Happy Valentine's Day, my dear readers! Or as I cynically referred to it
last year, Happy Single Losers' Day!Believe it or not, this year I
actually forgot about the money-making scheme that is this most useless
of holidays. It's not even a real holiday! We don't get any time off
from work. Therefore, I refuse to celebrate it. There might also be the
minor detail that I have no one to spend it with this year, but that's
neither here nor there.
Instead, I am spending my evening with Sylvia Plath in the form of her only novel, The Bell Jar. I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far. Admittedly, I'm only on Chapter Four, but I already feel somewhat of a kinship with Esther, who is considered to based on Plath herself.
Speaking of the Bell Jar, have you seen the hideous new cover unveiled by Faber and Faber in January to mark the 50th anniversary of the book's release? Take a gander...
Pretty bizarre, right? I haven't even finished reading the book, and I'm disgusted by this. As if Plath's (semi-autobiographical) narrative, portraying the female protagonist's descent into mental illness, could be defined by the superficial image of a female applying make-up and gazing at her reflection. The book deals with much more complex issues. However, Faber and Faber have chosen to market it as chic lit.
When making my purchase, I opted for the 2005 version...
Although it features the picture of a young woman, this version doesn't belittle the author, nor does it mock the subject matter of this controversial novel. Unlike Faber and Faber's newest cover, I think this one targets a wider, modern audience, but it is still respectful to Sylvia Plath the poet and author, who was sadly an unfortunate victim of clinical depression.
So how did you all spend Valentine's Day?
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