The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath was a renowned writer, however, this is her only published novel, as she was a poet more than anything. Although the extension of the text might make it seem as a light story, it is most certainly not an easy read: Plath recalls episodes occuring on her early twenties, when she started struggling with mental health issues. The author reflects her personal experiences by Esther, a successful student that finds herself with no purpose in life after finishing university, as she realizes that choosing a path for her future implies neglecting all the rest. She goes on to describe how pressure on her builds up as she gets rejected from a poetry course, making her doubt his talent, and acknowledges that the traditional role of spouse and mother given to women does not fit her. Plath's own experience in a mental hospital in the 50s is also crudely portrayed in the novel, showing, however, the different approaches of psychiatric treatments, from the more extreme ones to more patient-respectful therapies.
Although the ending is not necessarily hopeless, someone with some knowledge on Plath's live can find the read quite painful. For better or worse, one can always resort to this poetess work to find, if not some hope, at least context and a more profound reflection on the ideas presented in this novel. Works like Ariel can serve as a natural continuation to The Bell Jar story and the development of its main character.
The Magnus Archives, Rusty Quill
If we are talking about literature, audiobooks should also come to the table. This weekly podcast is a narration conducted by Jonathan Sims, head archivist of the Magnus Institute. Listeners will first enjoy the esoteric testimonies read out loud by our main character as he records himself in tapes. We can soon sense the strong lovecraftian vibes as well as Poe's inspiration in this tales.
Even though the first seem to be just short tales with no connection, we can soon start to acknowledge links that start shortly start crawling towards the characters outside the paper.
One of the strongest points of this podcast is, asied from its absorbing atmosphere, is the duration of its episodes (around 15-20 minutes), perfect for a boring ride in the subway!
Archive 81, Dead Signals
Once again, archivist seem to attract esoterism. This podcast, with less story-telling component than The Magnus Archives, allows us to dive into the tapes recorded during a research conducted on a mysterious building through the ears of Dan Turner, incharge of re-recording them. Soon, he finds out that he is much more than a listener in this story.
This podcast is structured in a much more cinematographic way than The Magnus Archives; in fact, it has been adapted into a recently released series by Netflix. However, the story is gripping and the tone is, at least for me, much more oppresive.
Following the same theme of these two podcasts, we have The Sheridan Tapes, which narrates the investigation of a disappearance with supernatural hints. Although I have not listened to it yet, the premise seems compelling and I am eager to start it.
Sharp Objects, by Gillian Flynn
You might be familiar with Gillian Flynn thank to her thrilling novel Gone Girl, adapted to a famous film. However, this was not Flynn's first published work, but Sharp Objects, a sotry following journalis Camille Preaker on her return to her hometown to cover the case of a potential serial killer. Camille's problematic relationship with her mother, even though quite cliché at first, develops into its own substory as Preaker becomes more and more invested in the investigation.
It is quite easy to recognize in this novel, recently adapted into an HBO series, some common elements with Gone Girl. However, the main difference is the use of shocking images, as the latter focuses on building a suspenful atmosphere, while this book creates more often than not scenes such a distressing situations that continuing reading can be challenging. However, as long as the reader is not sensitive to self-harm situations, this novel keeps you on the verge of your seat, with a more than unexpected ending.
