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What Members Thought
Classic? Probably not, though well known. Never read it and wondered about it. The surprise? The story of a depressed and suicidal girl is depressing. The first half, almost a female echo of another head case -- Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye -- is entertaining enough, showing what it's like for an innocent girl in the Big Apple to try and find her way.
There are even touches of humor. Young Esther quaffs fingerbowl water and eats the pretty flower floating in it, for instance, when ...more
There are even touches of humor. Young Esther quaffs fingerbowl water and eats the pretty flower floating in it, for instance, when ...more
It was all too easy to relate to the main character - a girl suffering from a warped perception of her capabilities and the expectations of those she loves. Sylvia Plath writes beautifully.
One image in particular stays with me: at one point the main character analogizes her life to the fruit of a fig tree. While she sits and tries to decide which fruit to grab (i.e. which life path to choose), they wither and die before her eyes.
One image in particular stays with me: at one point the main character analogizes her life to the fruit of a fig tree. While she sits and tries to decide which fruit to grab (i.e. which life path to choose), they wither and die before her eyes.
While often cast as a book about mental illness (and it is certainly that), what appeals to me about this one is the everywoman quality of Esther's anxieties - even as she spirals into a place most of us fortunately avoid, her essential humanity holds the novel together. That relatable quality makes me understand why this has endured.
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Mar 12, 2008
Clackamas
rated it
it was ok
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review of another edition
Shelves:
college-lists-and-classics
Jul 03, 2008
Monica
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
literary,
underway-own-but-havent-started
Aug 27, 2011
Rhiannon
marked it as to-read
![★ K ★ [In a slump but still here!]](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1740712564p2/718640.jpg)
Nov 10, 2012
★ K ★ [In a slump but still here!]
rated it
really liked it
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review of another edition
Jan 17, 2013
Dana Arbelaez
marked it as to-read
May 05, 2013
Patty
marked it as to-read
Dec 19, 2015
Megan
added it
Dec 05, 2017
Kai Coates
marked it as to-read
