{Review} TEXTS FROM JANE EYRE (AND OTHER CONVERSATIONS WITH YOUR FAVORITE LITERARY CHARACTERS) by Mallory Ortberg

ISBN #: 978-1627791830

Page Count: 240

Copyright: November 4, 2014

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.; First Edition

Book Summary:

(Taken from Goodreads)

Hilariously imagined text conversations—the passive aggressive, the clever, and the strange—from classic and modern literary figures, from Scarlett O’Hara to Jessica Wakefield.

Mallory Ortberg, the co-creator of the cult-favorite website The Toast, presents this whimsical collection of hysterical text conversations from your favorite literary characters. Everyone knows that if Scarlett O’Hara had an unlimited text-and-data plan, she’d constantly try to tempt Ashley away from Melanie with suggestive messages. If Mr. Rochester could text Jane Eyre, his ardent missives would obviously be in all-caps. And Daisy Buchanan would not only text while driving, she’d text you to pick her up after she totaled her car. Based on the popular web-feature, Texts from Jane Eyre is a witty, irreverent mashup that brings the characters from your favorite books into the twenty-first century.

Kathy's Review:

If our favorite literary characters, or authors, could text, what would they say? The author imagines these conversations throughout the history of literature, beginning with Greek mythology and ending with Katniss and Peeta in “The Hunger Games.” Extremely funny, and spot-on with keeping with the particular character’s quirks or infamous scenes from the books in which they live, Texts is smartly imagined.

Admittedly, I didn’t know a LOT of the literary references in the book. They were still funny, but I think some of the nuance went over my head. There were several jokes relating to Daisy Miller that I didn’t get because I had never heard of this character, but I could still tell that it was stuffy British lit from back in the day and that Daisy had some haters who thought she was a tramp.

The philosophical stuff was funny – basically, some of the crazy-yet-brilliant thoughts of some of the past writers were reimagined into texts and came off as you’d imagine.

Some of my favorites were Miss Havisham’s texts (Great Expectations) reminding all that she was jilted at the altar; Emily Dickinson texting from inside her bedroom to someone on the outside of the door; and Peter Pan as the ultimate druggie, texting Wendy and asking her to come party with him. Surprisingly, some of the more modern literary references were my least favorite. Babysitters Club came along after I was too old to be reading that stuff, so I skipped right over that one. Even Sweet Valley High, of which I was an ardent fan, wasn’t one of my favorites.

This will take you just about an hour to get through, and I’m sure that if you enjoy reading, you’ll be amused at this inventive way to retell their stories.


*A physical copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.