English language
Published Dec. 1, 2009 by Bloom's Literary Criticism.
Getting around to book recommendations from the past few months. Enjoyable read mainly because of Plath's descriptive writing and use of imagery. I did, however, expect this to be "heavier" than it actually turned out to be.
4/5
An instant favorite. Hilarious, depressing, deeply relatable, and gorgeously written.
Excellent book. Evoked some very strong emotions. I'll definitely read this again in a year or 2.
:( Posjedovala sam mininum informacija o knjizi i autorici i sad sam neočekivano tužna. Good book tho…
A moving and powerful testament to how mental illness can distort the perception of reality. Plath also illustrated how one’s suffering of a nervous breakdown is an isolating and alienating experience.
Unexpectedly intense and fascinating read.
I read this without knowing anything about the plot, but of course it's reputation as a "sad book" preceded it. I was unprepared for how much of an understatement that is.
The first part of this book, before it becomes a hospital log, is amazing. I feel like it perfectly portrays the morbid cynicism of the suicidally depressed, but also the caged feeling of being a woman in this time period. Esther is straining against the parameters of her society and actually demanding agency of any sort she can get. It is a feminist book and is definitely judgmental of men, but I would say deservedly so... It's radical points of view are based only in equality and resisting the sort of angel-whore dichotomy and double standards facing women in the '50s. As she becomes more fixated on suicide, I wanted to shout to her …
Unexpectedly intense and fascinating read.
I read this without knowing anything about the plot, but of course it's reputation as a "sad book" preceded it. I was unprepared for how much of an understatement that is.
The first part of this book, before it becomes a hospital log, is amazing. I feel like it perfectly portrays the morbid cynicism of the suicidally depressed, but also the caged feeling of being a woman in this time period. Esther is straining against the parameters of her society and actually demanding agency of any sort she can get. It is a feminist book and is definitely judgmental of men, but I would say deservedly so... It's radical points of view are based only in equality and resisting the sort of angel-whore dichotomy and double standards facing women in the '50s. As she becomes more fixated on suicide, I wanted to shout to her (and Plath by extension) that things would get better even if her current status seemed hopeless.
It's in the last fifth that the book loses this intense thread. After the main suicide attempt, Esther is treated successfully. I didn't anticipate that, expecting more of a One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest style derision for EST and asylum psychiatry... But Esther pulls out of it. In a way that's a relief, but Plath makes it clear that the solution is temporary, that the bell jar that causes Esther to rot in "her own foul air" and become suicidal can surround her again. Especially since this work is obviously biographical, and Plath did indeed kill herself later, the work feels incomplete and the temporary solution unsatisfying. It feels ghoulish to say Esther should have died, but alternatively she could have learned to see something beautiful or hopeful in the world instead of being scrambled by EST.
I have to give this book credit for making me feel raw and sad the way it did, and for being a really powerful account of suicidal ideation that rings true. It's only the rather incomplete end that keeps it from being a perfect score.
The first thing that surprised me about this book was that it was so funny, at least for a little while. It’s beautifully written, sharply observed, incredibly harrowing, and deeply tragic. It’s such a goddamn shame that Plath didn’t stick around to tell more stories. This one is a masterpiece, and I’m glad I finally read it. I listened to an audiobook narrated by Maggie Gyllenhaal, who was a perfect fit.
I finally re-read this, for the first time since college, for my book club, and it made me grateful all over again to live in an era when women have more options beyond landing a husband and producing babies. The audiobook, which I got this time around, is read by Maggie Gyllenhaal.
I enjoyed the writing style and the audiobook narration by Maggie Gyllenhaal. Gyllenhaal captured Esther's occasionally whimsical dialogue well. There are comical moments in this book, but this is not a light read.
Eh, this book was just okay. It has not aged well. I'm sure, at the time when it first came out it seemed so daring, so revolutionary. Some of the ideas the character Esther had about motherhood and marriage and careers were not so common, or at least not the mainstream feelings, so it probably was kind of shocking and titilating reading back in the early 60's. It was gusty of Sylvia Plath to write about things like this and depression and mental illness back then. So I'll give her kudos for that.
But books about someone suffering from depression are so boring. Depressed people are so incredibly self-absorbed and boring. I don't understand depression because I don't suffer from depression so I have problems " getting it". The character, Esther was hard to empathize with; she treated everyone like shit. She was self absorbed but at the same time …
Eh, this book was just okay. It has not aged well. I'm sure, at the time when it first came out it seemed so daring, so revolutionary. Some of the ideas the character Esther had about motherhood and marriage and careers were not so common, or at least not the mainstream feelings, so it probably was kind of shocking and titilating reading back in the early 60's. It was gusty of Sylvia Plath to write about things like this and depression and mental illness back then. So I'll give her kudos for that.
But books about someone suffering from depression are so boring. Depressed people are so incredibly self-absorbed and boring. I don't understand depression because I don't suffer from depression so I have problems " getting it". The character, Esther was hard to empathize with; she treated everyone like shit. She was self absorbed but at the same time clueless as to what she was feeling, what she wanted. Just yuck.
