The Bronte Project

by Jennifer Vandever

"As to intense passion, I am convinced that it is no desirable feeling" Charlotte Bronte, 1840. Shy young scholar Sara Frost's unsuccessful search for the lost love letters of Charlotte Bronte hasn't won her any favours at her university, particularly now the glamorous new Head of Princess Diana Studies has introduced her media-savvy exploits to the staid halls of academia. But it's not until Sara's fiance suddenly leaves her that she begins to question her life's vocation. How can she reconcile the mythology of romance with the harsh reality of modern love? As she tentatively re-enters the dating scene, Sara is to discover that the life and writings of Charlotte Bronte have more to teach her than she could ever have guessed about the perils and pitfalls of the 21st century relationship game.

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Romance, Humor, Adult, Novels

288 pages, Paperback

First published October 4, 2005

Reviews

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the sort of book where you get about halfway through and then have a brilliant moment of clarity, where all the pieces suddenly fall into place, and your great epiphany is, "OMG, this is all there is. This book is not going to get any better."

Once you reach this point in this book, hopefully you can come to terms with the fact that a couple-hundred pages of post-modernist, reconstructionist, academic feminist babble is all that stands between you and mediocre chick-lit.

I'm giving it two stars because I like Charlotte Bronte.

[Christie (The Ludic Reader) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am starting to get annoyed with the recommendations slapped on book covers. For example, Karen Quinn called The Bronte Project “a brilliant first novel of love. ” On the back there’s more praise: “So original, so enchanting, so poignantly true that it defies you to put it down.” But wait- that’s also by Quinn. Was there only one author willing to give this book their seal of approval? After reading The Bronte Project, I’m not surprised.

The blurb makes this sound like a great read, especially for someone as enamored of Brontes as I am.

Shy young scholar Sara Frost’s unsuccessful search for the lost love letters of Charlotte Bronte hasn’t won her any favours at her university, particularly now the glamorous new Head of Princess Diana Studies has introduced her media-savvy exploits to the staid halls of academia. But it’s not until Sara’s fiance suddenly leaves her that she begins to question her life’s vocation.

I thought the book sounded like it had promise…but not so much. By about half way through I was totally exasperated with the expository nature of the writing, the mini-lessons on the Brontes, the ridiculous decisions Sara made and the even more outlandish denouement. Then I realized that Vandever is a Film School graduate. Like Sara, maybe she hoped her work would somehow make the perfect fodder for a film.

Let’s face it – I don’t have anything intelligent to say about this book…except perhaps – don’t waste your time reading it. Even if, like me, you love Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.

[Ellen Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. Not only is it well-written, with an interesting story about a 30-something Bronte scholar in NYC who finds herself without a fiancee, him leaving her suddenly for Paris, while simultaneously having to defend her work against the rantings of a self-described Princess Di "scholar" who seems intent on discrediting the scholar's work. Throw in a good-looking French man who does nothing but live off the largess of others, because, as he says, his life is a poem, and a Hollywood producer who wants to make a classy movie about the Bronte sisters while wooing the Bronte scholar, but can't understand why the scholar won't let him "sex" up the movie script.

Vandever's story is interesting and the dialogue is witty and clever. I laughed out loud in public several times while reading The Bronte Project. Having been a huge fan of the Bronte's, I was not sure what to expect, but am very glad I picked up this book in the discount bin at Barnes & Noble. What a find!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. The prose is easy to read and very engaging. While one must not be a Bronte scholar, some understanding of the Bronte sisters, their works and their lives is helpful, to really grasp, how clever Vandever was.

I enjoyed some of the absurdity in the story, it was delightful and clever and while some of her characters are stock archetypes, it works. This is as much parody of literature as it is a love story.

At first the ending brought me up short, I will say I did not see it coming, not really, even though perhaps I should and it in some ways reminds me of the final scenes of the movie The Piano, not only in drama but in terms of rebirth and the claiming of personal power.

This book is worth picking up and at 288 pages - it is a quick winter read.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. This turned out to be a absolutely unhinged but I loved the premise/first 100 pages. Despite being written in 2005 it felt like it could have been written today with its’ characters. But it was stupid.. somewhat like Villette - how fitting.

