Name: Wide Sargasso Sea
Rating: 3.619791666666667 (192 reviews)
ISBN: 9780393352566

Jean Rhys

Wide Sargasso Sea

sage lynn

All this was long ago, when I was still babyish and sure that everything was alive, not only the river or the rain, but chairs, looking-glasses, cups, saucers, everything.

We stared at each other, blood on my face, tears on hers. It was as if I saw myself. Like in a looking-glass.

I clung to Aunt Cora as you would cling to life if you loved it.

Soon we were back in the shifting shadows outside, more beautiful than any perpetual light could be[.]

There are always two deaths, the real one and the one people know about.

I hated the mountains and the hills, the rivers and the rain. I hated the sunsets of whatever colour, I hated its beauty and its magic and the secret I would never know. I hated its indifference and the cruelty which was part of its loveliness. Above all I hated her. For she belonged to the magic and the loveliness. She had left me thirsty and all my life would be thirst and longing for what I had lost before I found it.

I think this quote is a very clever way to both show the drastic changes to Antoinette’s life following the end of slavery and to show how little she understands them, but having now progressed further into the book, I also think it’s a very interesting observation about the state of white society on the island without forced labor. 

The racist characters in this book may try to attribute this standstill to the “laziness” of the black people who won’t work unless forced to, but I see instead a group of white people incapable of picking themselves up and addressing their own needs in the absence of free, forced labor — The roads are in disrepair because they will neither pay someone to fix them nor do the work to fix them themselves, but prefer instead to wallow and play the victim. 

Bethany Jenkins

“When I asked her why so few people came to see us, she told me that the road from Spanish Town to Coulibri Estate where we lived was very bad and that road repairing was now a thing of the past. (My father, visitors, horses, feeling safe in bed - all belonged to the past.)”

“She spoke hesitatingly as if she expected me to refuse, so it was easy to do so.”

Writing that lands you in a place so well you're sure you've been there.

It's Jessie

Antoinette Cosway is a Creole heiress - product of an inbred, decadent, expatriate community - a sensitive girl at once beguiled and repelled by the lush Jamaican landscape. Soon after her marriage to Rochester rumours of madness in the Cosway family poison Rochester's mind against her.

very short and I inhaled this in 2 days (mostly because I had to for class)

a re-telling of Jane Eyre from the POV of Bertha Mason - I have never read Jane Eyre but I don't think that took away from my appreciation of this text. (I looked up the Wikipedia summary for Jane Eyre right after tho)

we discussed this paired with Gayatri Spivak's "Can the Subaltern Speak" - while Antoinette / Bertha is relegated to subalternity in Brönte's classic, Rhys' retelling offers a narrative voice to the initially voiceless character. this book is not without its complications in representation - what happens to its black characters like Tia and Christophine, who are doubly subaltern because of race? - but I think it's a very interesting literary experiment on voice and visibility, and well-deserving of its place in the canon of postcolonial literature.

Taira Robles

very short and I inhaled this in 2 days (mostly because I had to for class)

a re-telling of Jane Eyre from the POV of Bertha Mason - I have never read Jane Eyre but I don't think that took away from my appreciation of this text. (I looked up the Wikipedia summary for Jane Eyre right after tho)

we discussed this paired with Gayatri Spivak's "Can the Subaltern Speak" - while Antoinette / Bertha is relegated to subalternity in Brönte's classic, Rhys' retelling offers a narrative voice to the initially voiceless character. this book is not without its complications in representation - what happens to its black characters like Tia and Christophine, who are doubly subaltern because of race? - but I think it's a very interesting literary experiment on voice and visibility, and well-deserving of its place in the canon of postcolonial literature.

A gorgeous clothbound edition of Jean Rhys's great masterpiece of desire and madness in the Caribbean, published for the novel's fiftieth anniversary. Born into the oppressive, colonialist society of 1930s Jamaica, white Creole heiress Antoinette Cosway meets a young Englishman who is drawn to her innocent beauty and sensuality. After their marriage, however, disturbing rumours begin to circulate which poison her husband against her. Caught between his demands and her own precarious sense of belonging, Antoinette is inexorably driven towards madness, and her husband into the arms of another novel's heroine. This classic study of betrayal, a seminal work of postcolonial literature, is Jean Rhys's brief, beautiful masterpiece. This anniversary edition includes a new appendix featuring letters, photographs and manuscript pages from the novel's first publication in 1966. 'She took one of the works of genius of the nineteenth century and turned it inside-out to create one of the works of genius of the twentieth century' Michele Roberts, The Times

It is always tricky writing a transformative work as an established and published author (rather than informally, for your own enjoyment only) but it comes so naturally to Jean Rhys than one cannot help and read with awe.

The novel, of course, heavily relies on being familiar with Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre". However, it still manages to stand on its own, with Rhys's prose and style bringing to life a narration that draws on the author's own living experience. It addresses all the issues that Rhys has (and I feel a lot of modern readers cannot help but to have) picked upon and has felt warrant response - the way Antoinette / Bertha (an by extension - sex) is treated by Bronte's narrative, negative stereotypes of Creole people, the little addressed matter of British colonialism in the Carribean - and does so beautifully.

