CW: racism, sexual harassment, death, murder, suicide, blood, electroshock therapy, schizophrenia, lobotomy, mention of statutory rape

I read this for my Lit Foundations class, and I won’t even try to sugarcoat it – I hated this book. Normally I don’t like books I read for school, but push through them. While I did finish this, it was horrible to read and experience and I’m so glad I’m done with it. It was gross and inappropriate, with detailed scenes about various suicides, men ogling women’s breasts, and electroshock therapy. I don’t know why we read this or what we could possibly take away from it, except for the already obvious fact that mental hospitals and general mental illness treatment were horrific in the 1960’s. Reading this genuinely bothered me, and it’ll stick with me for all the wrong reasons. I honestly can’t think of a single good thing about it, or consciously recommend it to anyone.

A warning: while you’re free to read what you like, I cannot emphasize enough that you SHOULD NOT read this if you’re squeamish in any way.