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A review by tjwallace04
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was my second time reading "Wide Sargasso Sea," and I found it just as beautiful, powerful, and thought-provoking. It is almost impossible to think about Bertha's character in "Jane Eyre" the same way after reading Jean Rhys' lyrical, dreamlike reimagining of her childhood and the early days of her marriage to Rochester.
The writing is lush. The characters are complicated and interesting and often unfathomable, just like real people. The Caribbean setting is so vivid that it is almost a character itself. Seriously, reading this book is like a fever dream...but the kind that settles into your soul and changes who you are just a little bit.
There are tiny moments in "Wide Sargasso Sea" that are so intense they made my heart ache. For example, when the unnamed husband starts calling Antoinette "Bertha"...[shivers]. The power dynamics and abuse and love and despair, all twisted together, are a lot to take in. But it is worth it! Unless you idolize Mr. Rochester as the perfect Byronic hero and romantic lead...then you may not want to read this book. Because I don't think you can look at him the same afterwards either.
The writing is lush. The characters are complicated and interesting and often unfathomable, just like real people. The Caribbean setting is so vivid that it is almost a character itself. Seriously, reading this book is like a fever dream...but the kind that settles into your soul and changes who you are just a little bit.
There are tiny moments in "Wide Sargasso Sea" that are so intense they made my heart ache. For example, when the unnamed husband starts calling Antoinette "Bertha"...[shivers]. The power dynamics and abuse and love and despair, all twisted together, are a lot to take in. But it is worth it! Unless you idolize Mr. Rochester as the perfect Byronic hero and romantic lead...then you may not want to read this book. Because I don't think you can look at him the same afterwards either.