A review by emmaisnotavampire
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

I was so excited to read this book, but I’m afraid my curiosity and impatience have been caused by “false advertising”. Let me explain: when I found it online, described as the story of Rochester’s first, so-called insane wife, I thought I would encounter an introspective, tragic and possibly disturbing prose depicting a slow descent into madness, with a hint of condemnation of racism and discrimination towards Creole people which I was nonetheless aware would have been there. However, when I started reading it I realised what I thought would have been a marginal racial theme was actually the crucial heart of the story, the mad woman Antoinette sane throughout most of the novel, the psychological introspection much more limited than expected. Of course it didn’t stop me from enjoying the book, but I couldn’t love it as much as I wanted to since my initial fascination was really for something that didn’t exist. 
It was an interesting tale of injustice from multiple perspectives, some quite unexpected to be honest, and it allowed me to learn about dynamics I had never even heard of before, so I’m glad that I read it, but ultimately it is not a hundred percent my preferred type of book to pick up for entertainment purposes.