(a.k.a. Post a Week 7 ~ 7-13/02/2011)

Lately, I have been trying to broaden my reading range by throwing in a few classics. Having heard much about this book, I decided to give it a go and see what I actually thought.

Turns out “The Bell Jar” is an edgy, honest and unflinching account of one young woman’s descend into depression -a brave attempt by Sylvia Plath to face her own demons, made all the more heart-wrenching by the fact that she unfortunately committed suicide just a few weeks after this was published.

Written mostly in the 1st person and filled with Plath’s poetic imagery, this is definitely not a light read but it is a fast one. The dry, almost cynical sense of humour succeeds in making the highly sensitive and intense content easier to “digest” and, despite its own “nature” the book somehow manages to hold on to a sense of hope.

If you are looking for an unconventionally beautiful, though provoking classic you might want to consider picking this up –just make sure you chose your time wisely…