Girl, Interrupted
by Susanna Kaysen
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In 1967, after a session with a doctor she'd never seen before, eighteen-year-old Susanna Kaysen was put in a taxi to McLean Hospital. She spent most of the next two years on the ward for teenage girls in a psychiatric hospital that was as renowned for its famous clientele - Sylvia Plath, Robert Lowell, James Taylor, and Ray Charles were among its patients - as for its progressive methods of treating those who could afford its rare sanctuary. In a series of spare, razor-sharp vignettes marked by startling black humor, "Kaysen writes as lucidly about the dark jumble inside her head as she does about the hospital routines, the staff, the patients." (Kirkus Reviews) Through her own experiences (augmented by pages from her medical record) and those of her fellow patients, Kaysen opens up the world of the hospital and questions the social and emotional assumptions that divide people into deviant or normal. More than a story of young women and madness, Girl, Interrupted is a brilliant evocation of a "parallel universe" set within the kaleidoscopically shifting landscape of the late sixties. It is a clear-sighted, unflinching historical document that gives lasting and specific dimension to our definitions of mental illness and recovery.
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Book Details
- ISBN
- 9780679746041
- Binding
- Paperback
- Authors
- Susanna Kaysen
- Publisher
- Vintage
- Published Date
- April 19, 1994
- Language
- English
- Pages
- 192
- Physical Info
- 8 in L x 5.1 in W (0.4 lb)
I thoroughly enjoyed this story, starting with the authors description of her depressive condition, psychiatric admission, other patients, and the hospital and people working there. The writing is so fresh, quirky, and stark, I couldn’t stop reading. I was transported to that psych ward, with robust features, smells, completely drawn characters, and the author’s unique but relatable interpretations on all of it. Irresistible prose and dark humor was exhibited through irreverent dialogue and antics. The story has Brat Pack charm in the group of girls who bonded with each other and found their tribe.However, I wanted a bit more of the author’s take on the “analysis” she experienced with her doctor rather than pages of brain versus mind and first and second interpreters discussion, which was not as satisfying. The final chapters picked up the pace again with the author’s life after leaving the hospital, a somewhat interesting discussion of various mental disorders, and revelations about her behavior in high school, which provided more context about the reason for hospitalization. It might have been better placed at the front of the book, to provide more context for hospitalization.
Brought it for my sister and she really liked the book
Movie and book are slightly different but still a good read especially for a high school project!
The book is very short, the words are big easy to read.
LOVE this memoir, have seen the movie plenty of times and its amazing to see the book that started it all. Could reread this book plenty of times
