It's the Characters, Baby

I have finally conquered Jane Eyre and am ready to review a couple of the books from my list.

First off, let me say that the wordsmith in me loved the melody of the language, although the 21st century ADD me became impatient with the incredibly convoluted way the story was told. Although it was fun for me and my husband to attempt with furrowed brow upon our countenance to poorly imitate the language one evening. I noticed that we used very few verbs, and most of our sentences were at least two minutes long.

That said, I really enjoyed the story of Jane Eyre-mainly because I liked the spunky main character and was able to fall a little in love with Mr. Rochester. And I truly disliked Wuthering Heights for about the same reason. There was no character I could love. identify with or root for. And that is hugely important for me.

Wuthering Heights also suffered by being told in a very strange narrative fashion where the main narrator was being told the story of the main characters in a past tense way. This served to take all immediacy away from the story, jerking me back away from the story of Heathcliff, whom I desperately wanted to find a redeeeming quality in, yet never did.

I also read To Kill A Mockingbird and there again I loved it for the characters. Atticus Finch was a strong principled man immersed in a dangerous situation, yet he didn't falter and that value system was trickled down to the children. My one complaint is how worldly the viewpoints of the children seemed.

So I'm learning something about me as a reader which will also stand me in good stead as a writer. The characters have to be compelling and not irredeemably flawed. After all, I have to want to cuddle up with them for several hours of reading, and maybe fall in love every now and again.