Books Left: 93

My first re-read was very difficult, and it derailed me from the project again. One good thing about English classes was the deadlines. No matter how much a book bored you, it had to be read by a particular time. Of course, I was doing this until I took the time limit off my project. Things are different now. Not only do I have a full time job but it requires full time work; I can’t be sitting at my desk reading all day.

But this isn’t about how good or bad I may be at time management. This is about Jean Rhys’s Whide Sargasso Sea and how I tried to like it despite of itself.

The first time I read the book it was right after I’d put down Jane Eyre. It was impossible for me to separate the second narrative’s connection to the first. I couldn’t get over the fact that Wide Sargasso Sea seemed to be actively trying to ruin Jane Eyre for me. This time I tried not to think about Jane Eyre and read the story as something separate from anything else.

Is the book well written?

Wide Sargasso Sea uses exquisite language. The descriptions of the scenery are such that you can almost feel the sticky heat, smell the dying flowers thick with perfume, and see the colors that feel splashed around like in a painting. Jean Rhys spent a great deal of time writing and editing the book, which you can tell from the word choice and flow of the novel.

Other aspects of the writing are not perfect: if the intent is to make the reader feel for Antionette, this is difficult, since she seems to be stuck in a very childlike mindset throughout the book and to me seems to me to be actually, in some way, crazy. Not that being locked in an attic is the best treatment for someone who needs mental help, but given the time period, much worse things could have happened to her. I feel like the book is trying too hard to feel sorry for Antionette. I did pity Antionette, but I couldn’t empathize with her.

The book skips over what I think would have been the most interesting part: Antionette and Rochester’s courtship. In Part 2, which is narrated by Rochester, he claims to have had genuine feelings for Antionette during the courtship. But we don’t know if this is true or not, as he could easily be an unreliable narrator. This part would’ve been fascinating and enjoyable to read and it’s just skipped over. We get very few light spots on the novel. It goes from bad, to more bad, to worse, which I think is unaffected. One of the reasons why Shakespeare’s tragedies are so effective is because they included pieces of comedy, e.g., the grave digger scene in Hamlet right before the final tragic scene.

Does it speak about the human condition?

Wide Sargasso Sea discusses many aspects of the human condition: wealth and poverty, sanity, love, lust, race and racism, cruelty, and kindness. This is quite a long list for such a short book and it often feels as though it’s trying to stuff in too much at once.

Is it groundbreaking in some way?

It’s not the first work of post-colonial fiction. It’s not the first fanfic (yes, I went there). It’s the first critically acclaimed post-colonial fanfic? Yes, I think we can say that’s true.

Is it an enjoyable read?

It’s enjoyable if you can get past the plot, the characters, and the forced messages and concentrate on the language and descriptions. Unfortunately both times I’ve read it I was unable to do this, so I’m going to say no.

In the end, I would not say Wide Sargasso Sea belongs on the list of top 100 books of the 20th century. It’s a shame that Rhys’s wordcraft was wasted on this novel; I think I would like to read her other books at some point.

Next up is The Magus by John Fowles. Has anyone read it?

Books Left: 94
Current Book: Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

I’m behind again. This time it’s not because I left Wide Sargasso Sea in a plane heading to Michigan. This time I left it on a car heading to Michigan, and I was not in the car. Luckily, my parents own the car and were able to mail me back the book. I have it. I’m reading it. I don’t really have much to say about it right now. I’m still conflicted. I feel like it’s pushing a bit towards, “Rochester’s not the victim here, Bertha/Antionette is.” However, given what’s in the book itself, not just what I’ve read from Jane Eyre, I don’t completely see her as being victimized. I think that “who is the victim?” is the wrong question. I hope to have more on this once I actually finish the book.

In the meantime, I’ve gathered some interesting and hopefully amusing links over the past week:

The Brainstormer – A fun little do-dad that provides you with a plot archtype, a genre/time period, and a setting for stories, poems, pictures, comics–any creative outlet, really. It’s a lot of fun! Here are 5 random scenarios from the brainstormer (some of them make more sense than others):
“Letting Go” on a stuffy British pier.
“Rescuing a Loved One” on Al Capone’s oasis.
“Daring Enterprise” in an Eskimo hospital.
“Miracle” on a nuclear tree.
“Slaying of a Loved One” on a hippie expedition.

The Sketchbook Project – I’m hoping the brianstormer might help me with the sketchbook  project, which I recently signed up for. You sign up, get a sketchbook, fill it up by January, and then it goes on a “tour” of a few different US cities. You also get to pick a topic: mine is “…you’d be home by now.” So far I only have a few pages filled, but I’m hoping to share a few creations when I have more.

Will Independent Bookstores be the Last Bookstores Standing – This is a fascinating article about how bookstores are fairing against Amazon. While I love Amazon, it’s not quite the same as shopping in an actual physical bookstore, and I was sad when one of my local Borders closed (although quite happy about the sale, if you remember). I love independent bookstores, too. My favorite is Kramerbooks in DC.

Personal Library Kit – I need this. I’ve been loaning out books for years. I love sharing favorites with friends, and while I’ve always managed to get my books back without a fuss (I have good friends) it might be nice to make things a little more official.

Books Left: 94
Current Book: Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

This entry contains spoilers for the novel Jane Eyre.

Here’s the thing about Wide Sargasso Sea. I read it for school, for this odd class called “Fiction” in which our professor had us read four sets of two novels: one older novel, and one more recent work. Each pair related to each other in some way. One of the pairs was Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea.

I didn’t want to like Wide Sargasso Sea because I loved Jane Eyre and I knew what Wide Sargasso Sea was about before reading it. I wanted to believe that Rochester was truly tricked into marrying some certifiably crazy lady. When I read Wide Sargasso Sea I had to make myself believe that Antoinette was in no way actually the same person as the woman in the attic. I read it as though the two books were just coincidentally similar. I refused to let Jean Rhys’s more-politically-correct-than-thou post-colonial attitude destroy my enjoyment of the 19th century classic.

Approaching this book for the second time, I realized I didn’t remember anything about it except that the existence of it bothered me. It’s place in the literary canon bothered me, because it was based on something else and it’s not like all those Pride and Prejudice “sequels” are going to be taught in school anytime soon. I didn’t want to read it again. I just wanted to write it off the top 100 list and be done with it.

I’m reading it again, and I’ve discovered two things:

1. Antoinette/Bertha really is kind of crazy. She’s kind of hard to relate to in the book because the parts that are written from her perspective are very muddled. This could also be because she’s young, but I like to think that when I was her age I had a clearer head than that.
2. This book is incredibly well written.