Book Review- The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Well I'm just going to start off by saying, this book has become one of my favorites of all time.  My uncle gave me this book as a present for me, and am really thankful I got to know about this author.  Before reading her book, I had only heard of her once before, and that was in one of Lana Del Rey's songs.  This book is basically an autobiography on Sylvia Plath's life.  Or a part of her life anyways.  Quick backstory on Sylvia Plath, she was an author and poet born in Boston.  She lived from 1932-1968 and committed suicide at the age of 30.  This book talks about her experience with depression and her attempt in suicide.  It is through her perspective and about what she was thinking while going through everything.  She talks about her past romance with Ted Hughes, who, if you don't know, Ted Hughes was her husband.  It talks about her dreams of being an author and her feelings of getting rejected and many moments that just tied the whole story together.  One of the many reason why I loved it so much was because it was her own experience, written by herself.  To a reader who thinks similarly to her, it relates to you in a way.  To everyone else, Sylvia looked like she was fine, sure she asked some weird questions here and there, but she was an average shy girl in her early adulthood looking for a job, or husband.  No one really knew what was going on in her head.  That's something I realized while reading this.  You don't know what is going on in someone's mind and what they are thinking.  The setting of the book affects it as well.  Like I said earlier, this book is kind of a biography of a part in Sylvia's life, and back when she was an adult, they had different methods for treating patients who were suicidal and depressed.  From electroshock therapy to lobotomy, the book gives an insight on what was used to treat depression and what the author had to go through.  It also gives an insight on what people thought of mental illnesses and how they where dealt with.  Not only that, it also discusses the topic of romance and what Sylvia felt.  It talks about how she was set to marry Ted, and how betrayed she felt when she realized he had already lost his virginity.  She goes on to discusses her thoughts on how she was still a virgin and why she still was one.  There are many moments where she just talks about her views and how she was feeling when something happened and to people who haven't dealt with depression and suicide, it gives you an understanding of where she was coming from and how it may feel.  That's one reason why I enjoyed reading this story so much, it gives you an understanding of what she was going through and immerses you in the situation she was in.