Review: Reader, I Married Him, edited by Tracy Chevalier

Reader, I Married Him by Audrey Niffenegger, Elif Shafak, Elizabeth McCracken, Emma Donoghue, Esther Freud, Evie Wyld, Francine Prose, Helen Dunmore, Jane Gardam, Joanna Briscoe, Kirsty Gunn, Linda Grant, Lionel Shriver, Nadifa Mohamed, Namwali Serpell, Patricia Park, Salley Vickers, Sarah Hall, Susan Hill, Tessa Hadley, Tracy Chevalier
Published by William Morrow on March 22, 2016
Pages: 304
Source: the publisher

Publisher's summary:

This collection of original stories by today’s finest women writers takes inspiration from the famous line in Charlotte Brontë’s most beloved novel, Jane Eyre.

A fixture in the literary canon, Charlotte Brontë is revered by readers all over the world. Her books featuring unforgettable, strong heroines still resonate with millions today. And who could forget one of literatures’ best-known lines: “Reader, I married him” from her classic novel Jane Eyre?

Part of a remarkable family that produced three acclaimed female writers at a time in 19th-century Britain when few women wrote, and fewer were published, Brontë has become a great source of inspiration to writers, especially women, ever since. Now in Reader, I Married Him, twenty of today’s most celebrated women authors have spun original stories, using the opening line from Jane Eyre as a springboard for their own flights of imagination.

Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre is likely her most popular novel. I had quite the experience reading it myself. It was required reading in high school and I hated it. I reread it in my early twenties and had a completely different experience.  I now consider it my favorite classic novel.  It’s one of those books that evokes a truly unique and personal experience in each reader.

When I learned of this book, short stories inspired by my favorite classic novel, I couldn’t wait to give it a try.  However, perhaps my strong love for the original novel impacted my experience, because I just wasn’t feeling it.  Sure, each story is intensely individual based on that author’s interpretation or response to the classic great.  Some chose to stick close to the feeling of Jane Eyre, others went on a completely different route.  I just didn’t feel enjoy many of the stories, save but two or three.  It certainly wasn’t the quality of the writing; the contributing authors are a talented host of writers.  They just didn’t grab me like I’d hoped.

Now, just like the reading of the original classic, I’m certain that the experience in reading this short story collection is incredibly individual as well. I’m just one reader and I’m certain others will have a different response.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for providing me the opportunity to participate in this tour.