The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

I'm a bit nervous writing a review of this one as it is after all a modern American classic and I am after all just me. I'm not a student of English, nor a graduate in English studies and this review is not meant to be used as a study guide!

I am also nervous about writing my thoughts on this book because of the way this book made me feel.

For the first time in many years I connected with a character in a book. I lived this story with Esther and I understood without any hesitation where it was that she was coming from.

It is a book about confusion, madness, life styles, love and sex. It is a snapshot of a few months in the life of a young woman who does not know where it is that she is going, what she is supposed to do, or how she is supposed to fill the expectations that are demanded of her.

The weight of expectation that she feels in relation to her career, love life, sex life and family life drives her mad. The reality of her madness was very real to me. I could see how and why it happened to her and how she got to a position where to her, suicide was the only real option.

It was a great comfort to me to read this book. It was good to see such honesty and truth about an aspect of life which I think most of us face, in one shape or form, at some stage or other in our lives. The thing is, most of us just don't acknowledge it. It is unacceptable to acknowledge such a thing in polite company, and there is always that stigma associated with depression which makes it almost possible to address it as a topic in a real way.

I realise that many people read this book in school or college and probably analyse it to death. But I would suggest that it is not just a story for young impressionables, it's a story for all women to consider. And if you're a man it's a story which may give you an insight into what it is to be a woman and how difficult it can be at times, if you're open to it that is.

This goes in my top ten favourite books of all times and I'll be re-reading it again soon.