When was the last time you read "Jane Eyre"?

I hadn't read it since I was maybe 11. Yes, heavy reading for an 11 year old. I can't say I understood it, but I remember distinctly reading a particular passage over and over again simply because I loved the beauty of is meter and flow and melody.

I read it to my mom and she said, "Do you know what all that means?" I responded, "Probably not, but it sounds beautiful, doesn't it?" LOL

(By the way, I have no idea what passage so captured my attention.)

At any rate...

I finished listening to Jane Eyre on www.librivox.org this weekend. I feel so... so... so... satisfied. Charlotte Bronte, though verbose to say the least, had such command of the dynamics of novel writing. Her fully formed characters brought such dimension to the story line. And that story line... wow.

Just... wow.

The ups and down, the suspense and the givens... I didn't remember the end of the book, so my perspective was fresh. And Charlotte certainly took me for a ride. I assumed the story would have the much-coveted happy ending (and maybe it does--I'm not about to spoil it for you!), but at one point, I was completely convinced that Jane would make the wrong decision and upend the happy ending cart.

In fact, I was yelling at my phone (since I was listening on librivox via my iPhone) as I scrubbed my bathroom floor. "Don't you dare listen to him, Jane!" and "Singon [pronounced singe-in], you are a manipulative blockhead! Leave Jane alone!"

Jane has a sensible head on her shoulders. She made the right decision for herself. (See? I'm not giving anything away here. You *must* go read/listen to the story!)

Now I miss Jane. *sigh* I must go search the Librivox catalog for another epic and captivating story.