Book Review: The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Since these Little Penguin Black Classics are only available in Europe and not in the US, I've picked up quite a few so be expecting some reviews!
I first read this short story in the 7th grade. It is a story about the slow mental descent of a woman who's name is never mentioned (or is named Jane after some online research, I've forgotten). I'm sure you've heard of this story before; the ugly, disgusting wallpaper that drives the woman crazy, the trapped woman she sees in its pattern.
This book is dark, and disturbing. I followed the woman as she went from "ill" to crazy. The narrator is clearly unreliable towards the end of her road to madness, but we begin feeling bad for her being locked away all day. It's hard to believe that Gilman was able to fit so much beautiful writing and madness into so few pages with so much meaning.
This book is so beautifully written, and I loved it even more than I did as a pre-teen. This book only took me a couple of hours read and that's only because I read it on a boat ride from Athens to Tinos and got a little sea sick. If you're not sure if you like 20th-century creepy reads, there are many Little Penguin Black Classics that can help you test the waters, and for €1, I couldn't pass it up.
It also contained "The Rocking-Chair" which was just as creepy, perfect for reading around Halloween.
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