/lit/ - Literature

>>7943357
>gf

Was she a lesbian, I thought she had an aversion to them while in the facility

>>7943375
no but pretty much
>tfw no BF that meets my standards
at one point she wonders how a girl could be attracted to a girl

Very accurate depiction of serious chronic depression.
>Inb4 she can't be depressed she's got a great privileged life she's just complaining about nothing etc

So I know this is pretty much a self bump so sorry but immediately after I finished this book I googled 'esther the bell jar' and found all kinds of cringey fan art of literal bells encasing little cartoony tumblr girls and quotes from the book tattooed on their bodies and it seems to me that people identify so strongly with deeply flawed artists because it. romanticizes mental illness first off, but mostly because it makes being a flawed person hip and cool. they take completely the wrong message away from the book. they think Esther's worldview is acceptable rather than it being mostly a byproduct of mental illness. My favorite part of the book was where she was in New York and having fun and seeing how good life can be in spite of herself. and you can really only be that mentally ill, embittered person and get away with it if you're a literary genius like Plath but these tumblr idiots read the book (or probably haven't even read it) and go WOW ITS COOL TO HATE EVERYTHING AND BE BITTER AND MENTALLY ILL BECAUSE IM JUST SO SPECIAL. instead of viewing the book as a compelling document of mental illness and a beautiful person coping with it and still having insightful things to say about life. pretty much the same people who think Holden Caulfield was cool, think mental illness is cool, think drug addiction is cool. I guess I've had a lot of personal experience with these things though so I have a different perspective. thats my blog i know no one will read but yeah

>>7943689
tldr

>>7943689
I read and 'ppreciate it

>>7943357
>>7943375
>>7943386
>>7943408

I haven't read this book. Considering reading it. Is it good? What should I go in expecting? Would you recommend it?

>>7943375
Anne Sexton?

>>7943773
It is breddy gud

I'm
Surprised and impressed to see lit being so positive about this book.

>>7943773
It's about the gradual descent into severe depression of a 19 year old girl. It puts you deep into her mind, but don't expect much existential or deeply philosophical ideas, not that that's inherently a bad thing. It's about growing out of naivety and feeling lost in life after giving up on your childish, grand dreams. If you're in your teens or early 20s and you think it sounds interesting, then go for it, especially if you're dealing with similar issues.
Some people on this board hate on it because it's basically about a /r9k/-ish feminist and because there's more complex alternatives to it, but if you don't mind its simplicity and its somewhat unlikable, yet relatable protagonist, it's a pretty good novel.

>>7944323
thank you for typing this out.
and yes, that sounds something that I would definitely like to read. considering that it is from a girl's perspective, I'm intrigued even more and always have wanted to read some of plath since I've heard so much about her.

I don't mind simplicity or lack of heavy philosophical ideas senpai. Simple books (stoner and old man and the sea) can be immensely enjoyable and powerful imo.

but yeah, I'll check it out.