Good Morning, Midnight
Back of the Book
The last of the four novels Jean Rhys wrote in interwar Paris, Good Morning, Midnight is the culmination of a searing literary arc, which established Rhys as an astute observer of human tragedy. Her everywoman heroine, Sasha, must confront the loves― and losses― of her past in this mesmerizing and formally daring psychological portrait.
Why You Should Read It
Jean Rhys is intimately familiar with the prospect of loneliness and what it could do to a psyche primarily seeking happiness. Rhys’s focus on singular characters and their unique miseries – usually in new and foreign places—resonates deeply with a contemporary audience with more access to avenues of meaningful connection and very little by way of sincere engagement. In Good Morning, Midnight Rhys follows Sasha Jansen, an Englishwoman, during her time in Paris as her fortune – both monetary and fateful—quickly run out. There is a sense of ennui that pervades the misery of Rhys’s characters, the quiet desperation that leads them to seek out adventures in foreign places is undercut only by the boredom of the pervasive sickness of their solitude.
Memorable Passage
My life, which seems so simple and monotonous, is really a complicated affair of cafés where they like me and cafés where they don't, streets that are friendly, streets that aren't, rooms where I might be happy, rooms where I shall never be, looking-glasses I look nice in, looking-glasses I don't, dresses that will be lucky, dresses that won't, and so on.
About the Author
Jean Rhys (1890–1979) was a Dominican-British novelist whose works, often exploring themes of colonialism, displacement, and identity, have earned her a distinct and influential place in 20th-century literature. Born Ella Gwendolyn Rees Williams in Dominica, Rhys gained international acclaim for her masterpiece, Wide Sargasso Sea, a prequel to Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre that reimagines the life of Bertha Mason. Rhys's writing is characterized by its exquisite prose, psychological depth, and a keen awareness of the complexities of race and gender. Her own life experiences as an outsider in England and as a woman navigating a changing world deeply informed her narratives. Despite facing periods of obscurity, Rhys's work has experienced a critical revival, and she is now regarded as a literary trailblazer, worth knowing for her contribution to postcolonial literature and her ability to give voice to the marginalized and disenfranchised in her poignant and evocative storytelling.
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Dana Boulos