Girl Interrupted

Rating:
Summary: Measure of Madness
Review: This book provides and interesting look at the world of the insane. Where older, more famous books look at insanity only from the point of view of the insane, Susanna Kaysen's novel provides the perspective of doctors and those "cured", in addition to that of the insane. The stories of the main character's stay in the institution advance the book. They are emotionally stimulating and feed the desire to see the world of the insane. But the intermittent documentation as well as Susanna's insight into her insanity provide for the reader a measure of his own insanity. It is amazing to see how the habits and idiosyncrasies, the justification of their madness, are so close to our own behavior. This book is both fun and revealing to read.

Rating:
Summary: huh???
Review: Personally, I don't get this book at all. I guess you can say I didn't like it. Ms. Kaysen talks at length about one topic and then in the next chapter talks about another. The actual experiences of being in the hospital were only in a few short chapters. Or maybe Ms. Kaysen just writes in a VERY unique style that I just can't get used to. Anyway I didn't enjoy this book and was pretty disappointed. Maybe the movie will turn out better.

Rating:
Summary: Only for the people who suck the marrow out of life.
Review: I am a person who thinks in great quantities. A lot of time in my life is spent analyzing things- little things, peculiar things, random things- and this book became a part of me. It helped me to understand myself and my thoughts. If you are the type of person who doesn't analyze minute details of everything, then don't read this book. Most likely it will annoy you. But if you're like me- read it over and over and over again. Never stop thinking, never stop learning, never stop LIVING!

Rating:
Summary: Girl, Interrupted
Review: Girl, Interrupted is a memoir about eighteen-year-old Susanna Kaysen who is put into a taxi and sent off to McLean Hospital. Susanna will spend her next two years at McLean, the rehabilitation center she is sent to after attempting suicide by mixing a bottle of vodka with a bottle of aspirin. During Susanna's stay at McLean she turns the cold, sterile halls of the hospital into the foundation of her writing career. Susanna becomes good friends with many of the girls at the hospital struggling with problems of their own. This is a deep, compelling memoir, perfect for high school students who are questioning their place in the world. You won't be able to put this book down after you begin, Kaysen locks you into the head of a young confused girl, trying to find a place for herself outside of the hospital.

Rating:
Summary: One girls struggle
Review: A little plotless, a little confuseing, but a whole lot of fun. If you like stories of action, adventure, death defiying feats or other such thrillers, look somewhere else, all you'll find here is one magnifcently told storie of a single girl and her freinds searching to belong in a world that has not accepted her.

Rating:
Summary: Down-to-Earth and Thought-Provoking
Review: I loved this book. I just could not put it down! I was 17 when I read it last summer, and the story really hit close to home. I think it is wonderful that someone was able to put into words the experience of a borderline personality disorder. I think it is something that many people, including teens, experience but can't explain to others and probably don't quite understand it themselves. It proved to be one of the most thought-provoking current works I have read in a long time.

Rating:
Summary: Reality
Review: Although the plot of this book was at times hard to follow because it kept skipping around, i thought overall it was a good book. Susanna Kaysen did an excellent job of depicting reality. The book contains many short chapters. However each chapter is packed with a lot to think about and discuss. This book provided me the opportunity to find out about someone else's life. I also found it more interesting to read about someone's actual experience in dealing with borderline personality disorder, than to read an informational book about it. Girl, Interrupted not only provided me with basic information but it was enjoyable learning. It also showed how it affected a person. This story made me realize that the people who are in places like McLean are real people, who have emotions and feelings. Whose lives were interrupted by whatever disorder they were diagnosed with.

Rating:
Summary: strange
Review: this work jumps around a lot, and might be difficult to chronologically follow. Bottom line, a great description of two years in the loony bin. A classic, female, 18, anywhere USA, story. Everyone who reads this book is bound to feel a little bit of what Kaysen felt during those tumultuous years. finally, someone wrote what everyone in that situation was thinking, but didn't have the courage to say out loud. Brava, Kaysen!!!

Rating:
Summary: An exciting reality that will open your eyes!
Review: I don't think I've read any book that is as realistic as "Girl Interrupted." When I first bought the book I thought I was in for a regular non-fiction story. I was wrong. Rather than just being a true life story about Susanna Kaysen in a hospital, it showed more of what it was like to be in a mental institute and what fears, friends, and encounters you may come upon. Before reading this book be prepared for a very honest and intriguing lifestyle of a patient who is diagnosed with "borderline personality." Susanna will give you a close perspective of the interesting patients and disturbing stories they carry.

Rating:
Summary: Who's Crazy?
Review: This memoir offers no easy answers. Thought-provoking, but not unnecessarily difficult, Kaysen engages the reader with every word of her sharp, straight-to-the point prose. She really packs her punch; the book a surprisingly fast read (a few hours should do it). I think Girl, Interrupted is one of the most important books written, especially in this day and age where anything seems vulnerable to the power of the pathological. Yes, that probably sounds trite, but it IS one of the most important books written in this day and age! So go read it and then see the movie (it's pretty good too, but not as good as the book, of course). One more thing: the soundtrack's great too, choice oldies and Wilco's "How To Fight Loneliness," plus the special soundtrack music. But that's another review...