Wide Sargasso Sea

Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea, her version of what happened to creat the mad woman in the attic of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, is a hauntingly beautiful novel. It tells the story of Antoinette Cosway, a lonely, protected young woman who grows up in the beautiful green Caribbean and her transformation at the hands of Rochester into "Bertha." Between the ill-will from the Creoles around her (telling their version of Antoinette's history to her new husband) and his cold, prideful responses to her, Antoinette begins to lose her sense of identity. When Rochester insists that her name is now "Bertha" (because he likes it), the reader begins to feel that her loss is complete. The skewed sexual relations and underlying hatred manages to literally drive her out of her mind.

The writing is just as lush as the Caribbean islands where Antoinette has lived. The descriptions are vivid and one can see the blue of the sky and water, smell the orchids and the lime trees. The story is divided into three parts: the first telling the story of Antoinette before Rochester arrives (and from her point of view); the second telling the story of the marriage (and primarily from Rochester's point of view); and the third returning to Antoinette. Rhys is at her strongest in the first portion. One can tell that the Caribbean was her home and she describes growing up there very convincingly. While the story of Rochester and Antoinette and how their love goes wrong is very affecting, she seems very uneasy stepping into Rochester's shoes. But this doesn't really detract from the story, because Rochester himself is uneasy. He is in a land he doesn't understand, suddenly married to a woman he doesn't understand.

A very quick read...but a very deep one. A book that would be well-worth several run-throughs to get the full meaning. Four out five stars on Visual Bookshelf.