[Tammy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up randomly at a bag sale. I liked the cover and thought it might be light and fun. It started out promisingly, funny bits here and there, some nice details about academic life and living with someone. The parts about the misuse of a sponge and the burying of a spat-inducing non-stick pan kept me going until about a third in. Then I realised it was a love story, and kind of tiring. I didn't particularly care about the characters, and found them to be more like caricatures than people in the real world. Which leads me to what some other people have hit on, this book reads like a movie.

I admit that I exercised my new found power of being able to quit a book. I don't have to finish it. There are so many other books to read, so it's about efficiency, not giving up.... I skipped to the end and was horrified. Spoiler alert! So it just plays out this fantasy that every woman has (tongue firmly in cheek) of two or more men fighting it out over her. Really, she assembled them all into one room and then fairly coldly told them that none of them were really good enough for her. That she needed a year to make sure. So she turns into the same dick as her partner at the beginning of the book. Wow! She really blossomed, eh? Look at that feminist! She's got short hair and knows how to dress now, so she must be a feminist. And look! Men are fighting over her!

Really, just a whole lot of tripe bound by glue. If you like Jennifer Weiner, et al, maybe you will like this book. If you like romance, maybe you will too. I somehow doubt it, though. This falls short in just about any category I can think of. I'm not opposed to a fun romp or a beach read, but this just doesn't cut it. Thank goodness I didn't pay much for it! ;p

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't love this book, but I did like it. It's about Sara, a graduate student who is trying to track down lost letters written by Charlotte Bronte. She is engaged to Paul, another grad student with a much more workable thesis proposal. They are planning to get married within the year, when suddenly Paul decides that he needs some space to decide if Sara is really the one for him. Sara suspects that Paul was motivated by flirtatious comments from Claire, the sexy French "Diana Studies" expert (yes, that's Diana as in the princess who died in the car accident...). So Paul departs for some sexy research project in France and Sara comes unglued and discovers that a bad breakup removes one's sense of irony. For example, she had never realized what a deep and profound meaning could be found in REO Speedwagon's "Keep On Loving You".

From there the plot gets sort of lame... Sara hooks up with a movie producer, realizes he's a jerk, goes to France to find Paul, blah blah blah. Chicklit ending.

But Vandever is a good writer, and there were several bits of this book that made me laugh out loud. There was the REO Speedwagon revelation, and there was Sara's teenage devotion to "Wuthering Heights" and her therapist parents' response: "Now how could Cathy and Heathcliff used their communication skills to improve their relationship?" If she writes another book, I'll check it out. I just hope she improves her plot-writing skills a bit first.

[Char · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very clever. I love books (with satire) about scholars. Here's the Publisher's Weekly Review--Vandever's irreverent debut novel dips into Victorian letters for inspiration, dredging up romantic angst to frame and foil a love story set in the age of new media. Sara Frost, a timid Charlotte Brontë scholar at a fictionalized New York university, is dragging her feet on both her engagement and her thesis, rooting around for Charlotte's vanished letters of unrequited love. The staid campus is roiled with the arrival of self-aggrandizing, firebrand Princess Diana scholar Claire Vigee. Sara's restive fiancé Paul, ignited by Claire's exhortations, bids her adieu and heads for Paris. Knocked off balance, Sara finds salvation in New Age narcissist Byrne Eammons, a film producer, who angles to spice up Charlotte's story for modern moviegoers. Drawn to Los Angeles and then Europe, Sara slowly finds her voice—determined not to suffer the fate of the "silent Victorian" she studies. Vandever, a screenwriter, sends up the pretensions of academia and the frippery of "infotainment," with its fast and loose readings of history. As Victorian romance runs up against pop psychology and banal reality, currents of love and longing unite past and present, but Vandever leavens Sara's self-discovery with liberal comic relief in this wickedly clever novel.

[Marya DeVoto · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was drawn into this book because the opening was an amusing burlesque that resembled my experiences in grad school in the 90s: lonely and uncertain grad students longing for real life and trying to make their literature dissertations "relevant" and "marketable" while a few superstars jet around inexplicably making their mark with kooky, barely literary work on pop culture. The bete noire is a rude, glamorous visiting professor in Madonna Studies.

