Okay. I bought it occasionally. Although, naturally I've heard of it before. I've never watched the film, and, to be honest, I doubt that I will after reading the book, because...
Yes, it is Jane Eyre-ish. It's thrilling. It's haunting.
There's some pretension to mysticism. Just some of it.
But I even like it this way, for ghosts while being on the background of the tale for all the time, enter it just occasionally, with a light touch, never too insistently.
It is a Gothic story, although not a "proper", not classic one. While having all the necessary attributes, the story feels a lack of... non-reality.
And here again there's another "while": While, reading it, you realize how fictional the plot is, the tale is thrilling enough to make you forget about that.
The overall atmosphere is oppressing. There are quite a few of repelling things described - to my deepest astonishment, to be honest, for it's a bit shocking to read about such things in perfect English, non-slang, non-dialect, and to stumble on them among the finely craved narrative.
The only thing that really is mystified here is that strange and closer than closest connection between siblings, all of them.
But, however artificial it looks, it doesn't spoil the tale.
I'm still not sure what exact assessment I'll give it. I'm still in the middle of reading it
It's thrilling, yes. It's a page-turner.
But the book has no power to change anything in me.
Yet I will carefully avoid watching the film, for I don't want to spoil the charm of the perfect language, the depth and richness of descriptions and some mystic veil hiding you from the world while you're immersed in your reading.
