I don't speak French

I do not understand why CB, a British woman writing about another Brit, includes so much dialogue only a French speaker would understand. I wonder if foreign language versions have retained two languages.

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Deeply thoughtful, and a touching love story

Psychological character study, religious and philosophical meditation, and above all - a Romance with a touch of the Bronte Gothic, 'Villette' is all this and more. It is the story of Lucy Snowe, a young, orphaned English girl struggling to make her own way in life, who comes to live in the French town of Villette. It is a thoughtful, satisfying novel, with all the strength and beauty of Bronte's poetic language and vision. It is perhaps not as directly accessible as 'Jane Eyre' or even 'Shirley', it feels more mature in style, more thoughtful. It is a wonderful expression of the creative and spiritual mind of Charlotte Bronte, and a touching love story.

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5 people found this helpful

Wonderfully poetic character portraits

Don’t be put off by the bits a French in this. They do not detract from the narrative. There is wonderful poetic writing all through this story. The characters are so deeply observed. There are some deliciously creepy bits too. I don’t know why this is not a more famous work.
The narration is utterly superb.

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A Lovely Story By The Beautiful Charlotte Bronte

This book was so well written, detailed and descriptive of the life of Lucy Snow. Very well narrated by Mandy Weston, the perfect voice for Lucy Snow and such a lovely voice. The Bronte books always brings a tear to my eye at the end. Their inspiration and imagination for writing was just beautiful!

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1 person found this helpful

Tellement Francaise pourquoi

Very well read but a little too long, the characters became a bit If a bother to invest in. The ridiculous French insertions. I stayed with it having read similar criticisms of the narration. Might just take them in board in future

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Highly recommended!

This is a true Bronte novel of deep passion and romance in which the characters are skillfully interwoven. The plot is complex, yet is gripping right to the end. A little knowledge of French is helpful, but though I did not fully understand it all, it was only a small part of the narrative and was not crucial to following the story. I loved it and will listen to it again.

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1 person found this helpful

An Almost Hidden Gem in English Literature

A story that sometimes needs patience from the reader, but that patience can be wonderfully rewarded.

I find this novel, together with "Shirley", to be just as rewarding as "Jane Eyre".

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perfection

i never thought i could love a bronte novel more that wt and je, this is just brilliant, the narrator, mandy weston is so great, i mean really great.

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Did I really just read that?

Beautifully bizarre. Critically correct
A trippy euro novel that says much. Love it. Well ahead of its time

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3 people found this helpful

Repays a little patience

Am I there only male reviewer here? All here unfolds in a little world of a few strongly delineated characters, the chief of which is the narrator - she is infuriatingly self effacing most of the time but that is part of the fascination.

A marvellous writer really, managing external scenes and inner life with skilful insertions of present tense. The whole thing is like a finely worked miniature. I’m glad I did not give in to occasional impatience with this as the reward was very satisfying.

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2 people found this helpful