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| Final Rating: 3.6/5 |
Say the name "Brontë" out loud in a crowded room and you are bound to get a mixed palette of faces and comments. Some may be polite and not comment while others give a cryptic reaction that you can read as boredom and maybe a hint of aversion and then there's the select group whose eyes gleam with excitement and hope the announcer wants to discuss everything and anything pertaining to the Brontës' works, lives and 19th-century England. I proudly fall into that final class and if anyone were to glance at my home bookshelf they will know I adore the works of the Brontë sisters; particularly Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey. I could never tire of the elaborate beautiful words and characters in those pages and I eagerly search for anything resembling these novels or some new tidbit of trivia about the family to treasure. So when I saw The Brontë Cabinet: Three Lives in Nine Objects was available as an audio book on Audible and listened to a snippet of the narration; I knew I found my next companion for the late work nights to come.
Although the narrator's voice inviting and perfectly matched for this book; I'm not so sure about the whole experience and subject matter unfortunately. It may come down to expectations and personal preference but I'm very sorry to say, this work was too skewed and harbored uncomfortable obsession on certain topics for this eager listener. To be frank, there was an odd fixation on finding and loosely looping objects to eroticism and controversial theories and although a creative and inquisitive imagination was clearly evident that fashioned some captivating narrative styled chapters, too much speculation was presented at certain points that had me shaking my head in disappointment by the end. Again it may come down to personal preference but it almost seemed the author was determined to push her own views and theories forward which is fine if stated forthright but I personally wasn't ready for that and it seemed this book was trying to be something else and had an unpleasant slant to it. There was also the objects that were examined in this book themselves, I couldn't help to be somewhat disappointed in the selection. Some of the personal keepsakes: a workbox, writing desk, dog collar, hair bracelet and collection of ferns were fascinating to listen about, and the way the inside walls of the Brontë family would open to the outside 19th century in this book kept me eagerly leaned forward to hear more. Unfortunately, other objects didn't seem to be as interesting and those parts loosely tied to the Brontës or their novels.
Negatives aside, there was a trove of trivia to gather in The Brontë Cabinet: Three Lives in Nine Objects and I loved the discussions, quotes and side notes on the novels throughout this non-fiction title. I also enjoyed the narrative fashioned sections and coupled with the voice of the audio version, I could imagine walking under the low gray sky and into the small home of the Brontës, seeing their daily lives play out in front of me. It was very easy to fall away from the real world at those parts and someday I plan to see the Brontë Parsonage Museum and explore the infamous moorlands and pick some heather. I also plan to seek out more biographies and of course plan to reread my favorites when the weather outside my windows mirrors the settings in those beloved stories. The Brontë Cabinet: Three Lives in Nine Objects may have presented as a slightly slanted framed look at the Brontës and 19th century for me but I would still recommend this audio version for those who fall into that third class of excited literary admirers- you know who you are and I'll see you on the moors.
-purchased and listened to Audible version
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