Book Club Chat

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

By Holly Heller, Communications Coordinator

Who reads a book about attempted suicide and depression in July? The Night Owls, that's "hoo."

(Pardon my lame attempt at humor, but we need to lighten the mood after reading this book.)

The Bell Jar chronicles a young woman's descent into clinical depression while highlighting many of her failed suicide attempts along the way. While the book is obviously not an uplifting read, many Night Owls were still able to look past the downer topic and appreciate Plath's writing style.

Others found the novel difficult to follow. The story line jumped from topic to topic, guided by the thoughts of the mentally-ill main character, Esther Greenwood.

The Bell Jar is semi-autobiographical and parallels Plath's own descent into clinical depression. As you probably know, Plath was deeply troubled and ended her own life at the age of 30. This interesting fact intrigued almost everyone and naturally, the discussion gravitated toward Sylvia's story, rather than Esther's. Most members were in agreement that they found the author's true life story much more interesting than this novel.

The overall rating was 3.2 out of 5 stars.

To see if this book is currently available for check-out, click here.

Next month, the Night Owls will read and discuss "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" by Jamie Ford. To join in the discussion, inquire at the Adult Desk.