<p>Just finished reading Wide Sargasso Sea. I was fascinated by it. I found it hypnotic, mesmerizing, and incredibly poignant.</p>
<p>It is also short. I am going to re-read it prior to the book club discussion.</p>
<p>Now I crave more Jean Rhys! She wrote a well-regarded novel called “Voyage in the Dark” which features a main character with memories of growing up in the West Indies. I just ordered a used paperback copy of it.</p>
<p>In addition, I have discovered that Netflix offers TWO films of Wide Sargasso Sea…the previously mentioned NC-17 one, plus a BBC one.</p>
<p>The written physical descriptions of the places in Wide Sargasso Sea are so lush, it makes you want to see what filmmakers would do with the settings.</p>
<p>I started Jane Eyre yesterday (going with that one first). I know I read it in hs, but I don’t remember any of it as yet. Surely that was only a few years ago…;)</p>
<p>I’m half way through Jane Eyre – I’ve read it before and am liking it just as much or more this time around. Looking forward to picking up Wide Sargasso Sea later in the month.</p>
<p>Glad you liked WSS, psychmom. One very interesting thing about it is the shifts in point of view. I didn’t realize that the book incorporated them, and the first time it happened, I was massively startled!</p>
<p>NJTheatreMom, I notice that I enjoy novels that employ a change of narrator…keeps me on my toes. What amazed me about WSS was the authenticity of voice in Mr. R’s character–I really felt like I was reading a younger, jaded version of him. I think Charlotte would have been impressed!</p>
<p>I’m just loving “Jane Eyre”! I hadn’t picked it up since I read it as a young teenager.</p>
<p>Probably I would never have reread it if not for this book club. I’m so glad it and WSS were chosen.</p>
<p>The book has such remarkable dramatic momentum, right from the very first pages. One identifies so much with Jane. One feels so very invested in what happens to her. Wow. </p>
<p>I liked “Jane Eyre” okay when I read it when I was younger, but I was not capable of appreciating it then as much as I do now.</p>
<p>WSS (the 90’s one, though I’ll check out the 2006 BBC one soon) is a haunting film. I watched it for the scenery because I have a hobby around things Jamaican, but enjoyed the story a lot.</p>
<p>OhioValley: Anyone can join a CC Book Club discussion. Some participate in each discussion, and others come and go. Me, I lurked for awhile; now, I do my best to read and discuss the chosen books.</p>
<p>Hmm … I plan to reread Jane Eyre and then read Wide Sargasso Sea. I need to get with it soon, don’t I? I may or may not finish on time, though I understand WSS doesn’t take long to read - actually I’m counting on it. (I picked a copy up at the library.) Still, no worries. Some people will have read both books and some only one. I think part of the success of this book club is that it is relaxed … and fun. The more posters that join in, the better the discussion.</p>
<p>I haven’t read 50 Shades of Grey (yet–I think the comment by ignatius on the other thread may have convinced me), and I haven’t made it to our August books, either (though I read Jane Eyre as a teenager). But apparently there is money to be made in combining the two–“erotic makeovers” for the classics! And guess which ebook is coming out first–July 30th, just in time for our discussion? </p>
<p>Not looking forward to the erotic versions but I will say I enjoyed rereading Jane Eyre and watching the movie. I also was very surprised with how much I enjoyed WSS. I did read Jane first and that seemed to be a smooth transition to WSS so I am glad that I did the order that way.</p>
<p>There are lines even I will not cross and erotic versions of JE, P&P, and *Sherlock Holmes<a href="%5Bb%5Dgood%20grief%5B/b%5D">/i</a> happens to be one of those lines. (I think. ;))</p>