Wide Sargasso Sea (Penguin Student Editions)
by Jean Rhys
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Read in July, 2008
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I am still processing this short novel and am unwilling to say too much about it while under its influence.
Rhys is, was more than a talented storyteller, she had a very keen notion of in/justice and what kind of living narrative can drive a person to means and ends.
If wanting a comparison, I would be forced to point to Franz Fanon or the poetry of Aime Cesaire. The similarities are immediately evident, I suppose.
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So I've read much of the comme...more
Rhys is, was more than a talented storyteller, she had a very keen notion of in/justice and what kind of living narrative can drive a person to means and ends.
If wanting a comparison, I would be forced to point to Franz Fanon or the poetry of Aime Cesaire. The similarities are immediately evident, I suppose.
-------------------------------------
So I've read much of the comme...more
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Read in May, 2008
It is always a risky thing to create a narrative voice far below your own intelligence level. I find that authors less skillful than, say, Faulkner, end up producing poor quality, simple prose without managing to evoke youthfulness or naivety. The first portion of "Wide Sargasso Sea", suffers from the young teenage voice of Antoinette. I find it easy to scoff at passages like, "I woke next morning knowing that nothing would be the same. It would change and go on changing" or ...more
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recommends it for:
people who loved Jane Eyre or love the gothic genre
The entire point and purpose of this novel is the atmosphere and the mood that it creates both in the minds of the character and the reader. That's really what I felt was the most accomplished thing here. It was very gothic, but managed not to feel antiquated or like all we needed was a few vampires and we had an Anne Rice novel. Rhys makes you feel the scents, the breezes and the raging emotions of the west indies that she is presenting, and I always love that in a novel.
The narrative poin...more
The narrative poin...more
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Read in July, 2002
I have read several books over the past year that were inspired by or offered different viewpoints on other books and stories. These included "The Red Tent", "Wicked", "The Hours", and most recently "Wide Sargasso Sea." I have enjoyed reading all of them and love seeing new perspectives on classic tales. "Wide Sargasso Sea" is Jean Rhys' take on Bronte's "Jane Eyre". However, instead of focusing on Jane Eyre, Ryhs instead turns the lens...more
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While doing some research on fan fiction, I came upon a comment that while it is widely derided as non-literary work, there does exist recognized literary writing that is, in essence, fan fiction. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys was one of these examples.
The story is that of Antoinette Cosway, also known as Bertha Mason. If you think you’ve heard that name before, Bertha is the mad wife in the attic from Jane Eyre. Rhys tells Antoinette’s story from her childhood in Jamaica to her hasty m...more
The story is that of Antoinette Cosway, also known as Bertha Mason. If you think you’ve heard that name before, Bertha is the mad wife in the attic from Jane Eyre. Rhys tells Antoinette’s story from her childhood in Jamaica to her hasty m...more
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Read in April, 2008
I've just started reading this book, which I've been wanting to read for so long. I'm very excited about this particular edition, because it has footnotes (I LOVE books with footnotes, I'm such a nerd) and all sorts of interesting historical details about the author and the setting (Jamaica, Dominica, Caribbean). Thanks to everyone who encouraged me to read this one!!
Okay, I just finished it yesterday - wow, what a fast read! I was surprised by how short it was, and yet how much it contai...more
Okay, I just finished it yesterday - wow, what a fast read! I was surprised by how short it was, and yet how much it contai...more
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Read in March, 2008
Creo que mi problema con este libro es que tenía demasiadas expectativas puestas en él. El problema es que la adaptación de la BBC me gustó muchísimo y esperaba que el libro me gustara aún más. En principio lo tiene todo para enamorarme, porque se centra en la primera esposa del Mr. Rochester de 'Jane Eyre' (la loca del desván), desde su infancia en Jamaica, pasando por su matrimonio con cierto señor inglés que se va deteriorando progresivamente, y acabando recluída en una casa ingles...more
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Few books have affected me this deeply. It is a very moving account of Antoinette/Bertha's spiral into madness. As a reader you become absorbed; feel her pain as she realises that happiness will always elude her. You really do not have to have read Jane Eyre, in order to enjoy this but having it in your reading memory will give Wide Sargasso Sea an added dimension. Bronte does not give a voice to the mad woman in the attic, leaving us little possibility to understand her. Rhys give...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
post-colonial scholars, angry people of color, Bronte-fans
Dear God, what an audacious and inconsistent book. It takes some bold spirit to write a prequel to [Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, but Dominican author Jean Rhys takes a strike at it. What you end up with is a novel that definitely bears the imprint of the post-colonialism that was wildly popular in 1966, but still has striking relevance in ...more
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Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
anyone interested in West Indies culture/politics; Jane Eyreites
This is a must-read for anyone who's read and enjoyed "Jane Eyre." It's the story of Bertha...Mr. Rochester's first wife. This short novel (around 100 pages) is divided into three parts.
Part I tells the story of Bertha's childhood in the West Indies from her own point of view. It outlines her relationship to her mother, her few aquaintances, and her homeland.
