Saturday, January 16, 2016

The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

The renowned Plath, at last. This book was a beast I did not know was coming. So if you are looking for a very cerebral exploration of a woman in the 1950's mind, and how it all worked, and works even today, Plath was deeply insightful.

This book is about Esther Greenwood, she's intelligent, attractive, and successful in the way you could be in the 1950s as a woman. However, something goes wrong and everything spirals out of control for her. What is real and what is fake becomes a blur, and one begins to question society's sanity, and Esther's sanity.

As I read this I was drawn into and could identify with Esther's character to the T, other than fashion choices of course. It was deep and disturbing at some points. If you are looking for a classic, an experience of a life time you will not easily forget, good writing, this is the book for you. It is also very artsy and emo, and now I know what all the cool English kids were raving about. Just so you know this is a heavy read, maybe not as much as Finnegan's Wake, Whitman, or Joseph Conrad.

Plath's life itself is intriguing, and interesting to read about after this book, or before this book in order to better understand where it stems from. I have not been able to understand the poetry aspect of Plath yet, perhaps some day.

Here are some quotes from the book I enjoyed:
"There is nothing like puking with somebody to make you into old friends."
"I collected men with interesting names."
"...was a real fanatic about virginity for both men and women."
"...I had never been really happy again."
"...the trouble was I hated the idea of serving men in anyway..."
"I couldn't stand the idea of a woman having to have a single pure life and a man being able to have a double life, one pure and one not."
"I had never met a woman-hater before."
"...my mind slipped from the noose of the thought and swung, like a bird, in the center of empty air."

Plot: 8/10
Entertainment: 8/10
Characters: 8/10
Writing Style: 10/10
Thought Provoking: 9/10
Recommend: 8/10


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