#2 - Wide Sargasso Sea

'Wide Sargasso Sea' by Jean Rhys is book number two in  my quest to read 100 classic books before I die. (Clarification so that I don't look like an ignoramus: I've read lots and lots of classic books but I've made a formal commitment to myself to read 100 more.) 

Laura Fish said it best:

"Wide Sargasso Sea speaks of the history of cruelty and suffering that lies behind some of the West's accumulated wealth, a history which in Jane Eyre is secret and mysterious, and only appears in brief glimpses. This is a book that gives voice to neglected, silenced and unacknowledged stories, exploring different inflections of marginality – gender, class, race and madness. Where historical events, recorded in written discourse, have shaped the opinions of many of the people of the former British colonies and education is exclusively from a Eurocentric perspective, the recovery of "lost" histories has a crucial role to play in allowing access to events and experiences which have not previously been recorded. This idea of "writing back" by breaking down explanations for events and favouring more localised narratives and perspectives has informed my own work, especially in the voices of the former slaves in my latest novel. Wide Sargasso Sea is an inspiration. Certainly, before the phrase was coined, Jean Rhys was a post-colonial writer whose work reminds us that "there is always another side, always"."

Black Beauty - Sewell

The first of my 100. 'Black Beauty' by Anna Sewell.

A beautiful, eloquent novel written from the viewpoint of a horse, Black Beauty, and spans his life and his experiences, which range from pastures in the country to the cobblestone streets of Victorian England.

Sewell draws attention to the mistreatment of horses, emphasizing that while horses may be 'dumb animals' they are no less affected by the treatment of their masters.

"I said, 'You used to stand up for yourself if you were ill-used.'

'Ah!' she said, 'I did once, but it's no use; men are strongest, and if they are cruel and have no feeling, there is nothing that we can do but just bear it - bear it on and on to the end. I wish the end was come; I wish I was dead. I have seen dead horses, and I am sure they do not suffer pain."