The
Flight of Gemma Hardy,
Margot Livesey (3.5)
The NYT
review of this book was very positive and indicated it was an ‘homage’ to ‘Jane
Eyre’. Given that ‘Jane Eyre’ is one of
my favorite books, I put it on my reading list.
While many things about this book were enchanting and well written, I
found it to be less of homage than the exact plot with somewhat updated
characters. While the setting is
1950’s-1960’s Scotland, the basic plot was almost identical. I think this has worked with some of Jane
Austen’s classics as they were less plot-driven and more character/time
studies. ‘Jane Eyre’ has strong
characters, but the plot is also strong and serves as a driver to bring out the
characters’ strengths and flaws. Gemma
Hardy is as strong and independent as Jane.
She is very likable and resilient.
My biggest problem was that I knew her every move before she did
it! As most of my friends know, I love
surprises – particularly in books and movies.
So I can recommend this as a very good story – but why read it if you
could read ‘Jane Eyre’??
There are imperfections, the impediment that drives Gemma from her true love towards her final flight towards herself is a flimsy replacement for Bertha Rochester being the most glaring, but I was willing to forgive this and other plot failures, so appealing was Gemma's journey. I hope others will also overlook these lapses and enable this book to garner the wide audience it deserves.
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