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rbharath's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I had heard of this book for its portrayal of mental illness since some time. This is different from what I expected – stark and exuding raw realism.
Esther Greenwood is a bright student, and yet struggling to form a lasting relationship and find purpose in life. She has a limited friend circle, primarily two girls her age – Doreen & Betsy. She had hoped to get married to Buddy Willard, but falls out with him after he confesses that he has had other relationships. The expectations of society continues to weigh on Esther, though she ventures into some adventures on and off. Esther’s motivation suffers a setback after she is not accepted at a writing course. A psychiatrist Dr Gordon recommends electroshock therapy, and if anything makes matters worse for Esther. She next goes to Dr Nolan, and this seems to work better for her. This is a period when Esther is obsessed with sexual discovery. She also meets with Joan, a college mate, who is battling her own demons.
Maybe, as a result of reading Matt Haig’s books; especially his “Reasons to Stay Alive” which describes his descent into mental illness, and coming out of it, I was a little surprised at this book. This is a good first-person account of what people battling mental illness go through. Though the book ends with a glimmer of hope for Esther, it is largely a relentless, frank (and somewhat dry but that exemplifies the mental state) narration of an extremely tough battle for her. That it is about mental health is an oversimplification though – it is about a person struggling to find purpose, self-esteem & identity, sexuality, coping with pressure to conform with societal norms and building relationships. All these feed to each other for Esther, creating a difficult knotted mental state which becomes hugely challenging to unravel. I found the track involved Joan to be curious – especially considering the way it ends, I found her character to be underdeveloped & behaviour poorly explained.
This is a brave book which makes a valuable contribution to understanding the mental state & stress afflicting many lives; and situations which feed to and make it worse. I feel though that there could have been more in-depth character & behaviour exploration. Unlike Matt Haig’s books, this is not uplifting, and could be triggering for those who are stressed. In “Reasons to Stay Alive”, Matt Haig mentions at one point that he was a few steps & a few minutes from taking his own life. We, as a society are still in our initial stages of learning about how we can empathize with and help those in such situations.
alice_b29's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Death, and Suicide
abirej's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Even if I hadn’t known Plath to be a poet before i picked this up, I would have quickly learned from the lyrical way she tells her own story. Discusses what it meant to be a woman with chronic depression in the 1960s.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Lesbophobia
hanhantap's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
lxc433's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
chasereads52's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
erb10's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
pallow's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
maybe the most complete portrait of a person possible. strengths, flaws, and everything in between, like nobody's business. the most difficult read I've ever had.
taylorhaney's review
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
i truly have nothing to say