In 1967, after a session with a doctor she'd never seen before, 18-year-old Susanna Kaysen was taken in a taxi to a psychiatric hospital, where she spent most of the next two years in the ward for teenage girls. This book describes her experiences there.
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Amazon Review
Susanna Kaysen's Girl, Interrupted is the autobiographical story of the author's time in a psychiatric award in 1967. Sylvia Plath was a patient at the same hospital in the early 1950s so inevitably comparisons have been made between Plath's The Bell Jar and Kaysen's novel--both recounting a young woman's descent into insanity. This, however, is where the similarities end--The Bell Jar is a haunting and lyrical book; Girl, Interrupted is a more hard-edged, documentary-style narrative. It has none of the beauty and poetry of Plath's prose and is more akin to Elizabeth Wurtzel's Prozac Nation , an up-to-date memoir of a young girl's struggle with depression and drugs. Both these books offer a brutal and stark image of a life of mental illness.
Kaysen's account goes further and questions the standard notions of sanity and insanity. Her plausible voice allows the reader to accept a world where time is distorted, chaos reigns and questions are left unanswered, capturing perfectly the sense of helplessness and frustration felt by these women. The book's gritty realism is also heightened by copies of the author's original medical reports lodged between the chapters.
However, it is her penetrating insights into those around her, from those cared for to the caretakers, that make "Girl, Interrupted" so potent. Lacing her narrative with a hard-edged, sardonic sting, she introduces us to a cast of characters from the outrageous Lisa to the chicken-hoarding Daisy to the Martian's girlfriend:
Daisy was a seasonal event. She came before Thanksgiving and stayed through Christmas every year ... "Would anyone like to share?" the head nurse asked ... "Me! Me! Somebody who was a Martian's girlfriend and also had a little penis of her own, which she was eager to show off, raised a hand; nobody wanted to share with her."Girl, Interrupted" is a credible and creditable chronicle of the lives of women in the 1960s who, through the ignorance and narrow-mindedness of society, were contained and monitored for not fitting into the "norm", the mainstream. Nicola Perry
Review
Not since Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar has a personal account of life in a mental hospital achieved as much popularity and acclaim (TIME MAGAZINE )
Intelligent and painful (GUARDIAN )
Girl, Interrupted is superb, poignant and more powerful for its lack of romantic inflation, whining, or self-congratulation (SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY )
Susanna Kaysen's Girl, Interrupted is the autobiographical story of the author's time in a psychiatric award in 1967. Sylvia Plath was a patient at the same hospital in the early 1950s so inevitably comparisons have been made between Plath's The Bell Jar (Kaysen's account goes further and questions the standard notions of sanity and insanity. Her plausible voice allows the reader to accept a world where time is distorted, chaos reigns and questions are left unanswered, capturing perfectly the sense of help ) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Intelligent and painful (GUARDIAN )
Girl, Interrupted is superb, poignant and more powerful for its lack of romantic inflation, whining, or self-congratulation (SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY )
Susanna Kaysen's Girl, Interrupted is the autobiographical story of the author's time in a psychiatric award in 1967. Sylvia Plath was a patient at the same hospital in the early 1950s so inevitably comparisons have been made between Plath's The Bell Jar (Kaysen's account goes further and questions the standard notions of sanity and insanity. Her plausible voice allows the reader to accept a world where time is distorted, chaos reigns and questions are left unanswered, capturing perfectly the sense of help ) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By "llia1981"
Format:Paperback
I read this book before I saw the film, and now view each as seperate and different entities. Whereas the film uses a lot of artistic license to create a picture of hospitalisation in 1960's America, that is palatable for the cinema-goer, the original book is more a case history of Susanna Kayson's life.
It is an intregueing look into the mental health system at that time, but the parts that most touched me and affected me in the film, were absent from the original book.
I do however, find the book immensely interesting for it's 'original' material, in that Susanna's case notes are reproduced, apparantly word-for-word....and anyone who has had experience of the questioning undertaken by mental health staff, will find it an interesting read.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you watched the film and loved it then reading this book will make you love Susanna even more. The characters are captivating and so real on the pages that they leap out at you. You instantly want to learn more about them all and meet them. You find out more of what it was like and read about characters that were missed out of the film like Lisa Cody and Alice Calais.
A frank depiction of the worryingly bad mental health operations. The book is not in a linear order but goes through remembering times while she was in McLean Hospital and her reflections on why she ended up in there. As her love grows for her fellow patients you also feel it as you read.
