Jane

Jane, a modern retelling of Jane Eyre, by April Lindner (NY: Little, Brown, 2010). [Reviewed from ARC provided by publisher to a librarian friend.]

Jane closely follows the plot of the original with modern tweaks, so the main character, Jane, has to take a job as a nanny to a rich man's daughter. Here the rich man is a famous broody and reclusive rock star named Nico Rathburn who is trying to regain some of his former glory. Jane is 18 and he's 36, and therein lies most of my problem with this novel. The age difference is just too vast and Nico comes off as creepy and stalkerish in his attention to Jane as well as the deceit he employs to test her. Their sexual relationship is much more prominently featured here than in the original, of course, and there, too, the impression is more creepy than romantic. If one can overlook the age difference, which admittedly is the same as in the original, then the novel is enjoyable enough and the contemporary additions and explanations for the original plot are fun to observe. Fine for ages 14 & up.