Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys

Wide Sargasso Sea, a hugely acclaimed novel by Jean Rhys was eluding my list for a long time. Now that I found the new Penguin Classic copy, it was time to pick this up and read. Now, this book is supposed to be a prequel to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. This novel is an attempt to fill the character viod of Bertha Mason, the mad wife of Edward Rochester in Jane Eyre. Here is a comparitive study..

This book was published in 1966, after a very very long gap by Jean Rhys. Her previous works, written between two world wars, are out of circulation. Publishing of 'Wide Sargasso Sea' has lifted her sagging literary career to greater heights.

The novel starts with the childhood days of Antoinette. Slavery was banned in the British Empire, recently. The life of erstwhile slave-owners, predominantly the whilte planters are in disarray. They are looked upon with contempt and distaste. Most of them have left the caribbean and returned to the homeland. Those remained had to cop with the changing social order. They are isolated from the rest of the society and live under pitiable condition. Antoniette's widowed mother, struggle to bring up the kid and accepts to marry a wealthy planter. Soon, she succumbs to mental disarray and was confined to an isolated stay supported by a couple of servants.

Antoniette was married off to a young British, Rochester, for a large sum of dowry. The second part of the novel, set in her ancient estate, goes through the systematic alienation of Antoniette, with Rochester, and the rest of the world. Her attempt to get back with the world , to reconcile, is not yielding any result. This add to the suspicion of Rochester about her mental imbalance, prompted by her so called co-brother in a letter and subsequent meeting with him. Soon, she was taken back to England and was forced to lead a life similar to that of her mother.

Antoniette, who is a creol, is equally unacceptable to the black community ( who call her white cockroach ) and to the whites ( called her a white negro). Her trouble upbringing, with the servents, especially Chrisophine, who believed to be practising obeah (similar to woodoo) and whom Anotoniette approaches towards the end to help her to come out of her current state of affairs, are all lead to the degradation of her mental illness.
Jean Rhys, uses the method of alternating between Antoinette and Rochester. The book has been heralded as one of the first post modern - post colonial novel. While the book is superbly written and the new penguin classic edition is with a 27 page introduction and a detailed afterword, I was missing something. May be I need to read Jane Eyre to fully appreciate this book.
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Wide Sargasso Sea
Jean Rhys
Penguin Books
151 Pages ( plus 27 pages of introduction and notes)
Rs 299
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A Golden Age - Tahmima Anam

Dear Husband,
I lost our children today..

Rehana tells her husband at his grave stone, when she looses the possession of her children, on a court rule. She has been widowed recently, and court and her brother-in-law (who is childless) decides that she does not have the means to look after the kids. They are flown out of Dhaka to Karachi to be with Faiz and Parveen until she has enough money to bribe the judge and for the tickets.

Years passed. For the past 10 years, Rehana celebrates the day of their return among her close circle of friends. Little did she know that the 10th year is going to be the one that change their lives for ever. Within few days, the tanks roll into Dhaka and the 9 month long ordeal of war, separation and suffering begin.

The long struggle for the independence of Bangladesh has begun. Mujibur Rahman has been elected as the prime minister, but the powerful West Pakistan rulers refuses to accept the victory. Mujibur Rahman declares the independence of Bangladesh, and thus the war begin.

'to have a country in two halves, poised on either side of India like a pair of horns?' East and West spoke different languages, followed different religions, lived different lives. West enjoyed political and economic supremacy; East was a poor relation, neglected even during the cyclones and floods that plagued its delta planes. Some kind of fissure was almost inevitable."

The ruling army is on a rampage. Tanks on the streets of Dhaka, destroying and damaging civilians and properties. Her children ( Sohail 19, and Maya 18 ) could not keep themselves away from the happening. The University where they study is the nerve centre of the resistance. There was widespread attack and hindus , especially was targetted ( operation searchlight ). Rehena's tenants ( her only income) Sengupta's decides to leave Dhaka and take refuge in their ancestral village. The vacated house, now become the place of revelutionary activities. Sohail declares his intention to join the resistance, and leave house with his friends to join 'Mukthibahini'. Rehana, too get pulled into the midst of activities in a small way by stitching clothes for the people , storing medicine, providing shelter to the rebels. Sohail comes back one night and let his mother know about his plan to bomb one of the International Hotel, to get the global attention to their struggle. After an unsuccessful attempt, the team return with an injured 'major' whom they leave under Rehana's care. Reluctant at first, Rehana soon develop a bond with the silent 'major' , turning into mutual affection and love. Rehana has some one with whom she can reveals her most hidden secret.
Maya leave for Calcutta to write article and participate in refugee relief. Rehana was also involved in getting the release of the neighbors son-in-law ( a defected military man), to the praise and accolade of the resistance force. All these activities cast shadow on her life and there was constant threat looming over her. He had to flee Dhaka and join her daughter at Calcutta ( returning to her birthplace and to her childhood memories). Spending two months with her daughter in near poverty with a comfort of a refugee, she was actively participated in the relief efforts of the Bangladeshi refugees, where she meets her old tenant Mrs.Sengupta.

