I apologize now, but this will not be a long review. If I could get away with saying: “I laughed, a lot, read it now” I would. Because this book really is a very funny, very witty, highly sarcastic look at all of your favorite writings and writers from an absurd angle. And a joy to read. But, that is not enough to qualify as a review so off I go to attempt to explain more.
I bought this book on a lark. I read Narfna’s review, after having read Malin’s and instinctively knew that this was a comfort book for me in the making. I have had a rough week, and the fallout of that week is going to be felt for a while moving forward (nothing truly traumatic, don’t worry) so I knew I needed a fun read. The book is exactly as advertised: text from Jane Eyre and other conversations from literary characters. It runs the gamut from classic Greek heroes to the Babysitter’s Club. There is quite literally something for everyone in these pages.
I’ll admit that the format might take some getting used to, as the entire book appears in the dialogue bubbles we’re familiar with from our phones. But once you’re comfortable with the idea, and the voices of these various characters come alive to you, you’ll be laughing very hard at some of the best literary comedy I’ve seen in quite some time.
Others have mentioned not understanding all the allusions, and I am with them. The depth and breadth of the works that Ortberg chooses will certainly put some of the references outside even the most well-read reader’s purview, so make sure you have google ready to look up some background. I did, and it was definitely worth it.
“I apologize now, but this will not be a long review.”
Which is why I quoted a bunch of stuff in my review. It’s not actually long it just LOOKS that way.
In my head, when reading the text conversation between Circe and Odysseus, I heard all of Circe’s texts read in the voice of Jenny Lawson, the Bloggess. Possibly because that conversation, more than many of the others, reminded me so much of the conversations between her and and her husband that she posts on her blog.