The Bell Jar

Wow.... What a profoundly beautiful and haunting book. The prose, emotions, and imagery are out of this world; it's truly a groundbreaking rally cry for mental health and feminism. I'm disappointed that it took me this long in my life to get around to reading such a classic, but I do get a sick sort of satisfaction that I'm reading this book at pretty much the same age as Plath was when she committed suicide. I'm sad she never saw this book published, although the notoriety of her suicide I'm sure helped propel this book even further since "The Bell Jar" dealt with depression and suicide. I feel like this book is a right of passage for young women. It's like "Catcher in the Rye." This book captured depression so completely and realistically, that it is honestly is making me a little depressed right now. "The Bell Jar" centers on a 19 year old college girl who seemingly has it all; she's in New York after having won a fantastic magazine award with twelve other young ladies and even though she has nothing bringing her down, she can't even bear to be complacent. Her depression grows more enveloping until her only solution is to try to get rid of it completely, by killing herself. Wow. A heavy, depressing, important read.