Book: The Flight of Gemma Hardy

 

Author: Margot Livesey

 

Genre: Romance/Coming of Age Novel

 

Summary: Taken from her native Iceland to Scotland in the early 1950s when her widower father drowns at sea, young Gemma Hardy comes to live with her kindly uncle and his family. But his death leaves Gemma under the care of her resentful aunt, and she suddenly finds herself an unwelcome guest. Surviving oppressive years as a strict private school, Gemma ultimately finds a job as an au pair to the eight-year-old niece of Mr. Sinclair on the Orkney Islands - and here, at the mysterious and remote Blackbird Hall, Gemma's greatest trial begins. - Harper Perennial, 2012.

 

I really enjoyed this story about a young girl who is cast out by her wicked Aunt after her beloved Uncle passes away. As a result, she ends up on a interesting, but often hard, journey that leads her to find her roots, all the while keeping her fighting spirit. Gemma is a feisty character who is smart and self-sufficient and who struggles to rise about the labels she was saddled with at such a young age. The writing is great and very visual. I loved the descriptions of the Orkney Islands and Iceland and some history of each. I also loved the fact that I couldn't figure out where the story was going next. I like to be surprised! This book did not disappoint.

Jane Eyre is my all-time favorite book. I fell in love with it when I was 11 and I’m still in love with it now. I love the book so much that I actually bought a hand full of Jane Eyre retellings so I can read a fraction of the original Jane Eyre in different perspectives and themes. But a majority of the retellings I’ve read were just plain awful. But The Flight of Gemma Hardy was actually a refreshing best in all the retellings I’ve read of Jane Eyre.

I think one of the mistakes that authors have made when they wrote a Jane Eyre retelling, was skipping Jane’s childhood. Thus, lacking heavily in character development. The Flight of Gemma Hardy, on the other hand, started in childhood and spent a considerable amount of time elaborating on Gemma Hardy’s early years, her struggles, and how and why she is the person she is now.

What makes this book really unique was the authors original touches to the book. For example, the book was set in the early 40’s and 50’s, the dialogue and occurrences were all different. Jane in this book actually had another boy in interest and it wasn’t always about Mr. Rochester.

Though I adored this book. The details and plot were confusing and really didn’t catch my interest. The books plot is a lot different than the original Jane Eyre book – so I spent the majority of the book waiting for the ex-wife to pop up only to figure out that there wasn’t one. So things, got really confusing and I just couldn’t catch on the last few chapters of the book. The book was very unpredictable at times. I don’t know if I should welcome that or not.

Another area the book was lacking was the obvious tension between Gemma (Jane) and Mr. Sinclair (Rochester). Instead of the romance gradually growing with tension and friendship. The entire romance felt forced and that disappointed me a little.

In short, The flight of Gemma Hardy was a wonderfully written book. It was a great retelling of Jane Eyre and it still had its originalities that makes the book unpredictable and different. Despite it’s flaws, the book was a breath of fresh air.

I usually detest modernizations and retellings of classic literature, but this one received such high praise that I found myself, with trepidation, checking it out from the library. I am so glad I did. Gemma's tale is beautifully written. It follows the story of Jane Eyre in its main arc, but the details belong firmly to Gemma--enough so, that by the mid-point of the book, I was entirely unsure what would happen next. Even so, Livesey peppers the tale with little nods to Bronte in a way I found delightful. Gemma herself is recognizable as a Jane type: she is brave, fiercely independent, and extraordinarily bright. Livesey's prose is much the same. I was pleased with it all the way through, and will look for more of her writing in the future.