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tinyjude's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.75
I was eagerly waiting the moment I could read this classical rendition of a forgotten and mistreated character such as Antoinetta/Bertha from Jane Eyre, as I loved the original book back then, when I first picked it up.
In some senses, it does a great job at giving depth both to Bertha's character and background, and Mr. Rochester's feelings about her (which I did not expect to find here), as well as the racial complexities in Jamaica after the end of "legal slave ownership" (we know it was still being enacted nonetheless), colourism, women's autonomy and the treatment of (women's) madness and how these poor women are driven into these unstable mental states by their environments, and mostly their husbands.
But it was also confusing in a lot of instances and felt short when depicting more the nuance of the black characters' feelings towards their previous slave owners. I wish we had focused more on them in general, than the white Creole perspective, but I understand Rhys' background and how that shaped this re-imagining of Bertha's story. Still, I think it should be an essential read after Jane Eyre because it adds more depth to her character and a more complex post-colonial context than the original book did.
In some senses, it does a great job at giving depth both to Bertha's character and background, and Mr. Rochester's feelings about her (which I did not expect to find here), as well as the racial complexities in Jamaica after the end of "legal slave ownership" (we know it was still being enacted nonetheless), colourism, women's autonomy and the treatment of (women's) madness and how these poor women are driven into these unstable mental states by their environments, and mostly their husbands.
But it was also confusing in a lot of instances and felt short when depicting more the nuance of the black characters' feelings towards their previous slave owners. I wish we had focused more on them in general, than the white Creole perspective, but I understand Rhys' background and how that shaped this re-imagining of Bertha's story. Still, I think it should be an essential read after Jane Eyre because it adds more depth to her character and a more complex post-colonial context than the original book did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, and Misogyny
Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, Classism, Trafficking, Physical abuse, and Slavery
edwardian_girl_next_door's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Mental illness, Slavery, Classism, and Confinement
Moderate: Infidelity, Violence, Animal death, and Physical abuse
Minor: Gaslighting
edesia_guest's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It gives Antoinette, or bertha in jane eyre, a story. it gives information on the ignored character and does it in a beautiful and melancholic way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Racism, Abandonment, Colonisation, Deadnaming, Misogyny, Violence, and Racial slurs
yozhik's review
challenging
dark
sad
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Colonisation
angelicathebookworm's review
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Rhys does a great job of portraying Mr Rochester in a way that is different from that of the original text but is still entirely believable. It’s definitely a perspective of the character that I will keep in mind when I come to re-read Brontë’s classic since I was never really a fan of Mr Rochester, to begin with. I also found Rhys’ inclusion of Antoinette’s constant lack of belonging anywhere—she never gains acceptance but rather floats between the European and the Jamanian cultures of her childhood—as an intriguing possibility for her descent into madness whilst shedding light on an important, and not just postcolonial, theme. It’s a very rich, layered text and I think if you’re going to read it I’d suggest reading Jane Eyre first and then take your time with reading Wide Sargasso Sea so that you can really absorb the various details, meanings, and identify those connections with Jane Eyre.
I found Rhys’ prose in this particular text quite disjointed and confusing. There were quite a few times where I found myself stopping and having to re-read a sentence several times to be able to understand it which I found quite jarring. Rhys seems to have created a disorientating feeling through the prose quite possibly to emphasize Antoinette’s descent into madness through the inclusion of dreams, nightmares, incomplete sentences, and a blurring of different first-person voices. While I understand and appreciate why Rhys does this, it isn’t the kind of writing style I enjoy normally. One of my biggest criticisms with this novel is the inclusion of first-person narration from Rochester. It’s very apparent that he’s an unreliable narrator and so we don’t get to view him as the antagonist that Antoinette sees because that would never be his own view. I think I would have much preferred it if it were written entirely in Antoinette’s voice. Overall, I quite liked themes that Rhys explored and the meanings behind the text but execution, at least for me, is not one that appeals to me.
For more reviews like this one, check out https://angelicacastilloking.wordpress.com/
I found Rhys’ prose in this particular text quite disjointed and confusing. There were quite a few times where I found myself stopping and having to re-read a sentence several times to be able to understand it which I found quite jarring. Rhys seems to have created a disorientating feeling through the prose quite possibly to emphasize Antoinette’s descent into madness through the inclusion of dreams, nightmares, incomplete sentences, and a blurring of different first-person voices. While I understand and appreciate why Rhys does this, it isn’t the kind of writing style I enjoy normally. One of my biggest criticisms with this novel is the inclusion of first-person narration from Rochester. It’s very apparent that he’s an unreliable narrator and so we don’t get to view him as the antagonist that Antoinette sees because that would never be his own view. I think I would have much preferred it if it were written entirely in Antoinette’s voice. Overall, I quite liked themes that Rhys explored and the meanings behind the text but execution, at least for me, is not one that appeals to me.
For more reviews like this one, check out https://angelicacastilloking.wordpress.com/
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism
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