Part II is from the point of view of Bertha's new husband (an unnamed Mr. Rochester) and details his reaction to dis...more
Part I tells the story of Bertha's childhood in the West Indies from her own point of view. It outlines her relationship to her mother, her few aquaintances, and her homeland.
Part II is from the point of view of Bertha's new husband (an unnamed Mr. Rochester) and details his reaction to dis...more
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Read in October, 2004
I greatly enjoyed Wide Sargasso Sea. There is the draw of looking at what is, essentially, a piece of published fanfiction (one which was written in response to the colonialism and racism which Rhys saw in Brontë's text), but even leaving that aside, it is a very well-written piece of work. Her prose is lush and descriptive, without ever becoming overly florid, and I thought she used first person POV remarkably well. Plenty of insight into the characters, but always the reminder that the...more
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Read in January, 2008
I was drawn to this book when I heard about its premise—it is about Bertha, the crazy wife of Mr. Rochester who is held captive in the attic in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. The novel explores her life in the Carribean and her subsequent existence in England, as a way of uncovering untold narratives. As fascinating the premise was, the book was disappointing. The prose was very lyrical, with a dreamy and dazed tone, which made it beautiful but also very confusing to follow. Despite the stren...more
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Read in March, 2008
This book was just gorgeous. Sadly, I must admit that I haven't read Jane Eyre, but I know the story well enough (There was a summer when my mom became obsessed with the book and watched every movie version of it ever made.) and I definitely am interested in reading it after this novel. The writing style is a bit difficult to get into, but after a while the words began to flow beautifully and I just fell into the story. The imagery was very vivid and intense. Watching how completely Rochester ...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommended to Sera by:
RGBCrecommends it for: People who have read Jane Eyre
This review is a difficult one for me, because I thought that the book was "ok", but once I realized when it had been written, I gained more appreciation for it. The book reads as contemporary literature and reminds me of books that have been published more recently.
The story itself moved a little slowly for me, even though the overall book was short. For those of you who aren't familiar, the story is about how Mr. Rochester and Bertha from Jane Eyre met and became married. The...more
The story itself moved a little slowly for me, even though the overall book was short. For those of you who aren't familiar, the story is about how Mr. Rochester and Bertha from Jane Eyre met and became married. The...more
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This book may not be ideal for people who idolized the original novel as little girls and wanted to read a fan-fiction about how Rochester met his first wife. Of course, if you belong in this category you could still definitely enjoy this well-written book, but keep your mind open and don't expect the writing to resemble Bronte's.
I've never read Jane Eyre, so the complete effect may have been lost on me, but this novel still made a great impression on me. Wide Sargasso Sea isn't really a cri...more
I've never read Jane Eyre, so the complete effect may have been lost on me, but this novel still made a great impression on me. Wide Sargasso Sea isn't really a cri...more
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Read in April, 2008
And now for something completely different...
At first I disliked this book intensely because it wasn't what I thought it was. I'd built up some sort of idea that the book was a close reworking of "Jane Eyre".
Well.
It isn't, and I was ticked (can you say immmature?) because I was surprised and felt let down. In my anal way, I didn't just pitch the book, but kept on reading, and I'm mightily glad that I did.
"Wide Sargasso Sea" is a great book about life in the Caribbe...more
At first I disliked this book intensely because it wasn't what I thought it was. I'd built up some sort of idea that the book was a close reworking of "Jane Eyre".
Well.
It isn't, and I was ticked (can you say immmature?) because I was surprised and felt let down. In my anal way, I didn't just pitch the book, but kept on reading, and I'm mightily glad that I did.
"Wide Sargasso Sea" is a great book about life in the Caribbe...more
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Read in January, 2007
This book was incredible, lyrical, subversive, and engaging. I particularly enjoyed analysing it for my English HL Paper II, what with the suggestion of Rochester and Antoinette's marriage as an essentially colonialist encounter, and the use of symbols that linked Antoinette's experience to Jane's.
I've never actually read Jane Eyre, and I don't think I ever will...when I heard some innocent middle schoolers discussing how much of a monster Bertha was, and "ugly", too, I totally had ...more
I've never actually read Jane Eyre, and I don't think I ever will...when I heard some innocent middle schoolers discussing how much of a monster Bertha was, and "ugly", too, I totally had ...more
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Read in September, 2007
The story of the mad woman in the attic from jane eyre. A lovely story with gorgeous settings and lyrical language. however, being a lover of jane eyre, it was a little hard to wrap my head around, another side of the same story but not in the same way wicked is. It was also a bit hard for me to get into it because I knew the ending already (having read Jane eyre) and her ending is not pretty. Sometimes this works for stories -- like star wars, right? knowing the ending made the firs...more
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recommends it for:
people who enjoy elaboration on minor characters
This book is an elaboration on the character of Bertha, the first wife on Mr. Rochester in the novel "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte. Set in Jamaica and ripe with metaphors of colonialism and gender-based oppression, this novel breathes life into the character that "Jane Eyre" readers know only as a madwoman in the attic. It forces readers of both (and even those who haven't read "Jane Eyre" but are familiar with the story) to question the information they are giv...more
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