Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (August 2021)
Born into an oppressive colonialist society, Creole heiress Antoinette Cosway meets a young Englishman who is drawn to her innocent sensuality and beauty. After their marriage, disturbing rumours begin to circulate, poisoning her husband against her. Caught between his demands and her own precarious sense of belonging, Antoinette is driven towards madness.
Would I recommend it to anyone? Probably, especially if you've always wondered if there was more to the crazy woman in the attic from Jane Eyre. You don't even have to read Jane Eyre first (I still haven't read it, just know the story but I do plan on reading it soon).
Level of (dis)satisfaction based on the summary and my expectations? When I was in high school, I had an English lit class where we talked about re-writings and our teacher made us watch the movie Jane Eyre to give us some context before talking about Wide Sargasso Sea. I have to admit I had been curious about that book since then, and I finally read it. So I was just really curious to see what kind of story Jean Rhys would give to the "mad woman in the attic" and I was not disappointed.
My thoughts on it? It was an interesting read to say the least. It was kind of confusing at times because part 1 was told by Antoinette (aka Bertha Mason) and part 2 suddenly switches to her husband's POV. And sometimes it switches again without warning so I had to be careful. Both of them are a bit unreliable as narrators so that was fun.
The way Rhys introduced feminist (and anti-colonialist) ideas was very subtle which I appreciated since the story is set in the 1800's and is supposed to give a better backstory to Bertha Mason, not be about a suffragette or something. Now I'm really curious to read Jane Eyre and see how she's actually depicted in the book.
French version under the cut