The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

This book made its way into my top 5 books of all time when i was just halfway through it. It is somewhat of a semi-autobiography of Sylvia Plath’s college days. Her genius really shows in this book in how she uses analogies to put the most complex emotions into words. 

The book starts on an almost positive note with the main character in New York City completing her internship, trying to be comfortable in her skin surrounded by complex and different characters.  The reader can sense the problems beneath the facade of work the main character puts up but it becomes increasingly more apparent throughout the book. 

On some level, I could relate to the main character even when she was portrayed as literally crazy. I think by using such common experiences and emotions as the basis of the character's illness, Sylvia was trying to indicate the presence of a little  ’ crazy’ in all of us.

It is a very thought-provoking book and after I finished it, I felt a bit low which could be the result of how I was reminded of life’s harsh reality and how anything can go wrong anytime.

I would say it’s an amazing book but not in the way most people would expect. It’s writing and its blunt perception of the world puts it out there as the most amazing ‘sad’ book.

4.8/5