Elin Cullhed for The Guardian

Elin Cullhed has written an article for UK newspaper The Guardian and their ’Where to start with’-series. The series is a guide into beloved authors and their work, where Cullhed’s article revolves around the works of Sylvia Plath.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

“The Bell Jar is an autobiographical account of being a young woman in the US of the 1950s, which transports a trojan horse up on stage when the reader least expects it and releases an entire cavalry of the taboo topics of the time. It is about depression, suicide, female sexual liberation, hatred of one’s mother and traumatic electro-shock treatment in a world that lacks the language for what a girl goes through. Esther Greenwood wants to go against the world view that aims to label her against her will; she wants out of the shop window, to expand herself, become more, undress and throw her clothes into the New York night, not as a gesture of self-annihilation but one of omnipotence: “I am, I am, I am.” Esther Greenwood’s heart beats, in a perfect image of the self’s expansion through writing.”

Elin Cullhed’s bestselling novel Euphoria, which is a fictional portrayal of the last year of Sylvia Plath’s life, was published in the UK by Canongate on October 6th.