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245.The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath - Since I'm certain that I have put this book in a "books read" entry in the past (I read it several times because I always put it on the book queue and I must have read it in an even year) I am not sure what to say that hasn't been said, but I don't have to encapsulate it. I really never had to in the first place since it's got a very Catcher in the Rye feel to it, but for women. And much more honest with its emotions. You don't have to wait until the ending to realize that all of those context clues meant that the protagonist was having a breakdown. "Esther Greenbaum" (who we can just assume is Sylvia Plath's stand-in) has her breakdown halfway through the book when the city is too much for her and she goes to the suburban home and everything is getting to her until she just takes a bunch of sleeping pills.
So things I noticed this time. The Jane character seems a little cliche. Like in every story about mental health or drug addiction, there's a character who serves as a mentor through the terrible place. That mentor character has gone through the same things as the protagonist and seems healthy. Maybe not completely healthy because they are in the same drug treatment center or mental hospital, but much further along in the jury. Then they die. I'm actually thinking of The Fault in Our Stars where the guy with the cancer in remission dies because that makes everything sadder. I almost should have known that Jane was going to go as soon as she showed up all gregarious smiles and hey how are you doing after Esther wakes up.
Buddy, the boyfriend, asks if he is at fault since both his main girlfriends have either attempted suicide or at that point committed suicide. It is the wrong question but it's interesting that his first impulse is to ask the wrong question. The question he should be asking is what attracts him to these women who have mental health problems.
Also it's an interesting meta-question considering that Ted Hughes also married a lot of women who killed themselves. But in the case of Ted, it probably was his fault. Maybe not completely, but he was sure a dickhead.
What else? I'm wondering why the first sex led her to go to the hospital. That was pretty nasty.
246.Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff - This one was not as amazing as Mirage. I haven't read Lovecraft Country yet. A woman is caught in a murder and she confesses to her life within the Bad Monkeys or the group that is trying to fight the Bad Monkeys. For the most part, she's telling the truth but how much is delusional? How much is a lie? Does the super secret organization really exist?
It's actually pretty cool and has a great deal to say about how we process grief and how spy thrillers can be paranoid fantasies.
So things I noticed this time. The Jane character seems a little cliche. Like in every story about mental health or drug addiction, there's a character who serves as a mentor through the terrible place. That mentor character has gone through the same things as the protagonist and seems healthy. Maybe not completely healthy because they are in the same drug treatment center or mental hospital, but much further along in the jury. Then they die. I'm actually thinking of The Fault in Our Stars where the guy with the cancer in remission dies because that makes everything sadder. I almost should have known that Jane was going to go as soon as she showed up all gregarious smiles and hey how are you doing after Esther wakes up.
Buddy, the boyfriend, asks if he is at fault since both his main girlfriends have either attempted suicide or at that point committed suicide. It is the wrong question but it's interesting that his first impulse is to ask the wrong question. The question he should be asking is what attracts him to these women who have mental health problems.
Also it's an interesting meta-question considering that Ted Hughes also married a lot of women who killed themselves. But in the case of Ted, it probably was his fault. Maybe not completely, but he was sure a dickhead.
What else? I'm wondering why the first sex led her to go to the hospital. That was pretty nasty.
246.Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff - This one was not as amazing as Mirage. I haven't read Lovecraft Country yet. A woman is caught in a murder and she confesses to her life within the Bad Monkeys or the group that is trying to fight the Bad Monkeys. For the most part, she's telling the truth but how much is delusional? How much is a lie? Does the super secret organization really exist?
It's actually pretty cool and has a great deal to say about how we process grief and how spy thrillers can be paranoid fantasies.