Alas, the Bronte scholar "heroine" is a whiny cipher with no sense of humor and no particular gumption: we're supposed to take her charisma for granted. Asked to put together a movie script about Charlotte Bronte's life, she can't even come up with anything sexy, but somehow everyone wants her anyway and she becomes embroiled in all the jetsetting stuff in spite of herself. Yawn. Too bad, because the basic idea for the book was entertaining.

[M · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was AWFUL. It was light and smart for the first three pages or so, then it just totally abandoned ship. Trying to be a mockery of academia, hollywood and manhattan all in one book, it ends up just being dumb. The protagonist, Sara, is the absolute most annoying person ever - totally blah, completely uninteresting and passive. The men she interacts with are all unrealistic, unlikeable and just furthering her annoyingness. The writer herself who fancies herself literary and all that breaks all the writing rules, creates charicatures who are so obvious that they are painful. There is nothing redeeming here. The novel just turns weird at a certain point, and the pursuit of Bronte's letters (look, she had a good run, wrote Jane Eyre and all that, but GET OVER IT) does nothing for the reader. While I applaud the idea of a literary light novel, in the end Vandever can't seem to decide which one she wants it to be and so it ends up being the worst of both.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a delightful short read, that all Bronte fans will enjoy. It brings into the modern world some classical romantics themes from one hundred yearts ago. Truthfully we all want to be more like Sara. Content and happy in a relationship, but still hold onto some of those dramatic romances and ideas of a time past. Romance has not changed so much, only now instead of writing long letter that could or could not be read before distroyed, we run and avoide those that just given time would realize how much the relationship means to them. Vandever takes a classical ideas of the Bronte world and makes them happen today. You will find central ideas from all the Bronte's works and life with in this short weekend read. I recomend this book to Bronte, classical literature, and romance fans alike. Enjoy the past reaching out to the future!

[Melissa Joulwan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but it did nothing for me. The beginning was promising, but once The Event happens that kicks off the plot, it kind of disintegrates into a generic rom-com.

It's pretty well written and stocked with flamboyant characters that I think were supposed to be delightful (or a comment on characters that are supposed to be delightful?!) but I just didn't care. For its objective writing quality, it's a 3-star, but for emotional impact, it's more like a 1-star.

This felt to me like it was reaching for the kind of engrossing, emotionally resonant books written by Elinor Lipman and The Royal We. Read those instead.

[Desiree · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast, easy, fun read which may have actually taught me something. Weird. I really enjoyed the unpretentious use of literary references, making them rather accessible. I also liked the Bronte family's biographical details sprinkled throughout the book. The sometimes repetitious details weren't bothersome at all, rather an excellent way to teach and for me to retain. I feel like a Bronte scholar.

The story itself was slightly unbelievable. However, I like the redemption one character receives in the end. Overall, I thought the last few chapters, especially once Sara hits Paris, may have weakened the story (which was already weak) but the final chapters made me happy. Plus, I now know more about the Bronte family. Good stuff.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

That was quite a romp! A bit fluffy, but then again, sometimes that's the best kind of story. Especially while trying to get through a collection of short stories by a certain literary writer. A welcome retreat! The story itself is nothing to get too excited about, but it reignited my love for the Bronte sisters, whose personal lives were as intriguing as their over-the-top novels. I think a re-read of Charlotte Bronte is definitely in order! This was an impulse grab at the library, and I was rewarded generously.

[Jeannine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will be a delightful read for anyone who loves satire poking fun at the academic world, literary scholars, feminists, and the LA "scene." I really enjoyed the bits about the Bronte's lives that were included throughout the book - even wanting a little more of that at the end. I'm hoping Jenifer Vandever writes more books like this - with intelligent, non-standard-silly-chick-lit heroines who are a little different.

[Jen Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was right up my alley: cerebral and bookish, while also humorous, not taking itself too seriously. The characters are quirky and memorable. There is no moment where everything artificially rights itself; the book ends with things still being messy and the future uncertain. Art imitates life.

[Franci · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not "enchanting" as the back cover would have you believe....
I feel let down. Cheated out of what could have been a good book.

2 stars instead of 1, because, in truth, there were a handful of times when I enjoyed it.

