Her story is a journey of self-discovery. Each home is its own universe with it's own laws where consequences for breaking those rules can be pretty dire. Consequences that range from just getting ignored to being attacked by dogs to being shot at.
The imagery that Janet Fitch uses in this novel is so vivid. She's very descriptive with her writing. I originally decided to read this book because it was on Oprah's book club. Lame I know. But the plot did sound interesting so I read it. I found while I was reading the different environments that Astrid had to immerse herself in, it's extremely sad and heart-breaking.
She has to deal with some really messed up situations and she becomes so much more jaded about life and relationships because of all the different foster homes she lived in during her childhood and teenage years. Because of her mother being in prison, she's learned about life, about humanity and how unkind it can at times. She's learned from the different people she's surrounded herself with throughout her life. Even after gunshot wounds, dog attacks and poverty among other things Astrid can still love and trust. It's almost as if Astrid is a better person because of all the adversity she's had to deal with in her life.
Though not a novel that's very happy-go-lucky, I still felt compelled to keep reading simply just to find out what happens to Astrid and Ingrid. If you're looking for a happy story then I wouldn't read this one. But it's still wonderful nonetheless. For what it's worth, it's a little more depressing than Such a Pretty Face that I blogged about in an earlier post. It's probably got a depression scale factor of about a 7 or 8. 1 being sunshine and rainbows and 10 being the ugly cry and everyone dying at the end. But you should read it anyways. I of course recommend it. Otherwise I wouldn't have put it on my blog.
General rating for this book: A
Esther Greenwood has won a month-long trip to New York City. She's won a contest to be a junior editor for a magazine. But as the time that Esther spends in New York progresses, her relationships become more and more strained due to her increasing mental instability.
Throughout the novel her condition worsens. She begins to not sleep and then attempts suicide several different times. Her mother sends Esther to Dr. Gordon who administers electroconvulsive therapy to her incorrectly. She describes it as being electrocuted and refuses to go back for good reason. After her last suicide attempt, Esther is sent to a mental institution where she meets Dr. Nolan. With a combination of medication, psychotherapy as well as doses of electroconvulsive therapy that are properly administered, Esther's condition gets better and better.
Partially autobiographical, The Bell Jar mirrors Sylvia Plath's own life. She always had issues with depression and used that to write poetry and then later this novel. She ended up committing suicide when she was 30. It saddens me to think of all the other potential prose and poetry Sylvia Plath could have shared with the world if she had lived a full life.
As a novel this really spoke to me. Though the major emphasis is on Esther's mental illness, there's also a focus on her as a woman and the cultural and social issues of the day. Issues with looking a certain way, acting a certain way and the huge pressure to get married - whether that man is the wrong one or not - and to start a family. These and other issues that are discussed are relevant in some way or form today almost 50 years later.
I know The Bell Jar is almost always on some required reading list for a class or project. Plus it's considered an American classic. I had always had this list of "classic" books I wanted to read and this was one of them. I'm actually not one to hardly ever recommend any sort of classic/literature type novel. But I'm glad I read this. This book definitely goes on my list of awesome classic novels. Money and time well spent.
General rating for this book: A
Though not a novel that's very happy-go-lucky, I still felt compelled to keep reading simply just to find out what happens to Astrid and Ingrid. If you're looking for a happy story then I wouldn't read this one. But it's still wonderful nonetheless. For what it's worth, it's a little more depressing than Such a Pretty Face that I blogged about in an earlier post. It's probably got a depression scale factor of about a 7 or 8. 1 being sunshine and rainbows and 10 being the ugly cry and everyone dying at the end. But you should read it anyways. I of course recommend it. Otherwise I wouldn't have put it on my blog.
General rating for this book: A
Throughout the novel her condition worsens. She begins to not sleep and then attempts suicide several different times. Her mother sends Esther to Dr. Gordon who administers electroconvulsive therapy to her incorrectly. She describes it as being electrocuted and refuses to go back for good reason. After her last suicide attempt, Esther is sent to a mental institution where she meets Dr. Nolan. With a combination of medication, psychotherapy as well as doses of electroconvulsive therapy that are properly administered, Esther's condition gets better and better.
Partially autobiographical, The Bell Jar mirrors Sylvia Plath's own life. She always had issues with depression and used that to write poetry and then later this novel. She ended up committing suicide when she was 30. It saddens me to think of all the other potential prose and poetry Sylvia Plath could have shared with the world if she had lived a full life.
As a novel this really spoke to me. Though the major emphasis is on Esther's mental illness, there's also a focus on her as a woman and the cultural and social issues of the day. Issues with looking a certain way, acting a certain way and the huge pressure to get married - whether that man is the wrong one or not - and to start a family. These and other issues that are discussed are relevant in some way or form today almost 50 years later.
I know The Bell Jar is almost always on some required reading list for a class or project. Plus it's considered an American classic. I had always had this list of "classic" books I wanted to read and this was one of them. I'm actually not one to hardly ever recommend any sort of classic/literature type novel. But I'm glad I read this. This book definitely goes on my list of awesome classic novels. Money and time well spent.
General rating for this book: A
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