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February 15, 2008

The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath

I had never read The Bell Jar, but I picked up a copy at the ALA Midwinter Conference. I found it interesting, less as a piece of literature and more as a timepiece. Sylvia Plath's thinly disguised semi-autobiographical novel about a young woman's experiences with life, sex and suicide attempts in the late 1950's provides much insight into the author's mindset, and sadly foreshadows her 1963 suicide. The descriptions of life in New York and Boston during the time period shortly before the beginning of the Feminist movement shows just how far women have come since that time.

This isn't a fun book to read, but it's interesting and informative. It may not be a great novel, but as a diary it provides an invaluable look at life during the not-so-good old days.

Posted by In Repair at February 15, 2008 08:56 PM

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