I'm not done yet, but May's book in our book club is Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys.
This one grabbed me from the very beginning. It's set mainly in Jamaica, and I love the descriptions of the place--it reminds me of when we visited last year (on the cruise). The dialogue is well-written, and I can hear the sing-song Jamaican accent in my head as I read. (Isn't that one of the most pleasant accents? It is to me.)
What's really neat is the premise of this story. It tells the tale of Antoinette, Mr. Rochester's crazy wife in the attic in Jane Eyre! What a cool idea! Much of it is told from her point of view, and we get the tale of how her family home was burned by former slaves after the slaves were freed in Jamaica. Apparently, insanity runs in her family, and I think we're going to see soon that she is mad...quite mad.
I love the way the writing flows. I mentioned over on our book club site that I feel like I'm reading a movie. Does that make sense? I'm really glad Jillian started this book club, because I'm reading books that I never would have read otherwise. (Although I'm not looking forward to Number One on the list: Ulysses.) I've read a dozen or so on the list--Tobacco Road is coming up soon, and I liked that one quite a lot--but for the most part, these are new to me. While I'm a big fan of popular fiction, it's fun to spread out a little bit and read some things I wouldn't normally read, whether it's the Modern Library's list of books (which is what we're doing in the book club), or biographies, etc.
I think I'll go read some more of the book!
2 comments:
I'm glad you tell us what you read....i write the titles down but i didn't join because i just know i would not have time to get the books read. Someone picks very interesting choices!
HUGS!
I knew I had heard of that book but couldn't remember what it was about until you described it. I have not read it but I must make a note to remember it :o)
Jenny
http://journals.aol.co.uk/Jmoqueen/MyLife
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