Jane Eyre

Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York : Barnes &​ Noble, 2011.

Source: http://www.barnesandnoble.com

An English orphan takes up the post of governess in Mr. Rochester home. She soon falls in love with him and will find out the terrible secret that prevents them from getting married. Full of mystery and passion, this love story is told by Jane Eyre, the heroine that will endure the heart-breaking reality surrounding her. A descriptive writing style and focus on characters make this novel easy to read.

A movie based on this story, starring Mia Wasikowska and directed by Cary Fukunaga, was released in 2011 and won several awards. "Exquisitely shot in a style reminiscent of 17th-century Dutch painting [...] Jane Eyre is an exciting, uplifting story about a young woman making her way in an unkind world." (Tom Ryan, The Sydney Morning Herald).

+  The movie in IMDB
  + Jane Eyre in our library catalogue GO!

Sources: NoveList (through EBSCOhost), Trove, IMDB, FictionConnection, GoodReads, SMH

Never let me go

Ishiguro, Kazuo. Never let me go. London : Faber and Faber, 2005.

 

Source: www.bookworld.com.au

Never let me go  is set in a parallel universe where humans are cloned and prepared to donate their healthy organs. It tells the story of friends Kathy, Ruth and Tommy and their years at Hailsham, an isolated boarding school in the English countryside. An idyllic place where they are told nothing about the outside. Kathy's memories of those years at Hailsham will take her to confront the reality of her childhood and present. 

 "Never Let Me Go is not a perfect film, but it is the sort of film that - in spite of a few shortcomings - affects you on a profound level. It haunts you long after you have left the cinema" (The Vine Entertainment). Starring Keira Knightley, Andrew Garfield, Carey Mulligan and directed by Mark Romanek.

+  Watch an interview with author Kazuo Ishiguro talking about this novel.

   + Similar books in FantasticFiction.

    + Never let me go in our library catalogue GO!

Sources: Bookworld, FictionConnection, IMDB, BBC Archive, Booklist (through MasterFILE Premier), The New York Times Books, FantasticFiction

Sherlock Holmes

Doyle, Arthur Conan. The complete Sherlock Holmes. London : Vintage Books, 2009.

Source: http://www.goodreads.com

A collection of all novellas and short stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. A classic in mystery stories. Detective Sherlock Holmes, the most famous resident of Baker Street, takes his assistant Watson and the readers through suspenseful adventures to reveal the most cold-blooded crimes. He is always one step ahead of Scotland Yard. A compelling writing style and the possibility of jumping from one story to another within the book as each story is autonomous, make the book a perfect choice for the eager reader.

A movie starring Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law was released in 2009. Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) takes the hunt of a serial killer, who mysteriously returned from the grave to resume his killing. The movie had two nominations to the Oscars and a sequel was released in 2011 starring the same actors.

+ Sherlock Holmes in Rotten Tomatoes 
  +  Here is a list of Sherlock Holmes Societies in Australia
    + Sherlock Holmes in our library catalogue GO!

Sources: GoodReads, RottenTomatoes, NoveList  (through EBSCOhost), Library Journal (through ProQuest), FictionConnection

 

Atonement

McEwan, Ian. Atonement. New York: Doubleday/Talese, 2002.

 

Source: NoveList

The innocent mistake of a 13-year-old English girl changes the life of her whole family, when she accuses her sister's lover of a crime he did not commit. A leisurely paced novel with a reflective tone and a haunting plot, which also depicts very well the times that headed to the World War II. "Every lustrously rendered, commanding scene is charged with both despair and diabolical wit, and McEwan’s Jamesian prose covers the emotional spectrum from searing eroticism to toxic guilt" (Booklist review in NoveList).

An adaptation of this story to the big screen was directed by Joe Wright and released in 2007. Starring Keira Knigthley and James McAvoy, this movie was entirely filmed in the UK and won an Oscar for Original Music Score.

+ The movie in IMDB
  +  Watch an interview with Ian McEwan just after the publication of his first novel The Cement Garden in 1979.
      + Atonement in our library catalogue GO!

Sources: NoveList, PublishersWeekly, IMDB, BBC Archive, The Guardian (Australia)

 

Pride and Prejudice

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Melbourne : Brolga, 2010.

 

Source: http://www.abebooks.co.uk

This is the story of four young women from a low social class but respectable family who are in the age to get married. Elizabeth, one of these young women, meets Mr. Darcy, a man from a higher social level and they become involved in a relationship that will take them closer to each other environment. Through their story we see two social classes  that leave pride and prejudice aside and start to understand each other. 

An engaging and romantic story that take us to the England of the 19th Century through a critical thinking of its social conditions.

The last adaptation of this novel, released in 2005, starred Keira Knightley and was directed by Joe Wright. The film was nominated to the Oscars in four categories.

+ This year marks the 200th anniversary of the publishing of Pride and Prejudice and many events were held around the world to celebrate it.
+ Pride and Prejudice in our library catalogue GO!

Sources: Trove, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library (Reader's Club),  IMDB, NoveList