Villette (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

A wonderful, captivating novel

This is a wonderful book! I absolutely love the character development. Everything about this book is intriguing. The plot was interesting, the ending okay. I prefer more solid, definite endings, but the journey to the end was well worth it. The character development is my favorite thing about this book. You see Lucy change over time. You see, more fantastically, this little appearingly annoying thing of a man turn into a wonderfully loving character that the reader cannot resist falling in love with. This is a great novel and I recommend reading it, even if just to trace the character developement and challenge whether or not you cannot fall in love with M. Paul. :)

i also recommend: Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Persuasion, Their Eyes Were Watching God

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Not worth the time

Kept waiting for it to get better. Heroine, Lucy, is very passive and submissive; she is very difficult to relate to. Not worth the time reading.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

An Excellent Novel

I had the great pleasure of reading Villette (brought about due to my love for Jane Eyre). I must confess that at first I was slightly disappointed in the book. Lucy Snowe is a difficult character to relate to due to her aloofness, and her narration in comparison lacked the passion that was found in Jane Eyre. This said, over the course of the novel, I began to enjoy it immensely. Lucy Snowe as a character seemed to remain in the back of one's thoughts; however, through various events her "icy" nature seems to revert, and the true beauty of her character is revealed. The plot itself can be somewhat droll - it is the memoirs of Snowe's life, and it lacks vivacity in some points of the narration (becoming most interesting when the fiery Paul Emmanuel arrives). The ending leaves mixed feelings, but as a whole the novel is a joy to read and very satisfying. Brontë's writing is superb! Her style flows effortlessly, and the wit she uses in conversations between characters (especially Snowe and Emmanuel) is wonderful. Overall, the book is excellent, and is potentially the best of Charlotte's work. For fans looking for a repeat Jane Eyre, it will not happen, and that may cause disappointment. Still, I must highly recommend it, and encourage its readers to stay with the first hundred pages - it gets much better!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Teaching and learning

The heroine of this lesser known of Charlotte Bronte's novels is called Lucy Snowe, which means "light" and "cold". Thrown upon her own resources at the tender age of 14, Lucy sets out for France and, by the skin of her teeth, lands a job at a girls' school in Villete. As her name suggests, Lucy holds herself aloof from all the usual interests of young women. Coincidence and improbability plays major roles in the plot of this novel, and if the reader is intolerant of such, the book will not satisfy. Rich in symbolism, Villette serves as a metaphor for the lives of women in Victorian Europe. Particularly striking is the mystery of the spectral nun who appears in garret and garden cloister. For the modern reader, Villette suffers from too much "sermonizing." It's possible, however, to balance the religiosity with the humor invested in relatively minor characters, such as the proto-feminist Ginevra Fanshawe, who "has suffered less than any" other woman in Lucy's world. Ginevra is refreshingly, sometimes comedically, unrestricted by the conventions of her society. It requires but little imagination to hear the voice of Charlotte herself, who indeed lived much of her life in similar circumstances, in the thoughts and soliloquies of Lucy. In the end, Lucy's defensive remoteness is breached, but the reader is left to decide exactly how her story plays out.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Excellent

For those reading reviews in order to decide weather or not to read this book, notice that almost every poor rating comes with the comments that the reader did not even finish the book lol. If you don't actually finish the book, you should not be reviewing it!
This is a fabulous book, but not a light read. The character development takes time, and you have to be willing to actually read through it! It will stay with you forever.
I love Lucy Snowe, and it is possible my favorite book. I've read it enough times to have worn out 2 copies, and that's what brought me here...looking for a third.
I do suggest the Penguin version though. The french translations are infinitly superior to others I have read.

Boring, dull, wishy-washy ol' Lucy Snowe

I loved reading Jane Eyre, so I wanted to read some other Bronte works. This one was a real stinker, to say the least. Lucy's personality kind of grated on my nerves, but what really turned me away was the love/romance (or lack thereof). I don't like the kind nor degree of it. I am quite surprised by the hit-or-miss nature of Charlotte Bronte's works. Here's to hoping 'The Professor' is a hit.

Nice read!

I really loved this book all the way through!!! Aside from not speaking or reading any french (I was able to ask a friend if I was curious)it was wonderful! A really great love story with a happy ending. I really would love to have read more about the story, too bad it was written so long ago.

Not nearly as good as I expected

I have to say I'm writing this review while still in the 300's of 500+ pages. However, I have read enough to say that this book is not nearly as good as Jayne Eyre. It is sooooo very slow-moving and descriptive to the extent of confusion at times. Jane Eyre is one of my all-time favorites, and I wanted to read this book because of that. So far, I am greatly disappointed; but I will finish the book, for I am not a quitter. Let's hope something good pops up before the end of an uneventful, sluggish read.

