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357th out of 1,918 books
—
2,527 voters
Jane Was Here
by
Sarah Kernochan (Goodreads Author)
A thriller that explores reincarnation, Jane Was Here follows a mysterious young woman, who calls herself Jane, who turns up in a small New England town. She claims a fragmentary memory of growing up in the town, yet she has never been there before in her life. Upon her arrival, strange and alarming things begin happening to some of the town's inhabitants. As Jane's memori...more
Hardcover, 298 pages
Published
June 14th 2011
by Grey Swan Press
(first published June 2nd 2011)
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A HAUNTING FATE
One of the most talked about books of the late seventies was “Audrey Rose” by Frank De Felitta. A frightening tale of reincarnation, it not only sparked a movie adaption but also began an era of passionate discussion on reincarnation.
For years after, I devoured books on reincarnation finding convincing supporting anecdotal evidence. Even the actress Shirley MacLaine is adamant she has lived multiple lives—one, famously, as a lover of ancient emperor Charlemagne.
So when I first di...more
One of the most talked about books of the late seventies was “Audrey Rose” by Frank De Felitta. A frightening tale of reincarnation, it not only sparked a movie adaption but also began an era of passionate discussion on reincarnation.
For years after, I devoured books on reincarnation finding convincing supporting anecdotal evidence. Even the actress Shirley MacLaine is adamant she has lived multiple lives—one, famously, as a lover of ancient emperor Charlemagne.
So when I first di...more
Jane Was Here is a spellbinding gothic tale that tingles the spine and jangles the nerves. The story explores the subject of reincarnation with a clever narrative device: a vagrant girl arrives in a sleepy town, unable to recall her past, but she remembers with conviction that her past has a profound connection to where she has found herself in the present. I was drawn into the tale from the first page and felt immersed in the small New England community. The deft prose intertwines the reader wi...more
Oh dear Jesus in Heaven…I don’t even know where to start with this book without sounding like Ozzy on a bender. So… I guess I could always start at the beginning. Sound good to you? (Nod your head yes.)
The beginning (aka the synopsis)
“A mysterious young woman calling herself Jane turns up in a small New England town. She claims a fragmentary memory of growing up in this place, yet she has never been here before in her life. Upon her arrival, strange and alarming things begin happening to some o...more
The beginning (aka the synopsis)
“A mysterious young woman calling herself Jane turns up in a small New England town. She claims a fragmentary memory of growing up in this place, yet she has never been here before in her life. Upon her arrival, strange and alarming things begin happening to some o...more
Jane Was Here is a classic page turner. The plot shifts and turns and challenges the reader to pay very close attention to every detail. That's not hard to do since the author is such talented writer. The words seem to flow so perfectly on the page. Her style is easy to read, but not facile. Every word seems to be there for a reason. The plot jumps back and forth to modern day new england and 19th century new england with an ease only a skilled writer like sarah kernochan can deliver. it's not e...more
I cannot go into the ins and outs of this story without giving away the plot or without explaining things in such detail that I might as well re-write the book so the basics are this: Jane shows up in a small town claiming that she’s been here before. Is it a reincarnation? Is it a spirit that has taken over Jane’s body? Are you involved yet? The townspeople get really involved in all this too. The underlying tone is about how past history can affect what is going on today but the true mystery t...more
In "Jane Was Here," Sarah Kernochan has created a stunning and remarkable story that grabbed me at the first sentence and didn't let me go until I had devoured the entire story. Moving smoothly and quickly, the story has so many levels that if I tried to explain what it was all about, I'd completely spoil it for you, the future reader of this amazing book.
Who is Jane? She arrives in Granynier, searching for answers. She invites herself into a house rented for the summer by Brett so he could spen...more
Who is Jane? She arrives in Granynier, searching for answers. She invites herself into a house rented for the summer by Brett so he could spen...more
Jane does not remember much about her past. Only that the town of Graynier seems familiar to her somehow. When Jane arrives in town, she meets Brett. Brett is renting out a home for the summer. It just so happens that it is the home that Jane lived in or the place that she thinks she lived in. Jane ends up staying with Brett until she can piece together her past and who she really is. With Jane’s appearance comes a dark secret that some of the towns folk don’t want uncovered and will do anything...more
I would like to start by saying I normally only really read young adult books so it was a nice change to read something for adult readers and it was such a magnificent book.
