and moving. The characters and sense of time and place are all well developed, this book sucked me into it's world. I think I will always remember Miss Jane. ( )

The death of this talented and empathetic writer will be deeply felt by all readers who loved his limited output. Miss Jane is based on the life of a relative of his who suffered from a malformation of her genitalia, a difficult subject to build a novel upon. But this deeply felt story is also a narrative of the Great Depression, of strained family ties, and of love and generosity. Jane's inoperable disability leaves her unable to have a sexual life, but she rises above it and beyond the cruelty of her mother and sister, aided by a compassionate family doctor and confidante. It's difficult to imagine how she achieves her equanimity, or wanting to read a book centered around such a hardship, but Watson manages to treat his character with the utmost respect and admiration. ( )