Who Needs A Sleeping Drought When You Have Villette

I love period dramas and think Jane Eyre is fabulous but oh gosh this was the most boring book I ever read, well attempted to read. After 200 pages I realized that life is too short. I find this book to be dull and indirect, the plot uneventful with the most inanimate heroine I have ever read. I really don't care what happens to anyone in this novel.

Another win for the Bronte's

I love Jane Eyre, so I vowed to read all Charlotte Bronte's books. I have not been disapointed. Villette is an excellent specimen of literature and overlooked by too many people.

Plain but happy

Bronte's Villette is a very modern classic, if one can say that. The language is easy to read, and her thoughts flow, like one person talks to another. This wonderful story of a Protestant girl amidst Catholic settings is witty as well as uplifting. It tells the story of Lucy Snowe, a rather plain girl who teaches at a French school and finds love, after so long, in rather extraordinary circumstances. It's so beautifully written, every line is a pleasure to read. Bronte is astounding astute for someone of her time. To describe Villette in one word: Fantastic.

Sensitive and heartfelt, but disap. ending

Of course there are parts that are captivating and delightfully written, but it is slow with long-winded sections that don't add much to the story line. It is a book written out of depression, everyone is happy except the heroine. In the end, after suffering with her through 456 pages the reader is even then denied an ultimate happiness. Yes, she has independence, but a life without love seems merely like a continuance of an existence in shadow.

not worth it

i read Jane Eyre first and when i heard that Villette was supposed to be even better, i was extremely eager to read it. the beginning was good, in the middle i began to roll my eyes at some of Lucy Snowe's antics and by the end i was so disappointed in how it all ended. not at all like her first book. if you enjoyed the innocence and happy ending of Jane Eyre than Villette is not the book for you.

Ovelooked classic

Charlotte Bronte's ultimate classic Villette did not get at much recognition as Jane Eyre because of the complexity of it which can only be appreciated by the few who try to understand Lucy Snowe's pessimism and determined nature that correlates with Charlotte and her sister Emily. Lucy, the protagonist, is a grown up version of Jane Eyre a Bronte scholar once said and as a reader, I confirm it. This is the best of Charlotte Bronte, even better than Jane Eyre, if that is possible.

a mature novel by Charlotte Bronte

Comparably, Jane Eyre is a far more juvenile novel. From the elements of this book, the depth of feeling, and the main charater's extreme loneliness, one knows how Charlotte herself felt after so much loss in her personal life. The heroine, Lucy Snowe, struggles through her fear of rejection and loss to make a better life for herself. As tragic as the novel ends she is still better off than how she started. She has given herself a chance to love. She is more than an inoffensive shadow. Ultimately, she is independent. As she states earlier, the next best thing to happiness is independence and she certainly gains that. Lucy Snowe invites us to understand her story, to feel the way she feels, to look into ourselves and see the way we could be with her fears. This is the genius and the torment of a talented writer. In Jane Eyre Bronte did great things. In Villette, far greater.

Religious intolerance tempered by romance

Really good writing, as in Charlotte Bronte's 1853 VILLETTE is a foretaste of heaven. There is considerable exploration of differences between French culture (the mythical city of VILLETTE seems based on Brussels) and English and between English Protestantism and Continental Catholicism. The unlikely,hard fought romance between the professor M. Paul and heroine English teacher Lucy Stowe finds a way for lovers to develop respect for and tolerance of each other's beliefs without yielding their own. The thesis is developed that women can be happy despite loneliness, if only they find a friend who recognizes their talents and encourages them to work hard and independently.

Great Book For Hopeless Romantics

I would highly recommend Villette to adults and young adults who are hopeless romantics. This book gives you an insight into what the main character, Lucy Snowe, thinks and feels. Charlotte Bronte wrote this book in such a way that allows you to feel everything as Lucy feels it. Bronte shows Lucy¿s change in character as she begins to feel and show more emotion than Lucy thought possible. The changes that occur in Lucy will make you smile and her pains and tribulations will make you cry. The smiles and tears are what make this book worth reading.

Falling in love with fictional characters...

As a long time fan of Jane Eyre I hardly thought I'd be able to find an even better work. 'Villette' is an incredibly human story supported by wonderful characters. I will continue to read this book over and over.

ok book

the first 1/3 of the book and the last 1/3 of the book is very very good. the middle however is labouriously long/unecessary and difficult to read simply because it is too boring. this book took too long to read. it would get really good and exciting then delve into a long section of boring narrative.

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