Merry Wanderer of the Night:
november novella challenge

It's no secret to most of you that I absolutely love Jane Eyre. I've read it three times and it changes every single time for me. I never get tired of it. I've known about Wide Sargasso Sea

for quite awhile too, and ever since I heard it was about Bertha's take on her insanity I was intrigued. Let's face it, Bertha Mason makes Jane Eyre what it is. She brings all the creepiness and discussion into the book. If you haven't read Jane Eyre (Why haven't you read Jane Eyre?) then Wide Sargasso Sea probably won't mean much to you, and this post won't mean much to you, but if you have then you are probably interested to know more about this book.

It is set in the Caribbean and there is a lot of racial tension surrounding Bertha, or as she is called in this book, Antoinette Conway. I won't tell you why she has two different names because it would ruin a little surprise that is tucked away in the 171 pages of Wide Sargasso Sea. Antoinette is essentially white and very beautiful, while most of the people surrounding her are black. The book spends a lot of time exploring the racial tensions Antoinette experiences and Rochester sees, and in that aspect of the book I was a little disappointed. I think I was hoping for more Jane Eyre, but Wide Sargasso Sea explores new issues that belong to it alone.

The story is told in alternating parts from Antoinette's perspective and Rochester's perspective. As we know from Jane Eyre, neither Rochester or Antoinette are too into marrying each other. They are driven by money and sex, and later Rochester finds out she is insane and that her mother was also insane. Wide Sargasso Sea explores this insanity, and shows how it might not have been Anoinette's fault. After all, Rochester is a cold man who really hates her, he is sexually forceful and then later sexually cold, and he attempts to drive her away from what is most natural to her. All interesting ideas that have really colored discussion of Jane Eyre since the book was published.

As a book it is well formed, the characters well developed, the themes covered. Rhys steals fire and mirrors from Jane Eyre, spreading the ideas throughout the book. I underlined several conversations, such as,

"Next time she spoke she said, 'The earth is red here, do you notice?'
'It's red in parts of England too.'
'Oh England, England,' she called back mockingly, and the sound went on and on like a warning I did not choose to hear." (65)

I underlined this because of the concentration on the color red, as in fire, and because I think it shows Rochester's attempt to fit everything into the way he sees life. As you can see, well-formed, complete ideas that relate back to Jane Eyre. I enjoyed these passages, but then at times I felt like I was reading a paper about Jane Eyre instead of a book. Basically, I enjoyed this book in an extremely formulaic way. Maybe if I read it before I studied Jane Eyre in school I would have enjoyed it more? I'm not sure. I would recommend it though as it is very short. I read this book as part of the November Novella Challenge.

I give Wide Sargasso Sea a B.

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I bought Getting Out of Town

used while I was in Chicago. I'd been having this feeling for awhile that I really wanted to find a book no one had heard of. Something different and awesome from what you read reviews of all the time. I think I do an okay job of reviewing lesser known titles on my blog, alongside more well known books, but wanted something totally different. Getting Out of Town looked like it might be that book. The back cover says it's a short story collection, but I look at it more like The Imperfectionists, a series of stories that are all connected. It is short though, just over one hundred pages. I'm counting this as part of the November Novella Challenge. The story takes place in a small town in Canada and mostly focuses on Nancy McKinnon, a woman in love with a drunk.

Most of the book is about wanting to get out of a small town and starting a new life. I was interested in the treatment of women throughout this book. In this small town everyone's business is everyone's business, and if a woman has multiple sex partners everyone knows it. And she gets labeled a slut. There is not escaping that, it's branded on her as long as she stays in the town. This is one example of many brands people in the small town get stuck with. It's as if it's impossible to change in a small town because everyone knows of you as the slut or the drunk or the pervert.

While I enjoyed that aspect of the book, I have to say I was extremely disappointed overall. I felt the characters lacked depth, I didn't really know much about them outside their personas in the town. I found the narrative structure to be extremely difficult to follow, one story starting off at a completely different point from where the previous one ended. The language felt contrived. I hate the saying "Show don't tell," but reading this was very difficult because most sentences were just telling me "We did this... then we did that... I saw this... then I thought this." Very frustrating to read.

I know I'm being really hard on this book, and part of it might have to do with the fact that I was somewhat offended by the portrayal of small town life. Most of the characters in this book were in there thirties but they all acted like they were sixteen. And while this might be true for some people who live in small towns, it's also true for some people who live in suburbs or cities. I felt like the characters became caricatures, which is one of my biggest pet peeves. I feel a little bad being so harsh on this book considering I haven't found a review of it anywhere else, and I don't think anyone has read it on Goodreads, but I call them like I see them.

I give this book a D. It does have a very nice cover though, so kudos to the publisher for that.

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Shopgirl: A Novella

by Steve Martin is the story of Mirabelle, a 28 year old artist working at Nieman's glove counter. There are two men interested in her. First there is Jeremy, an awkward 20-something who works for Doggone amplifiers as an airbrush artist. They go on a series of non dates, which Jeremy asks Mirabelle to pay for, before he finally asks Mirabelle to sleep with him. After some difficult foreplay they get the job done, but Jeremy mostly disappears from the story after that.

The second love interest is Ray Porter, a successful businessman dividing his time between Seattle and LA. He is divorced and has never learned how to have a relationship, although he does know what will make women interested and has enough money to fulfill all their desires. He treats Mirabelle like a princess, even though he has no interest in a long term relationship with her.

While Ray and Mirabelle are having a strange and unsuccessful relationship, Jeremy is touring with a band and becoming a twisted version of a businessman. Mirabelle considers her feelings about her father's seven year love affair and how it has changed her life.

I read this book for Bibliofreak's November Novella Challenge. I really liked it, except for a few quibbles. I have never read anything by Steve Martin before and it was odd because Steve Martin has always reminded me of my dad. This is probably because I was obsessed with Father of the Bride and watched it almost every day when I was in fourth and fifth grade (this is not an exaggeration, I am unfortunately quite serious). The writing is actually quite good, the characters are well developed and I could really relate to Mirabelle, who is also obsessed with Victorian novels. It is highly sexual, bordering on raunchy, but it didn't feel out of place in the novel. Martin obviously has a pretty good grasp on the "human experience"; the bulk of this book is about figuring out who you are. My main problem with this book is that sometimes characteristics appear and then disappear. The best example of this is Ray Porter. It is mentioned a few times throughout the novel that his job has something to do with number, but it isn't until the final chapter that we see him quickly doing mathematical problems in his head in regards to relationships.

Pub. Date: September 2005
Publisher: Hyperion
Format: Paperback, 160pp

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