Melissa W. (melis82) reviewed on
Helpful Score: 1
I am glad to have read this book but it wasn't one of my favorites. The characters (other than the protagonist) were completely interchangeable and thus forgettable. This may accurately reveal how severe depression distorts people into more empty, interchangeable abstractions, but it made for a dull read. Esther (the protagonist) asserted her own intellect several times only by revealing that she got good grades in school - I wish Sylvia Plath had shown me that she was intelligent. I would have accepted the other characters if she had given Esther more substance especially when she was in her deeply internal state. I often read books of a similar vein, I just think it has been done better.
That said, if you are reading the book to catch a glimpse of Sylvia Plath's own struggles it is more interesting. I also feel that had I been alive in the era the book was written I may have appreciated it more. There were several cultural aspects that I didn't really relate to (some I readily admit I had no real clue what she was talking about). I was glad to have another glimpse of how mental illness was handled in recent history, but even so Esther seemed to have a comparably easy/elite experience with it.
That said, if you are reading the book to catch a glimpse of Sylvia Plath's own struggles it is more interesting. I also feel that had I been alive in the era the book was written I may have appreciated it more. There were several cultural aspects that I didn't really relate to (some I readily admit I had no real clue what she was talking about). I was glad to have another glimpse of how mental illness was handled in recent history, but even so Esther seemed to have a comparably easy/elite experience with it.
