I signed up for a book reading challenge on Storygraph this year. There is a prompt for every month, and you read one or more books of your choosing relating to that prompt. Link below.

The January prompt is ‘January reopen retell: Read a book that is a retelling. A book that retells a story.’

The first book I choose for January is Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys written in 1966.

It tells the story of the mad wife in the top of the tower from Jane Eyre. She is called Antoinette in this book. I have always felt bad for her. Never liked that she was casted as some crazy person. Even so, Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books. The main character Jane, resonates very strongly with me.

The wife though, I always felt sorry for. When I read the book, which I have done many times, I try to remember that Charlotte Bronte wrote Jane Eyre a very long time ago when the world was different from what it is today.

Last year I accidently saw Wide Sargasso Sea at a bookshop in London and was hooked when I read the back cover. The book didn’t disappoint. It was a heavy and sad read. It is well written with so much compassion for Antoinette. It felt like Antoinette was brought to life.

There is a lot of Caribbean history that I am not familiar with and so I learned a little bit about that world. It all felt mysterious and a little scary.

The book is 148 pages. A skinny book packed with so much detail. Every word is there for a reason. No extra unnecessary sentences. I think this is why it is so powerful for me. Because of its continuous movement and drama.

So much betrayal and lies and jealousy that poor Antoinette never had a chance. And the young Edward Rochester was simply in way over his head. Gullible and trusting the wrong people. I have sympathy for him too.

I am so looking forward to reading more books this year.

If you want to join this challenge head on over to StoryGraph here:  

The Candy Reading Challenge 2025 on StoryGraph