Highly recommended. - Rated 
This is a morose, but beautifully written novel. Definitely lives up to expectations. I read it through twice for full appreciation, and recommend this idea to others. I rate this 6 stars!
Dark and Delicious - Rated
This is a macabre book with a true sense of gothicism to it. I first read it as a teenager after being blown away by Jane Eyre, and hated it. Its difference from Bronte's writing and its harsh treatment of Rochester didn't sit well with me at all. Having had to read it again as part of a course recently I have to say I wasn't relishing the experience, but how wrong I was. Reading it again, with no expectation of kinship with Bronte made such a difference. This is a brilliant book, densely layered, symbolic and evocative of the tropical landscape, madness and imprisonment. It has some of the wonderful internal dialogue moments of Woolf's Mrs Dalloway, swooping through the narrative and Rhys' eye for detail and dialogue is superb. Its brooding menace is chilling and the use of imagery is stupendous. A fantastic book.
Had to read it - Rated 
...for a course. I wouldn't of picked this book otherwise. I am glad we had to read it though as it introduced me to an interesting book that I wouldn't have read otherwise.
I'm not saying it is the best and most enjoying book that I have ever read but it was very interesting and well written and really worth reading.
What sort of fellow keeps his wife locked up? - Rated 
The recent BBC adaptation of 'Jane Eyre', and the accompanying one-off adaptation of this novel, should help to bring Rhys's most well-known work to a new audience. This is a good thing, as 'Wide Sargasso Sea' introduces intriguing elements to the Jane Eyre story.
The book tells the story of Mr Rochester's marriage to Creole heiress Antoinette Cosway in Jamaica. In so doing, Rhys effectively explores 19th Century colonial and gender politics. This novel gives a fresh take on the characters of Rochester and his first wife - they become more than the archetypal dark and brooding Victorian hero and a madwoman respectively.
Definitely worth a read. Despite it being a prequel, I wouldn't read this before 'Jane Eyre' if you've yet to try either. For those who are familiar with the Bronte classic, 'Wide Sargasso Sea' offers a challenging new perspective on some of its key characters.
This is a successful exercise in showing there's always more than one side to every story - even a classic.
A good short read - Rated
An interesting prequel to Jane Eyre. Very short, telling the story of the woman in the attic. Not brilliant, but not bad either. Worth reading but don't expect great things.
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