Girl Interrupted (Thorndike Paperback Bestsellers): Amazon.co.uk: Susanna Kaysen: Books

Amazon.co.uk 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 --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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 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, AMAZON.CO.UK REVIEW --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

Insightful and honest 26 Feb 2006

By barenakedlady

Format:Paperback

It's difficult to describe this book without putting people off. It's weird, disjointed, offbeat, non-linear, and there's no straightforward plot. But it's a fantastic book. Kaysen describes the harshness and realities of her stay in a mental institution, with an attitude that ranges from matter-of-fact to shocked and horrified. She raises uncomfortable questions about the way society views mental illness, and the ways she's treated. She has the insight to question a screwed up system, and the honesty to admit that she still benefited from it. And although it's her own story she's telling, it never once seems self-centred or arrogant.

If you've seen the film of 'Girl, Interrupted', then do read the book as well. With such different styles, they have the huge advantage that watching or seeing one won't ruin the other. You can love them both.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

... 2 May 2004

By "llia1981"

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

A girl, please don't interrupt 28 May 2007

By Jade Scott-Jones

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.

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