Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte

What impressed me most about this classic was the diamond-like clarity of the main character's mind. She had a clarity of mind and independence of thought that most would consider impossible for the young girl she represented. The main characters were very strong minded, even bullies in their mental intensity. Edward Rochester, who is the love of Jane, is very unlovable to anyone else because of this intensity of thought and feeling that would embarrass those interested only in social niceties. St. John River, her rescuer, employer, cousin and would-be husband, had a different sort of mental clarity that was blind to the sensibilities of others, and severe in its one-pointed devotion to the goal of his missionary vocation, which was both admirable and cruel.

I would say at the end I felt entranced by this novel, which I couldn't put down, and with the unusual settings, characters, and plot. I don't remember ever reading this book before--I thought I'd read it in High School, but evidently not. It does remind me a little of Wuthering Heights, with its melodrama, storms, ghosts and superstitions. The language was a little difficult. There are still some terms I have to look up, and some passages of French and German I could not decipher clearly. But they didn't detract from the story, and only enhanced the impression of the education of the times.

I highly recommend it to anyone with a few hours here and there to spare.