I understand why the novel as drawn a polarised response. It is on the more stylistic literary fiction side which may not always connect with readers. But I still found it draw a complex portrait of a woman and a marriage falling apart in a way that still reads contemporary and relevant.

It is always tricky writing a transformative work as an established and published author (rather than informally, for your own enjoyment only) but it comes so naturally to Jean Rhys than one cannot help and read with awe.

The novel, of course, heavily relies on being familiar with Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre". However, it still manages to stand on its own, with Rhys's prose and style bringing to life a narration that draws on the author's own living experience. It addresses all the issues that Rhys has (and I feel a lot of modern readers cannot help but to have) picked upon and has felt warrant response - the way Antoinette / Bertha (an by extension - sex) is treated by Bronte's narrative, negative stereotypes of Creole people, the little addressed matter of British colonialism in the Carribean - and does so beautifully.

I understand why the novel as drawn a polarised response. It is on the more stylistic literary fiction side which may not always connect with readers. But I still found it draw a complex portrait of a woman and a marriage falling apart in a way that still reads contemporary and relevant.

Andrew John Kinney

I read this years ago, more because I was interested in Jean Rhys' Caribbean background than because I loved the book. This time, the book grabbed me and didn't let me go. The writing is much better than I remembered, and the Caribbean setting is so well drawn. The book is regarded as a feminist response to Jane Eyre, so at some point I'll have to read it as well. Rhys makes clear how tenuous a woman's existence was in the patriarchal society; even more so in the far-flung corners of empire like Jamaica and Dominica. I read a version I found on line that was a pdf of a side-by-side translation into Spanish with notes on the text which were actually quite helpful.

I loved this and I feel like this is the kind of book I love even more upon rereading it

Emmm :p

Absolutely loved the narration of Bertha or to say 'Antoinette's story Jean Rhys brings justice to Bertha's point of view for those who read Jane Eyre and felt pity or in favour of Bertha. The shift of pov's in the book gives a broader perspectives to the reader. It is a fast paced book with enthralling descriptions of nature and islands. One of the sensitive topic discussed by Jean is racial relationship during the Emancipation Act and after it After having read Jane Eyre years ago, I feel so much full of emotions for Bertha Mason. It's like the story of Jane Eyre is complete for me now! It's a must read.

Jasmine

Antoinette Cosway is a Creole heiress living in Jamaica, who meets and marries a young Englishman, Mr Rochester. Taken from the vibrant, sensual Caribbean landscape to England, Antoinette finds herself the centre of disturbing rumours which gradually posion her husband's mind against her.

So many parts of this book were incredibly and cleverly crafted. It’s an intelligent commentary on and response to Jane Eyre, giving a voice to a character that was cast aside and used as a simple plot device in the original novel. 

I’m not sure to what degree I could believe that these are the exact same characters we meet in Jane Eyre; I would need a reread to really fit the two narratives together. However, I loved the themes explored in this book anyway, in particular those of nature v. nurture, gender roles, race, power, and above all, “madness.”

Despite the brilliant writing, I didn’t always enjoy reading it. It’s an incredibly sad and haunting story, and at times I struggled to push through it. 

Overall, I certainly think it’s worth the read. 

So many parts of this book were incredibly and cleverly crafted. It’s an intelligent commentary on and response to Jane Eyre, giving a voice to a character that was cast aside and used as a simple plot device in the original novel. 

I’m not sure to what degree I could believe that these are the exact same characters we meet in Jane Eyre; I would need a reread to really fit the two narratives together. However, I loved the themes explored in this book anyway, in particular those of nature v. nurture, gender roles, race, power, and above all, “madness.”

Despite the brilliant writing, I didn’t always enjoy reading it. It’s an incredibly sad and haunting story, and at times I struggled to push through it. 

Overall, I certainly think it’s worth the read. 

Kira L

as if i didn't despise rochester enough, this book further solidifies the disdain for sure.

Book Frisson

Interesting premise because I love Jane Eyre, but this book really angered me and made me feel like marriage is a curse and insanity is the only escape.🤣

01-22-22:
Coming back while rereading Jane Eyre, I loathe this book. I appreciate it, but I'm so frustrated with this book looking back.

Wide Sargasso sea

Shelby Doherty

Likes:
- Wow, I loved this book! The writing is something that I especially enjoyed from it.
- The emotion can really be felt in this book (especially the anger and hatred towards the end). I found myself being really affected by this book and emotional at the ending.
- The ending is utterly heartbreaking!
- This does a good job of humanizing Mrs Rochester and giving her a voice. This book turns the narrative of Jane Eyre on its head and makes Mr Rochester the villain. 
- I loved the descriptions of the setting and nature (something that I am not normally into)

Dislikes:
-At times I found the language a bit difficult and had trouble catching what exactly was going on, especially since the POV swaps around a couple times in the book.

Sarah Escorsa

The only reason I read this book was because I love Jane Eyre so much. Well, this was a huge disappointment and I had to struggle to finish it.

sara louise

“you can pretend for a long time, but one day it all falls away and you are alone.”

wish we could’ve gotten more from antoinette’s pov rather than mr rochester. I already disliked him from jane eyre and being inside his mind wasn’t a pleasant experience. I am glad to see some justice done to the story of the madwoman in the attic, she never came across as a villain to me while reading jane eyre and it was nice that she had some redemption in this one.

Wide Sargasso Sea

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