Villette

By: Charlotte Brontë

Narrated by: Mandy Weston

Long overshadowed by Jane Eyre, Villette is widely admired as one of Charlotte Bronte's finest works. This story of a young teacher at a girl's school in the city of Villette is a particular challenge for the young reader, for it requires maturity of vision, a fine narrative sense - and a command of French! Mandy Weston, a newcomer to Naxos AudioBooks, tells the story magnificently.©2007 Naxos Rights International (P)2007 Naxos Rights International

Good, with reservations.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I liked this book, but I don't think I would have gotten it if offered again.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Villette?

The book itself was great, but the ending left me wanting more resolution.

Which character – as performed by Mandy Weston – was your favorite?

Lucy was the best.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes, maybe a movie would give me a more definate ending.

Great to read a little known classic

Any additional comments?

I never knew that Charlotte Bronte had any other novels than Jane Eyre. They are similar in that the main characters have to go through a lot of self-discovery and finding their independence in order to find love. They are different in that Villette tells more of the story of the supporting characters around Lucy Snow. Be prepared of the sections in French, which there are many.

One of the most beutiful books I have ever read

Yes, it was challenging at first, Lucy Snowe seemed unlikeble, judgemental, arrogant. But oh did that change. Bronte's writing weaves prose and poetry so organically into each other in a perfect, honest, brutal, intimate, heart-breaking insight into the heart and mind of a lonely, isolated, intelligent, orphaned young woman, who is so desperately and so secretly yearning for to be seen, loved and to belong... My heart ached and broke for Lucy, and I joyed with her and grieved with her. And I feel closer than ever before to Charlotte Bronte. I marked many passages for some of the most perfectly eloquent, poetic yet brutally honest and apt depictions of certain universal human experiences.
I will come back to this book, oh Reader, time and time again, whenever I wish to glance at the painful beauty of the human experience.

a brilliant novel brilliantly read

mandy weston really understands what what she is reading. she captures the ironies and nuances. brilliantly performed, in what i think is my favorite Bronte novel, although it seems that i feel that way about the least one i have most recently read.

reader, she narrated

mandy Weston was astounding in everything. The story was interesting, who knew Charlotte bronte could be drole. This is as good as jane Eyre

Beautiful reading of an inspiring story

Villette was a gentle story, more like riding along with a woman as an intimate friend in her journey. To outward appearances, not a whole lot happened but inwardly and amidst minor daily adventures, she is evolving into her own person, and testing her coping with loneliness and disappointments and in the process manifesting her values and formidable strengths in the world. Villette fulfilled the reason why I love this genre so much, the sweetness and excellence of language, the emphasis on properties of the spirit and character. As a heroine, Lucy's heroics were all about facing her demons and rising to the occasion despite difficulties---it was a tale of every day courage. All that said, I may have drifted away or made it through only slowly, if it were not for the stunning, poetic, and perfectly nuanced ready by Mandy Weston. She made all the characters come into bloom with her sensitivity and sense of pitch, intonation, flavor and accents. I loved listening to her brogue as well as the French, even when I did not understand (the latter--the book has footnotes to explain it)---her voice reading is like listening to beautiful music and added so many layers of enjoyment on top of what was already a very sweet book

classical heart

Mandy Weston reads the story of wry, tender little Lucy Snow with great heart and subtle understanding. I enjoyed every minute.

Little known masterpiece!

Having loved Jane Eyre – – in fact, having read it and reread it over four times in my life so far – –, I purchased this read with much curiosity and not believing that Charlotte Brontë could have produced more than one real jam. However, I was very much wrong in this assumption. If anything, Brontë’s novel, Villette, is even more haunting and more sinister in its characterization and storyline (be it, however, more covertly applied herein than in Jane Eyre. A mesmerizing and marvelously convincing performance sharpens and enlivens the bitter poignancy and timeless nature of this epic master work!

A second masterpiece from Brontë

No book is for everyone. Jane Eyre Is her best known work because it has a dramatic plot as well as beautiful writing and deeply conceived characters. While this is not as dramatically compelling, it is a deeper and more mature work, and for anyone who loves literature, it is a heartbreaking tour de force. Lucy snow is perhaps the most real character I’ve ever encountered in any book. It’s beautifully written, beautifully read.

Not for Everyone

This is a work strange and perverse. The heroine makes Jane Eyre seem even-tempered. So it is not for those who want a pleasant romantic storyline. There's much of interest here: some really well-drawn characters and vivid description. Of interest to students and admirers of the Victorian era and women's place in it. Lucy Snowe (the narrator and heroine) is full of anger and repression and is therefore a heck of a psychological study in herself. The plot is nearly non-existent. Best, I think, for those who are interested in the role of women in society in general, and in the character and talent of the Brontes in particular.