This book is a masterpiece and is on the list of the greatest books.(https://thegreatestbooks.org/)
It tells the story of Bertha Rochester, the "madwoman in the attic", wife of Mr. Rocchester, in the book Jane Eyre.
The book takes readers to Jamaica, circa 1840-1850. The narrative changes, several times, somewhat abruptly from Antoinetta Cosway (aka Bertha Rochester) and Mr. Rochester. It tells the sad tale of arranged marriage, lust mistaken for love, and eventual despair that morphs into madness. ( )

I so wanted to like this book. Even with Jane Eyre being one of my very favorite books of all time, I was prepared to come with an open mind to this story that might challenge my worldview and my opinions of the characters in a novel I love dearly. Sadly, I don’t feel the least bit edified by having read this. There was great potential for an examination of race issues and mental illness and even gender inequality, but this novel fell short in each of those areas. It’s a great premise, the backstory of an infamous character we know little about; but between the stream-of-consciousness style (which I just don’t personally care for), the narrator shifts, and the lack of development of the plot points, it left me feeling unfulfilled. ( )

#ReadAroundTheWorld. #Dominica

Wide Sargasso Sea is written as a retelling of the story of Bertha, Mr Rochester’s mad West Indian wife, from the classic Jane Eyre. Instead of the flat one-dimensional description of her as a villain, she is given feelings, a context and a backstory. The author was born and grew up in Dominica before being sent to England at 16 for her education. The story is set mainly in Jamaica and Dominica in the 1830s after Emancipation.

Antoinette Cosway is a young Creole woman who along with her mother is despised by both the black and white communities as “white cockroaches” or “white niggers.” After a life of trauma, culminating in her mother’s descent into madness following the death of her child, Antoinette is pushed into marriage with Englishman Mr Rochester, and her money given to him. What follows is a terrible story of emotional manipulation and control.

The book creates a vivid picture of the beauty and lushness of the islands, which Mr Rochester views with suspicion and distaste as foreign and contemptible. Despite Antoinette’s attempts to explain some of the culture and customs he also views the people similarly, fearing and hating Christophine, her childhood nanny, due to her reputation of practicing obeah.

I loved the idea of giving Brontë’s character a story and I enjoyed the scene setting and historical aspect. Some of the story was difficult to read though, with a fever-dream, wandering quality to it. After a while everyone seemed loopy. 4 stars. ( )

This is a classic and I have been meaning to read it a long time but I just couldn't connect with it. I get the themes of colonialism, race, and mental illness but I don't get why this is such an enduring classic. Is it because I couldn't connect it with the story of the woman in the attic? I am not sure. ( )

Fascinating read for anyone familiar with Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. At times I had to re-read sections to find out who was who but Jean Rhys's moody, atmospheric writing sets up Jane Eyre as a horror story. I love this genre of spin-off books that can take you through dimensional doorways in other stories resulting not only in richly nuanced stories but by their sheer power, the original stories are given new dimensions. I would rate this book up there with John Updike's Gertrude and Claudius. It was so good that it sent me back to Charlotte Bronte and re-reading Jane Eyre and then to Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights because those Bronte sisters are a literary treat. ( )