A review by mary_lewispierce
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

5.0

Jean Rhys is a devastating writer. Her books are so good that I can only read them if I am in a good mental place. Otherwise, I find her too destabilizing.

This is her most beautiful novel. It is the narrative of the “madwoman in the attic” from Jane Eyre. It tells the story of Antionette and her early life in Martinique. It is about the cultural and family conflicts that derailed her sanity and brought her to England. It is also about the distance between two cultures, the Caribbean and the English and how that plays out in her relationship with Mr. Rochester.