[Aya* · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was very excited to read this book and at the end I was very, veeeery disappointed. I didn't like it, maybe I was expecting something different (well, for sure that was it) but I thought that I would find a deep story about the Brönte sisters or something a little bit more serious and I didn't.

[Moushumi Ghosh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Starts with so much promise, loses its way in the middle and ends in a modern self-affirming way. It took me forever to get through the middle few chapters. Events start in New York, muddle in LA, pit stop in Italy and brighten up in Paris (as they are generally wont to do). Sara is a bland character who manages some sort of self transformation at the end. I find Paul vacuous. Claire is the life blood of the book, passionate and unpredictable. What a fantastic character. Denis is a poem. Mr. Emmons is clearly fake and aware about it. Sara's parents are wonderful people but clearly wasted on Sara. Charlotte Brontë appears as a quote in each chapter and as a minor sub plot involving a probable authentic letter. There is the thematic concern for the search for true love, whatever that is. I pushed myself to finish this book. The ending did not disappoint but the book did.

[Nyasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bronte Project is honestly a pretty delightful read. The settings feel vivid and bustling in a way most books don’t bother with, and even the minor characters have this little spark that makes them feel genuinely alive rather than just plot furniture. Sara herself is great—very human, very allowed to simply exist and feel without the story trying to turn everything into some grand operatic drama. It’s mostly a comfort read, and that honesty is kind of its charm.

There are a few quirks: Denis is intentionally vague (maybe too vague), and sometimes the plot feels like it’s happening around Sara rather than because of her. But none of that really ruins the experience.

Overall? I really liked it. I’d recommend it to anyone who loves a cozy, slightly odd comfort book… and, ironically, also to anyone who hates France for some reason. I don't though, they are delightful in my experience.

[Lara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Terriiiiiiiibile. Empieza que bueno, a ver, pues está empezando, pero de repente no tiene ni pies ni cabeza, sigue por ahí, no se entiende nada, ni lo que está pasando. Tedioso, convencional... hasta me esperaba el happy ending típico, menos mal que no. Acabarlo fue una liberación. Lo más interesante son los dos o tres apuntes, NO MÁS, sobre las Bronte, especialmente sobre Charlotte. Pero vamos, no te pierdes NADA si no lo lees. Ganas horas para otro libro, a ser posible uno bueno.

[Carroll · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shy young scholar Sara Frost's unsuccessful search for the lost love letters of Charlotte Bronte hasn't won her any favours at her university. But it's not until Sara's fiance suddenly leaves her that she begins to question her life's vocation. How can she reconcile the mythology of romance with the harsh reality of modern love?"

[SweetlySarcasticBibliophile · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

Moments of hilarious wit and poignant thoughts on life, loss, academia, and love mixed in with long sections of confusing and tiring commentary on just about everything. Sometimes it felt so obviously written in 2005 that it pulled me out of the story. The ending maybe was supposed to feel full circle but to me made the 200+ pages read feel pointless.

[Suzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lighthearted romance with a touch of literary information added about the life of Charlotte Bronte. Not much, only to help move the book along. It was well written and I can imagine it being a Hallmark type romance movie. I'm not sure whether it was intended to be more than a chic lit novel but It did feel a bit forced believing itself to be more than that.

[Monica · Rating 1 out of 5]

1-1/2 stars

I was gifted this novel by a friend who loved it, so I felt I needed to finish it. I found it confusing, the characters un-likeable, difficult to follow and pointless. It definitely did not encourage me to read any Bronte.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick light read. Probably best if you don't think about it too much, and nothing particularly groundbreaking or memorable in the story, but an enjoyable enough way to pass a few lazy hours.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its subtitle: A Novel of Passion, Desire and Good PR.It started out great, very funny. It made fun of academia and Hollywood. Unfortunately, it petered out.

[Richard Pierce · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit flaky and without the tension or quest it promised. A diverting little read.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.
It's fun with literary allusions. But the fun gets tiring and is mostly a bunch of tropes.
Recommended for a plane ride or layover or such.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vad har dennes Brontë att göra? Den här berättelsen skulle kunna vara så mycket bättre en nej, den kommer liksom aldrig igång, är rörig och virrig.