Strolling along the Sargasso Sea

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


You'd think I'm too liberal with my rating for giving this book a complete 5/5, especially when I gave Jane Eyre a four. But trust me, this book DOES NOT deserve anything less than a five.



For those who criticise Jean Rhys for being "incoherent", "too poetical" and hence "over-the-top", here's my unabashed retort:



You are exactly like those people who didn't let her become successful because what she writes is way ahead of her times!



For those who are considering reading it, here are some pointers:



1) Make sure you're familiar with the Eyre Affair (not The Eyre Affair but the plot of Jane Eyre!)

2)DO NOT READ THIS BOOK WITH ANY PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS IN YOUR HEAD! It can ruin Edward Fairfax Rochester for you and totally shatter Jane Eyre's image as 'the dudette' ! Bertha is the woman, here and she's not what you expect her to be!

3) The book CAN become a little depressing for a few people but I can't see why anyone would hesitate to bawl their eyes out for a story which is as fantastic as this and which is written by Jean Rhys!



She's poetic, dreamy, reflective and most importantly, she is strong, way more strong than Charlotte Bronte's petite chou-chou , Jane!



Jean Rhys, through her wonderfully melancholic and poetic words, makes you understand the character of Bertha Mason (née Antoinette Cosway) the way you've never understood her before. You understand her behaviour, her madness and the reasons behind it and from the point of view, Rhys gives you, you start thinking that Rochester deserved to lose much more than an eye, a leg and a hand! Yes, you so want to dig him out of his grave and hit his skull with his own shinbone!



I can't say much about this book without giving away the entire plot but ask me if it's worth it and I'd say yes. Ask me if it's better than Jane Eyre? Any damn day!

Personally, I'd have loved it of the story was a wee bit more detailed and I was pretty close to docking off one star but for Antoinette and Antoinette alone, it's a HIT !



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