On the move again...
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a completely problem-free book group meeting? Once again (and I hope I’m sounding suitably peeved), we seem to have been rendered homeless by the gremlin that follows us around closing cafes as soon as we’re about to use them. Thankfully, you are all old hands at this game now and we found another suitable venue just around the corner so a crisis was averted but I know that this really isn’t the ideal situation and I for one won’t be too happy if it happens again. I’m currently on the hunt for a new reliable home and am following up the suggestions that came up at the meeting and exploring another few. By our September meeting I absolutely promise that I will have somewhere permanent but for our “summer drinks and reads” meeting the plan is to meet at Bar Justice again.
And, though it took us a while to get going, the discussion of the book was well worth the wait. Wide Sargasso Sea was a departure for us- the first time we had tried a “classic”- and I was worried that we might feel a bit wary about criticising it in the way we have some of the newer books we’ve tackled. Thankfully though we had the usual gamut of opinion- everything from loving to loathing- though I think most people could understand how it gained its classic status. Everyone loved the idea of the book- to “re-imagine” a classic text from a different point of view- and really admired the way Rhys had obviously used many of her own experiences in such a unique and creative way. The character of Antoinette also provoked much discussion with most people agreeing it to be a very affecting and disturbing account of the effect of place, history and circumstance on a woman caught in her situation. That terrible, recurring feeling of isolation and of “not being able to win” was widely sympathised with.
How much all of these ideas worked in practice was more in dispute- many people had become frustrated with the Rochester character and done a bit of page skipping through his sections. Some of the themes and the unremitting bleakness of the novel also came under fire, criticised by some as being a bit too laboured. I wonder whether this is because the ideas that Rhys was pioneering- post-colonialism, madness being imposed rather than innate, playing with narratives- have become so commonplace now that it does seem a bit like hard work in its original form? Perhaps. I also thought it was really interesting that we could spend so long discussing what actually happened in the novel- who were some of the characters, what did some things mean, did this actually happen?- and still not really know (though I do know this makes lots of people want to tear out their hair too…). All in all, most people were glad they’d given it a shot but agreed it was not one they’d be rushing to read again.
And, in the spirit of book-loving friendship, we agreed to forgo our summer break and meet at Bar Justice instead for a “summer reads and drinks” party instead. So get re-reading for next month- one you love, a classic that needs debunking or the one which got you reading- and be prepared to tell all in August. See you then. xxxx
