Weekend picks for book lovers
What should you read this weekend? Paste BN’s picks for book lovers include two entertaining titles inspired by Jane Eyre, and a new history from Douglas Brinkley.
Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye; Putnam, 420 pp.; fiction; and The Madwoman Upstairs by Catherine Lowell; Touchstone, 337 pp.; fiction
On the 200th birthday of Charlotte Brontë, two clever new novels riff on Jane Eyre, her much-loved classic about a mistreated orphan who becomes a governess and falls in love with her boss, the unattainable Mr. Rochester. It’s a love story that has launched dozens of films, plays and blog postings, not to mention myriad romantic fantasies.
In Lyndsay Faye’s Jane Steele, Jane’s self-righteous sensibilities lead her to become, well, a serial killer in 19th century England. Her first victim is her creepy cousin, who tries to rape her — unadvisedly, near a steep ravine.
For those who like their Brontë with a side of wry, turn to the hilarious The Madwoman Upstairs by first-time novelist Catherine Lowell, set in modern-day academia. Our heroine, Samantha Whipple, has fled to Oxford University to study literature after her devoted but alcoholic father dies in a fire.
A cousin of the legendary Brontë sisters, Sam is obsessed with them, while being hounded by reporters claiming she has inherited the “missing Brontë estate.”
Paste BN says ***½ out of four stars for both books. “There’s no need to know Jane Eyre before reading these novels, but Steele and Madwoman could inspire you to seek out the self-empowering girl who inspired them.”
Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America by Douglas Brinkley; Harper, 589 pp.; non-fiction
Historian Brinkley makes the case that FDR remade the nation's environment and created an enduring legacy.
Paste BN says **** stars. “Rightful Heritage is a big book about a pivotal time in American history. Brinkley writes admiringly of Roosevelt's record, but his tone is backed up by a rich trove of research.”
We Love You, Charlie Freeman by Kaitlyn Greenidge; Algonquin, 324 pp.; fiction
Debut novel about Charlotte, a 14-year-old black girl whose family moves in to the Toneybee Institute for Ape Research to teach a chimpanzee named Charlie sign language.
Paste BN says *** stars. “Witty and provocative … deftly handles a host of complex themes and characters.”
Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz; Minotaur, 368 pp.; fiction
Invincible, solitary hero Evan Smoak is weaponized from early childhood by a shadowy government program — before revolting to become an anonymous vigilante, deploying his skills on behalf of the public good.
Paste BN says ***. “If you fed a sophisticated computer the collected adventures of Jason Bourne and Jack Reacher and asked it to produce a thriller, the resulting book would probably look something like Orphan X.”
Contributing reviewers: Patty Rhule, Ray Locker, Mark Athiakis, Charles Finch