Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys explores the character of the mad woman in the attic from Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre.
I love Jane Eyre and mostly enjoyed Wide Sargasso Sea. The book helps you sympathize with the mad woman that was Rochester's first wife rather than just seeing her as an obstacle to Jane's happiness. It's also an interesting look at what it means to be crazy and almost, but not quite, asks the question of whether or not being treated like you're crazy can eventually make you crazy.
My one issue with this books was that I was occasionally confused about the point of view. The first section was easy enough to follow, but after that we get a few different characters' points of view, but at times, I wasn't sure who we were following.
You could probably read this book even if you haven't read Jane Eyre. But really, if you're going to read one of these books for the first time, you ought to be choosing Jane Eyre.
By the way, I love the 1996 movie version of Jane Eyre, and while I was looking up that link I found out that they are making another version to be released in 2011. Not sure how I feel about that. I will end of watching it I'm sure, but I'm skeptical. One of the appeals about the 1996 movie was that the actress who played Jane was actually plain; the actress for the upcoming version is far too pretty to be Jane.
Ok so what *I* think is happening re: points of view is that Section A is Antoinette pre-marriage, Section B is Rochester because once they're married the man is the only one with a voice, and even when the pov shifts to Antoinette's again it's still just a sub-section under Rochester's section because she's basically just an extension of him now (as far as Victorian society is concerned) and by the time she gets her own section again this is the point where, in Jane Eyre, Rochester has rejected her as his wife. Because they are no longer 'married' in his mind, she gets her own voice again. It's an interesting way of depicting with the STRUCTURE of the book what is happening within the narrative.
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