There were a LOT of interesting and exciting characters in the book and while I really enjoyed reading about them what I fell in love with was the story that blazed through the whole book. The mystery that surrounded Jane in her quest to find out the truth about herself. Who is this strange old fashioned talking young women...more
There were a LOT of interesting and exciting characters in the book and while I really enjoyed reading about them what I fell in love with was the story that blazed through the whole book. The mystery that surrounded Jane in her quest to find out the truth about herself. Who is this strange old fashioned talking young women...more
Sometimes the biggest pleasures in life come from stepping outside what you know and trying something different. A book like "Jane Was Here" by Sarah Kernochan (@SarahKernochan) isn't something I might normally pick up to read -- I usually like some creature(s) with my paranormal -- but man, am I glad I did.
Thrilling and suspenseful, "Jane" has everything, and I mean everything, that I love in a story -- and more. Sharply-drawn characters, clear and engaging prose, and an intriguing and beguili...more
Thrilling and suspenseful, "Jane" has everything, and I mean everything, that I love in a story -- and more. Sharply-drawn characters, clear and engaging prose, and an intriguing and beguili...more
This is sooo not my thing. I'm not a fan of this whole Paranormal crap. Yeah, I watch True Blood, but that's only because I love that Eric Northman guy.
I was up at a friend's house for a few days, and forgot to bring some reading material, and needed something - anything to read. My friend writes for a book blog so she has tons of books around her house. I'm not sure why I picked this on up. It looked like an easy read for some reason.
Well lemme tell ya, I was right, it was an easy read, but no...more
I was up at a friend's house for a few days, and forgot to bring some reading material, and needed something - anything to read. My friend writes for a book blog so she has tons of books around her house. I'm not sure why I picked this on up. It looked like an easy read for some reason.
Well lemme tell ya, I was right, it was an easy read, but no...more
I was lucky enough to get a galley a few weeks ago. This was a real page turner. I had to find out what happened before I could do anything else. This book has something for everybody - at least the everybodies in my life. You've got mystery and suspense, afterlife and the paranormal, 19th century romance, sex, drugs but no rock n roll, blood, gore, and even a dog or two.
I don't know how I feel about past lives and reincarnation. I try to do right in this life, but sometimes I think, "Geez! Wha...more
I don't know how I feel about past lives and reincarnation. I try to do right in this life, but sometimes I think, "Geez! Wha...more
What a letdown. The author worked so hard to weave together this intricate plot with such a fascinating premise that just gets more and more interesting as it goes... Despite the ridiculous overuse of the word "truly" I was immensely enjoying this book. But at the end it feels as though the author just got tired of writing it. There's a wonderful story there, but even though I've finished the book, I don't feel like there was a resolution. At the end when everything is supposed to be revealed, I...more
JANE WAS HERE
by
Sarah Kernochan
This is, quite simply, a masterful novel. Yes, it has an essential paranormal strand, as ghosts of the past return to haunt the living. Yes, it is also a mystery, where the enigmatic Jane and the truth she seeks about her past are revealed so gradually that one dare not lose concentration for a single moment. She searches for herself with the same desperation we assume in our search of her.
But ‘Jane Was Here’ is, most importantly, a beautifully told story. The shee...more
by
Sarah Kernochan
This is, quite simply, a masterful novel. Yes, it has an essential paranormal strand, as ghosts of the past return to haunt the living. Yes, it is also a mystery, where the enigmatic Jane and the truth she seeks about her past are revealed so gradually that one dare not lose concentration for a single moment. She searches for herself with the same desperation we assume in our search of her.
But ‘Jane Was Here’ is, most importantly, a beautifully told story. The shee...more
Where do you go when your only memories seem to stem from a life not your own? Who do you call family when those who birthed you are but strangers? Meet Jane...a woman lost in the past who must find herself before she is lost once again in the present.
