1. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath's only novel which was published in 1963 (she committed suicide one month after the book was first published in the UK) is probably THE classic mental illness book. It has beguiled millions of readers who can identify with it and marvel at Plath's wit, wisdom and journey through severe mental illness. Esther Greenwood is a clever and literary young woman from Boston who has secured a place as a summer intern in a prominent New York magazine. She finds the whole experience rather bizarre and alienating. When she has to go home, her mood is not in a good place. She had hoped to get onto a writing course by a famous writer but she faces bitter rejection. Esther decides to write a novel, but due to her lack of life experience soon gives up this idea. She is uncertain as to what the future holds for her and sinks into a deep depression in which she cannot sleep. Her mother makes her see a smug, handsome psychiatrist who suggests ECT. This is such a traumatic event, Esther refuses to go back and gets even more depressed. Finally, Esther snaps, writes a note that she is going for a long walk and takes 50 sleeping pills in a compartment of the basement in her home. After a lot of speculation as to her whereabouts, she is found and sent to a new swanky psychiatric hospital. She is given insulin therapy, psychotherapy and ECT which seems to help her this time. After a number of life changing events, Esther is fit to be released. The Bell Jar was released to lukewarm reviews which focused more on the book's parallels to Plath's real life than the actual book as a novel. When you focus on the book as a novel, it is a compulsively readable and intriguing joy to read. Plath has passages where depression and suicidal ideation predominate, but they are always matter of fact and never overblown or drenched in pathos. That is the book's biggest charm. It perfectly describes being in a confused state, an apprehensive state, a depressed state and a suicidal state, but it never sinks into a maudlin state. The book has moments of warm humour throughout which tempers the morbid passages. There is a good reason why The Bell Jar is so beloved and the pinnacle of mental health literature. Plath completely understands depression without sentiment and her tone is intimate and immediate.