The family return to Dhaka as India declares support to the Independent Bangladesh and engaged in a fully blown war with Pakistan, defeating it ending the 9 month long struggle.

"The war will end today. Niazi will sign the treaty and I will walk into the streets. Your daughter will hold my hand. There will be a pressing crowd on the pavement but Maya will elbow us to the front. A boy will sell flags for two taka and every one will wave and crane their necks to see the road. Coloured paper will sail from buildings; fists will wave in the air ; there will be dancing, a man on flute , a woman beating the dhol slung across her shoulder. Someone will think to plug a megaphone to the radio. The roads are flat and dusty ; we are spellbound , love-bound , home-bound , singing 'How I love you , my golden Bengal'. The sky is pale and iridescent and today the war has ended, and today I clutch my flag, hold my breath and wait for our son."

Often, the human side of any struggle are brought out by the fiction. What we hear in the news and what we read written by the historians are only the political truth. There are truths beyond these letters which are often misrepresented or ignored. It is through the literary works one get acquainted with the real issues. To me, this is one of the few literary works I have come across on the independence of Bangladesh ( There might be many written in the local language, which I am not aware of). To her credit, Tahmima Anam, manages to bring the human side of the struggle during the war without getting carried away with historical facts and the war itself.

This is the story of a mother trying to retain her children against all odds. She had lost them once (even if it is for two years) , and she carry the hurt in her for not being able to protect her children. But this time she is not going to let that happen. She had sacrificed many of her personal needs for her children. She has committed many unforgivable deeds for the sake of her children. Her participation in the struggle was also for her children. Her acts of heroics, were driven by the love of her children that the war and independence.

"The war that has taken so many sons has spared mine. This age that has burned so many daughters has not burned mine. I have not let it."

Impressively written book, despite getting carried away on the emotional side occasionally. I haven't read any book by a Bangladesh author, and this may not be the best representation of Bengali Literary tradition. However, this book is worth reading for its attempt to bring about the human side of the war, through the eyes of a mother.

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A Golden Age
Tahmima Anam
John Murray Publishers
276 Pages
Rs 295
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Further read : Guardian

The Spare Room - Helen Garner

'When a person dies',she said, ' little bit of them flies away from their body'
'Yes' , I said.'I've heard people say that.What a beautiful
idea'.
'It's called a soul'

Nicola comes to Melbourne from Sydney, to undergo a special treatment at Theodore Institute for Cancer. The treatment , mainly consists of Vitamin C injections on alternate days and Ozone therapy on the other. Helen, the narrator, an old time friend of Nicola, has to accommodate her for the period of treatment. The novel starts with Helen preparing her spare room for the visitor, with a quote from from the Australian novelist Elizabeth Jolley, : "It is a privilege to prepare the place where someone else will sleep."

Theodore Institute , practices alternate medicine and the initial interaction makes Helen doubtful of their intentions. The sick, however is in good spirit and believes ( to make others believe that she believe) in them and boast to recover in two weeks time. As the days progressed, it becomes difficult for Helen. She becomes restless, gets angry and helpless straining the sacred part time nursing job. All this does not stop her from nursing the sick, taking care of her, washing her clothes and cooking for her. Her personal life also goes out of gear, shutting door to her grand children living next door hardly able to sleep, unable to complete her other usual jobs.

You're angry and scared," Helen shouts at Nicola. "But you won't admit it. You want to keep up this masquerade.... I'm sick with it. I can't breathe."

Nicola on her part does not make it easy either. She is on a different war, mocking at the face of death, with her optimism. She can't loose hope and succumb to the pain, however unbearable the treatments are. Each day she returns back after the Vitamin C injections, barely able to stand, but insists on continuing until the end of three weeks. A single woman, with no family apart from a sister and her daughter as known relative, has to put up a brave front, for survival.

The relationship is becoming fragile for Helen as she is unable to continue, and fails to convince her friend on regular medicine or on a palliative care help. Unable to stand the suffering of her friend during the injection, she lodge an official complaint against the Theodore Institute, looses cool and shouts at the Doctor in the process. At one time, "I wanted to smash the car into a post, but for only her to die - I would leave the keys in the ignition, grab my backpack and run for my life."

At the end of three weeks, Nicole returns to Sydney, but this time to convinced to do the treatment at the regular institute, where they diagnosed the cancer affected her vertebrae , needing an emergency operation.

'I thought I was on the mountain top' she said in a voice that splintered. 'But I'm only in the foothills' .............'Death's at the end of this, isn't it'.

She continue to live for few more months, nursed by her relatives and friends , including Helen, before succumbs to the eventual death.

This is a book of love, friendship,compassion, despair, tiredness, frustration and suffering. It isn't easy to live with a terminally ill person. It calls for very strong character. Especially, if the person is not your blood relative and is not an easy person to handle.

Helen Garner writes the book from her own experience of nursing one of her friend ( Jenya Osborne ) when she was dying. While the general mood of the book is of pathos, the inner turmoil of anger, sympathy , helplessness etc are depicted honestly and convincingly. Nice, little book.
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The Spare Room
Helen Garner
Canongate Books
195 Pages
Rs 424
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Further Read : The Australian, NY Times , The Age