When Jane enters the small town of Graynier, it is familiar in a way that it shouldn't be, given that she's never been there before. But she has. She hangs onto this certainty as she claims for herself a house that is being occupied by a young man...more
When Jane enters the small town of Graynier, it is familiar in a way that it shouldn't be, given that she's never been there before. But she has. She hangs onto this certainty as she claims for herself a house that is being occupied by a young man...more
Aug 04, 2011
Stephanie
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Fans of mystery or historical fiction
Shelves:
first-reads,
2011-reading
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I was instantly intrigued by the premise of Jane Was Here but when I started reading it I almost decided not to finish it. I wasn’t sure what direction the book was heading. I was glad that I continued reading it and ignore the things that annoyed me. That being said you do get wrapped up in Jane’s mystery. You want to know where she came from and what she wants. Has she brought on all the strange occurrences to Graynier or is it just a coincidence.
Brett Sampson has come to town with his son, Co...more
Brett Sampson has come to town with his son, Co...more
Jane Was Here by Sarah Kernochan is an intriguing story from beginning to end. It is a mysterious and anomalous story about Jane. Jane is a bit of a mystery. She shows up one night at the house that Brett Sampson has rented claiming to have lived there. Jane doesn't know how she knows this, she just does. Brett is strangely drawn to Jane and he makes it his mission to help her unravel her cryptic past.
The story line in this novel is strange but good. I found myself wrapped up in the story not a...more
The story line in this novel is strange but good. I found myself wrapped up in the story not a...more
I consider myself very lucky to have won a copy of this amazing book on Goodreads.
From the first two sentences I was immediately hooked:
"The night is pale, humid, with a few begrimed clouds. The moon has hung around so long it's ignored, unremarkable as a thumb-tack."
The book is full of similar gorgeous prose, which literally made me smile to myself while reading it. This novel is certainly not short on plot either!
I do love a good mystery, and when you throw that mystery into a small town, wher...more
From the first two sentences I was immediately hooked:
"The night is pale, humid, with a few begrimed clouds. The moon has hung around so long it's ignored, unremarkable as a thumb-tack."
The book is full of similar gorgeous prose, which literally made me smile to myself while reading it. This novel is certainly not short on plot either!
I do love a good mystery, and when you throw that mystery into a small town, wher...more
2.5 Stars.
This book didn't do it for me in several ways:
1. While I enjoy the whole reincarnation idea, I also believe that through reincarnation you grow spiritually and have the opportunity to redeem or redress past wrongs. However, Kernochan uses reincarnation as a vehicle to the proverbial "what goes around comes around" saying. The characters are pitiful in their current existence, waiting for Jane to come and shake things up. Nah. Don't buy it.
2. Jane was annoying.
3. There were obviously s...more
This book didn't do it for me in several ways:
1. While I enjoy the whole reincarnation idea, I also believe that through reincarnation you grow spiritually and have the opportunity to redeem or redress past wrongs. However, Kernochan uses reincarnation as a vehicle to the proverbial "what goes around comes around" saying. The characters are pitiful in their current existence, waiting for Jane to come and shake things up. Nah. Don't buy it.
2. Jane was annoying.
3. There were obviously s...more
Jane Was Here is an utterly eerie read, and the premise is certainly unusual and intriguing. However, I can’t help but feel that it’s overly ambitious: though the author certainly has facility with prose and character, overall the book doesn’t quite hang together. The three-part approach, with the middle section of the book being told in epistolary form, has something to do with this, but it’s also the extreme interconnectedness of the characters and their pasts that detracts somewhat from the n...more
The prose here is BEAUTIFUL. Absolutely flawless and occassionally staggering. For the writing alone this novel is worth it but the story is no slouch either; the lives of several people in a small New England town become at first complicated then supernaturally sinister after a near-miss accident with a young pedestrian - a stranger - in Graynier.
Jane is a woman with no memories yet MANY memories and as she tries to unravel the pieces of what turns out to be her very distant past, others in the...more
Jane is a woman with no memories yet MANY memories and as she tries to unravel the pieces of what turns out to be her very distant past, others in the...more
All aspects of Sarah Kernochan's novel "Jane Was Here" can be described with one word: ridiculous.
Let's begin with the characters of this book because I find them to be where "Jane Was Here" fails the most. All of the characters are obnoxious, stupid, and pathetic. None of them are likable in the least. I don't know why it would seem reasonable to create characters with whom readers will not sympathize. Some of them are not even really woven into the main plot and are just added in to make a po...more
Let's begin with the characters of this book because I find them to be where "Jane Was Here" fails the most. All of the characters are obnoxious, stupid, and pathetic. None of them are likable in the least. I don't know why it would seem reasonable to create characters with whom readers will not sympathize. Some of them are not even really woven into the main plot and are just added in to make a po...more
This story is about reincarnation and a mysterious woman named Jane, who is eager to learn about her past after arriving in a town called Granynier. The history surrounding her kept me from putting the book down. I wanted to know what happened to her and why.
