I almost feel like I can't even call this a reread, because it's been so long since my original read of this novel. But hey, that makes it fresh and less biased, right?
(Am I a spin master yet?)
If it wasn't already apparent from the cover and title, Jane is a modern-day retelling of Jane Eyre, one of my favorite classics. (Seriously, Charlotte Brontë > Jane Austen any day of the week.) The titular heroine is now Jane Moore, a student at Sarah Lawrence who is forced to drop out of college when her parents die, drying up her funds. Jane applies at a nanny service, and her total lack of pop culture knowledge lands her a job tending to famous rock star Nico Rathburn's daughter Maddy.
While Jane has her anxieties about taking this job, she soon falls into a rhythm at Thornfield Park. Maddy's a little bit spoiled but ultimately a sweetheart, the rest of the staff is nice enough, and the landscape is gorgeous - perfect for an amateur watercolorist like herself. One day, as Jane's out walking to a nice spot to paint, she almost gets hit by a car, and who should be driving that car but Nico Rathburn himself? They get off to a bit of a turbulent start, understandably, but Nico is easily charmed by Jane's blunt yet well-meaning honesty, and Jane finds herself drawn to her mysterious employer. After a bit of a stunt with the celebrity photographer that's been sent out to Nico's estate to document his band's comeback, Jane and Nico start dating and plan a whirlwind wedding. Everything is awesome.
At least until Nico's bipolar first wife is found alive and kicking - well, more like biting - in a secret wing of Thornfield. Smooth move, Nico.
Jane runs away then, unwilling to marry a man who still feels a lot of affection for someone else, and ends up in New Haven. A nice waitress, Diana, lets Jane come home with her that night, and Jane eventually settles in with Diana and her siblings, Maria and River St. John. River is charismatic when he chooses to be, intensely focused on helping the less fortunate. He believes Jane is the perfect companion for him and wants her to volunteer out in Haiti with him, but Jane's not so sure. A series of quite fortunate events leads her to a movie theater where Nico's documentary is showing, and she sees that he was torn completely apart by her disappearance, especially after his first wife managed to burn Thornfield Park down, injuring Nico and killing herself in the process. Jane immediately rushes to Manhattan and finds Nico again, and I assume you can figure out how that ends, dear reader.
I have to say, reading a modern adaptation of Jane Eyre really shows some of the creepier aspects of the story. It's not that they aren't apparent in the original, but Rathburn/Rochester's domineering tendencies and locked-up ex-wife are a little easier to explain away and understand with the context of nineteenth-century England behind them. Putting them into a modern setting makes me feel much more disturbed by his actions.
Jane herself is still a great character, though. Her backstory is rife with little details that make me wish someone had called CPS on her parents when she was a child, but her tenacity and her unwillingness to change herself to please others are timeless, wonderful qualities. I'm really glad that updating her didn't make her as unfortunately creepy as Rathburn/Rochester, who gave me a lot of unpleasant vibes as his relationship with Jane progressed. (He's less creepy at the ending, though, don't worry!)
Overall, the modernization of Jane has more upsides than down, and it's fun to see familiar characters tossed into new, updated situations. While it doesn't beat out The Lizzie Bennet Diaries as my favorite reworking, it's still a good, well-constructed read. Four stars.
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