A book that you just want to keep reading, until you fall in. You will defiantly realise your worth more when finished with this book that you think you are before you start. A mind is a great thing, or so they say.
A frank depiction of the worryingly bad mental health operations. The book is not in a linear order but goes through remembering times while she was in McLean Hospital and her reflections on why she ended up in there. As her love grows for her fellow patients you also feel it as you read.
A book that you just want to keep reading, until you fall in. You will defiantly realise your worth more when finished with this book that you think you are before you start. A mind is a great thing, or so they say.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By "martin1925"
Format:Paperback
Of all the books I've ever read, this is the best. Kaysen's punctuation may not always be perfect and there may be a few idiosyncrasies or colloquialisms slipped in there but the book simple amazes me. It is like a drug which has a profound affect on your mind, you simply become addicted to the story and to the characters. Never before have I ended a book feeling so privileged to have read it and feeling so close to the author.
It was reading this book which got me wholly interested on its theme of mental illness and caused me to look the work of Sylvia Plath. Plath is one of the most renound authors of our time yet her autobiographical novel 'The Bell Jar' simply could not compare with Kaysen's (controversial, I know).
What I loved most about the book was the way it jumped about with time, each chapter was short and was only focusing on one aspect of the asylum or insanity, it really is not your average beginning, middle and end.
The film is also very compelling and Ryder and Jolie's performances as Susanna and Lisa are simply outstanding. They portrayed the characters exactly how I imagined them, yet the book is still so wonderful the film simply cannot capture the same raw honesty and emotion.
I only wish the book had been longer, I would much rather read Kaysen's blunt honesty and humor than a Dickens or Austen epic any day of the week
It was reading this book which got me wholly interested on its theme of mental illness and caused me to look the work of Sylvia Plath. Plath is one of the most renound authors of our time yet her autobiographical novel 'The Bell Jar' simply could not compare with Kaysen's (controversial, I know).
What I loved most about the book was the way it jumped about with time, each chapter was short and was only focusing on one aspect of the asylum or insanity, it really is not your average beginning, middle and end.
The film is also very compelling and Ryder and Jolie's performances as Susanna and Lisa are simply outstanding. They portrayed the characters exactly how I imagined them, yet the book is still so wonderful the film simply cannot capture the same raw honesty and emotion.
I only wish the book had been longer, I would much rather read Kaysen's blunt honesty and humor than a Dickens or Austen epic any day of the week
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting, with depth, yet disjointed
This book contains some very memorable descriptions of characters who the author vividly brings to life and is definitely a great insight into the mental health system of '60s USA... Read more
Published 5 days ago by Culture Vulture
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely breathtaking!
A compelling and heartbreaking story, with a personal touch of life in a mental hospital. It's memorable, stirring and most definitely fascinating.
Published 1 month ago by Anonymous
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stunning and eye-opening
A close and intimate encounter with Kaysen's life as a mental illness patient - the characters are all individual, somewhat relateable and sometimes shocking. Read more
Published 2 months ago by wickedwitchofthewestend
3.0 out of 5 stars
A good read.
If you liked the movie, you'll enjoy the book. A great read into someone else's life and what's great about this is it comes without the Hollywood drama. What you read is true.
Published 4 months ago by Kelly
4.0 out of 5 stars
Help me find a book i can't remember the title/author of
Hi,
I've been trying to look for this book for ages! The last time I read it was 5 years ago.
The cover of the book has a mental hospital in the background and it's... Read more
I've been trying to look for this book for ages! The last time I read it was 5 years ago.
The cover of the book has a mental hospital in the background and it's... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Klev
5.0 out of 5 stars
L-O-V-E-I-T!!!!
AMAZ-ING! love this book, amazing story. just like the film, the book is super.. . . . . . .
Published 4 months ago by kelsey
5.0 out of 5 stars
fabulous
Great book, so much different than the film. Interesting writing style but entertaining and this book is just great :)
Published 7 months ago by Emma
5.0 out of 5 stars
I enjoyed it.
I read this book for the first time around 5ish at least years ago, and I just read the first excerpt they let you see on here and immediately felt like reading it again. Read more
Published 7 months ago by ShadowIZ
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Journey into Insanity.
This is another book that has left such an impact on me. For one I suffer from a mental illness so I can relate to Susanna in the book. Read more
Published 9 months ago by ReadWriteReviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Harrowing and important
There are already several reviews of this book which are more powerful than I could say, so I will just add that this is a truly important novel which will stay with me... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Mandy
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