The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath
The Bell Jar is one of those essential feminist books, read by TV smart girls like Rory Gilmore and Daria, that I'm glad I checked out of the University library. It's the only novel written by Sylvia Plath, telling the autobiographical story of a girl who spends a summer working at a magazine in New York and then struggles with her mental health upon her return home, ending up in a mental institution following a suicide attempt. Plath's poetry is great but The Bell Jar is her true masterpiece, giving voice to all the concerns that plague young women in quotes such as this:
“I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.”The Bell Jar truly is a must-read book and one that I find myself picking up again and again. For anyone who has already read it, I'd recommend delving into the journals and letters that Plath wrote in 1953, the period of her life that the book covers, for a version of events that hasn't been fictionalised - I found it fascinating to read how much of the story was fact.
Carrie, Stephen King I chose to read this book as my personal study novel in English class at school, which meant that I read it over and over for a few months and picked it apart, but I still came away thinking it was a great book. It follows a misfit teen with an overly religious mother who doesn't equip Carrie with the knowledge she needs to survive her adolescence, and as a result she's bullied horribly by her peers. However, they don't bargain on Carrie having telekinetic powers which she uses to get back at those who have wronged her. There are a lot of bad guys in this book, and they meet a satisfyingly bloody end. I'm not a big sci-fi or horror reader so this is the only one of King's books that I've read but it strikes the perfect balance for me between teen girl story and weird stuff.
I've been interested in feminism for a long time and I picked up a signed copy (dedicated to a woman called Johanna) of this book in a charity shop not long before I finished University. I was excited to read it, knowing that it was a well-received book and having seen the pilot of Caitlin and her sister Caz's show 'Raised By Wolves', but I didn't expect it to be as good as it is. I had to stop reading it on the train because it was so laugh-out-loud funny, and I was sad to be reaching the end. It covers pretty much every aspect of life as a woman in a hilarious and relatable way, I wish I'd had it in my life sooner. After reading it I devoured just about every other book, interview and TV show that she's put out and I think she's fabulous.
Having never read Harry Potter or Twilight I wasn't sure whether The Hunger Games was going to be right for me but after hearing my friends and the wider world raving about it I decided to give it a try when I came across a copy right as I was looking for a book to take on a trip. Once I started reading I didn't want to stop; the book has so many cliffhangers that I needed to know what was going to happen to Katniss next. I thought Catching Fire was also great but wasn't a fan of Mockingjay, although after enjoying the movie version I think I'll have to read it again. I doubt there's anyone left to recommend The Hunger Games to but I was surprised by how quickly it became one of my favourites.
Invisible Monsters, Chuck PalahniukI picked up this book in a charity shop in August 2014 because I was familiar with the title (there's a Motion City Soundtrack song with the same name) and it sounded interesting, and I read it at the end of the year. It tells the before and after stories of a model who is badly disfigured in a car accident, losing her boyfriend and model friend Evie and gaining instead the fabulous Brandi Alexander. The book follows a non-linear narrative, flashing back and forward like the flash of a camera, and every few chapters reveals another twist which connects the story in a way I never expected. Often when I read on transport I have to stop after a couple of chapters but I was glued to this book and had to find out what the whole story was. It's not as well-known as Palahniuk's Fight Club but it's a great novel which has made me want to read more of his work.
Having seen this book quoted and referenced endlessly online it was at the top of my reading list when I finally got a copy in 2012, and I rushed to get it read before the movie left the cinemas. I was won over almost straight away with its references to The Smiths and its charming characters. I've read it a couple of times, although not for a while, and it gets better each time. I also love the movie version, in fact it's probably the best adaptation I can think of, but the book is still king for me.
The Virgin Suicides, Jeffrey EugenidesIf you've seen the movie adaptation of this book you'll be familiar with this tragic story, but the movie, though beautiful, isn't nearly as good as the book is. The story is of five strange teenage sisters who commit suicide, as told by the local boys who were mystified by them. The prose conjures up the same hazy glow as Sofia Coppola's screen version but doesn't focus quite as much on Lux (Kirsten Dunst's character) and is so filled with beautiful imagery that I just wanted to go and live inside that world for a while, no matter how sad I knew the ending was going to be.
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