Not only was this eerie, there were surprises that I didn’t see coming. The characters kept me intrigued and I appreciated Sarah’s talent as she skillfully weaved their backstories amongst the plotlines.
This novel was thought provoking and...more
Not only was this eerie, there were surprises that I didn’t see coming. The characters kept me intrigued and I appreciated Sarah’s talent as she skillfully weaved their backstories amongst the plotlines.
This novel was thought provoking and...more
Jane Was Here presents an engaging take on the concept of reincarnation and how connections from a former life impact the progression of one's current life.
Karma is definitely at play when Jane returns to the the town she inhabited years ago, seeking to remember and to avenge (though even Jane doesn't know that at first).
A solid novel with excellent characters and the ability to keep the reader interested despite some odd concepts and themes introduced in the plot. Some of these concepts could b...more
Karma is definitely at play when Jane returns to the the town she inhabited years ago, seeking to remember and to avenge (though even Jane doesn't know that at first).
A solid novel with excellent characters and the ability to keep the reader interested despite some odd concepts and themes introduced in the plot. Some of these concepts could b...more
I won this book from Goodreads, and was looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately, it started slow and never really gained the kind of momentum I would have liked to see. The text was florid, very descriptive, but it felt more like a still pond, picturesque but stagnant, than the burbling river it could, and should, have been. I spent the whole book waiting for the various threads to connect but when they finally did it was in an abrupt and dissatisfying way. The last few chapters tried to wr...more
Riveting from page 1...I couldn't put this down. What a roller coaster of a mix of mystery, paranormal, reincarnation, historical and horror. This book is down and dirty, getting under your skin and fingernails and lingering in the imagination long after you stop reading. (You can tell the author is a screenwriter by her vivid descriptions). Kernochan does an amazing job with character - making you sympathize with pathetic, unlikable characters. She gives you food for thought, about actions exac...more
Really enjoyed this book. I found the characters believable and sometimes funny. Hoyt the lazy - who only wanted to drink and read (bit like me there). Marly the whore who always thought things could be worse. Brett the web designer struggling to know his son who met Gita who liked India but not being Indian and her brother who liked being Indian but not India. Lots more good characters bringing the story to a great finish when all became clear. For a supernatural book I thought it was quite jol...more
Not bad. The story started out interesting with a young woman appearing in a town and having no memory except that she is from there. Strange things begin happening to a few of the town's residents while Jane tries to figure out her history. I won't give away her story, but it wasn't what I expected. The author did a nice job introducing the characters and providing Jane's history throughout the story. Unfortunately, it wasn't what I was expecting and had I known this would have been what the st...more
Jane Was Here by Sarah Kernochan is a griping thriller about a young woman who is living displaced in time. A man (Brett) trying to bond with the son that he has barely any contact with ends up renting a house in a small town called Graynier. Early one morning he is awakened by a young woman knocking on his door insisting that he is staying in her house. For reasons he himself doesn't understand he decides to let her stay with them until he figures out what is really going on.
Everything about t...more
Everything about t...more
Wow, this book really pulled me in. It was a dark, eerie story about reincarnation and karma punishing the sins of past lives. A mysterious young woman calling herself Jane wanders into the town of Graynier. No one knows who she is, and she doesn't seem to know either. Jane shows up at the house that Brett Sampson is renting for the summer, telling him it used to be her home. She's searching for clues to her past in hopes of discovering her true identity. Brett feels an unexplainable connection...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| Sisterhood of the...: Jane Was Here by Sarah Kernochan | 16 | 23 | Apr 26, 2013 01:11pm |
I decided to be a writer at age 14. The books I loved made me want to draw love in the same way, to beguile and woo a reader away from the sensory world. I don't think of myself as an author but rather as a storyteller. I have only published two books because I got sidetracked into film. That career reached its peak with my directing a movie from my own script called "All I Wanna Do" [original tit...more
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“Life ends with a snap of small bones, a head cracked from its stem, and a spirit unmoored...”
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5 people liked it
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Nov 30, 2011 10:56am