Reviews

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

mikaelarose's review against another edition

dark reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I definitely have mixed feelings about this book. Just kinda meh. 

From a writing standpoint I found it at some points hard to read and keep track of the perspective shifts. I wasn’t in love with her syntax either. 

I also found it an interesting choice to center Rochester’s point of view. Having never read Jane Eyre, I found him rather unlikable and concerning and slightly unstable himself. 

Plus realizing midway through that it was written by a white woman who grew up in Jamaica made a lot of sense. What could be read as high satire and societal commentary was very much dampened. 

seowsauce's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Also had to read this book for one of my classes and I really liked it honestly. Ngl I should have read Jane Eyre prior to get the references to Rochester and etc but overall my heart just broke for Antoinette over and over in this book. She didn’t know herself and was searching for it from the beginning to the end of the book and for most Caribbean people I know this is a common experience. All in all, it was a good book but I didn’t fall in love with it like I thought I would. 

priimarina's review against another edition

2.0

1.5 - would've been so much higher if it was entirely original and unattached to jane eyre :/ disappointingly flat interpretations of the characters and a very convoluted writing style that's just not for me

stella_angelica's review against another edition

3.0

Mixed feelings. Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books and I loved seeing any insight into Bertha's backstory. I found it surprisingly hard to follow though. It's a very short read and I understood all of the words, so I wouldn't think I'd get confused, but the syntax was so strange. I found myself re-reading sentences multiple times. It was kind of a jarring, trippy stream-of-consciousness that left me wanting more substance

lyssaczernek's review against another edition

1.75

1.75 stars - I just can't get behind a piece of fanfiction, written 120 years after the publishing of Jane Eyre, being deemed literary canon. How can Rhys' imagination of Bertha/Antoinette's backstory be considered the "real history" when she took Bronte's character and added a bunch of stuff onto her? I think it's fine to speculate about alternative origins or endings for characters. But it seems unethical to label Wide Sargasso Sea as anything other than an author putting her own imagination into someone else's story. 

On top of that, the story was confusing with details being omitted and brushed past. None of the characters were reliable so I'm not sure at the end of this, what Wide Sargasso Sea did to uplift Antoinette. This story also doesn't make any sense unless you've read Jane Eyre. Overall, it's not the strongest writing I've ever read. 

ashlyngregoryy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

callie_w's review against another edition

2.0

Felt like bad fan fiction to me.

horsehighpriestess's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

hannah_who's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

libliz's review against another edition

5.0

I'm typically not a fan of re-tellings/prequels/sequels to literary canon; however, this is an example of it done correctly. Loosely affiliated, beautiful, enlightening, and--in true Jean Rhys style--irresistibly tragic.