The Bell Jar

 "Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one’s head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no tomorrow. To forget time, to forgive life, to be at peace."

The Bell Jar, to the say the least, was a profound read. It was difficult for me to pick just one quote from the book for the intro. But if I tried to add anymore, I'd simply be rewriting the entire book in this post. Every word, every sentence you read in this book has a purpose. I fail to understand why I didn't chance upon this book sooner. 

In this book, Sylvia Plath chronicles the slow descend of her alter-ego, Esther Greenwood, into depression. Esther is successful, smart, talented and beautiful, yet adrift. Somewhere in the book Esther says "I was supposed to be having the time of my life". But she finds herself incapable of doing so. Ironically enough, she isn't sad. She just feels empty, like a shell. She wants to do so many things in life, but struggles to find meaning in anything. She's like a cloud, beautiful to look at at first, but when observed closely, the cloud appears to be disintegrating into smaller pieces without its own volition until it disappears completely. 

The Bell Jar is intense yet unemotional. It deals with thoughts & ideas, not with emotions. It gives you a peek into the mind of somebody who's dealing with depression, something I thought could never be put into words, yet this book does a phenomenal job at it. It's simple, straightforward, dark and enigmatic. 
I finished reading it long back but I kept putting off its review cause I didn't think I would do any justice to the book, no matter what I write. With a sense of great responsibility, I finally managed to put my thoughts into words. I hope I haven't failed the book. With that, I give it five shiny stars and move on to my next read! 

I've picked up the highly acclaimed novel "Anxious People" by Fredrick Backman for my next read. I've read "A man called Ove" by the same author earlier and I remember finding it a pleasant read. I'd be back with a review soon!

Till then, 
Happy Reading!