emma's Reviews > Wide Sargasso Sea

One of my absolute favorites too!

Ooh I’m currently reading it for uni, excited to hear your opinions!

Honestly I’m relieved I’m not the only one who didn’t love this

Sometimes I feel bad that I didn’t like this. So I’m glad I’m not alone.

i’m glad i’m not the only one i HATED this book tbh. the premise gave me high expectations but i think it was so poorly executed.

I got about 30 pages into this book and decided it wasn't worth my last three brain cells.

i like your review

If your characters are going to be this unlikeable the story has to be outstanding… this one was not.

Well you’re not a very discerning reader are you? 😂

It's not supposed to be like Jane Eyre. That's the whole point? It's an elliptical autobiography of a woman(Rhys) who came of age in the 1920s and was a modernist. Note how she doesn't mimic Bronte's style but gives Antoinette a startlingly modern voice. Rhys is not interested in Victorian realism.

As a Creole woman who was extremely unhappy in England and was exploited by men throughout her life, Rhys is borrowing Bronte's conceit because sometimes it's easier to approach yourself obliquely, to be hidden in plain sight. She identified with the character of Bertha Mason and projected onto her. Why does this poor, beautiful book have so many vapid reviews?

I agree with Ash. This was a wonderful book, with or without Jane Eyre. The economic style of the prose reminded me of The Great Gatsby. Not a single word wasted, and not a single word used unnecessarily. And, Emma, you are correct, "this was no jane eyre". It was not meant to be.

you're not the sharpest, are you?

certainly no one would compare this prose to brontë's, but this is quite literally a jane eyre retelling so i'm not sure what to tell you guys. glad it worked for all of you! no need to be so defensive, book reviewing sites are made for disagreement.

Shannan wrote: "If your characters are going to be this unlikeable the story has to be outstanding… this one was not."

i'm with you! without strong characters, story, or writing, i didn't have much to latch onto. for me unlikable wasn't even the problem so much as shallow

Harry wrote: "i like your review"

thank you!

Jasmine wrote: "I got about 30 pages into this book and decided it wasn't worth my last three brain cells."

i wish i made that decision

em ♉︎ wrote: "i’m glad i’m not the only one i HATED this book tbh. the premise gave me high expectations but i think it was so poorly executed."

i agree!

Bronwyn wrote: "Sometimes I feel bad that I didn’t like this. So I’m glad I’m not alone."

i share these feelings exactly

Emma wrote: "Honestly I’m relieved I’m not the only one who didn’t love this"

PHEW me too

Sandra wrote: "Ooh I’m currently reading it for uni, excited to hear your opinions!"

negative unfortunately :(

I sort of enjoyed this book the Caribbean patois aesthetic equivalent to Tudor tragedy… it’s a bit overwhelming but I related it the main character being sieged by slaves it’s in many ways similar to the modern migrant crisis … of course it seems an unsympathetic view of the social polarization but sometimes when a small group of people own things the larger group whether they actually deserve it or not feel the unquenchable necessity to take it from them … it’s all animal instinct.. humans are animal in that way… the book’s importance lies in the civilization of her family and the outer rim of society the outsider being a motif … this has many qualities of savage versus civility not necessarily different from the jungle book (which I haven’t read but know the story or at least adaptations) BUT again, I’m sure if we look at the book through the lens that we are the proprietor of this civility being from first world countries then it seems that the real monster is ignorance and old world versus new world history there’s nothing wrong with old culture living it’s the ignorance of it’s importance in modern culture that becomes problematic