‘Movie Night’ is the theme for this month’s BookBum Club – read a book that was adapted into a movie. When I first watched Girl, Interrupted, I didn’t know it was based on a book, let alone a true account, so this is one of those rare instances where I saw the film before I read the book.
In 1967, after a session with a psychiatrist she’d never seen before, eighteen-year-old Susanna Kaysen was put in a taxi and sent to McLean Hospital to be treated for depression. She spent most of the next two years on the ward for teenage girls in a psychiatric hospital renowned for its famous clientele – Sylvia Plath, Robert Lowell, James Taylor and Ray Charles.
A clear-sighted, unflinching work that provokes questions about our definitions of sane and insane, Kaysen’s extraordinary memoir encompasses horror and razor-edged perception while providing vivid portraits of her fellow patients and their keepers.
Having seen the film prior to reading the book, this review will read as somewhat of a comparison between the two. My first thought upon finishing this memoir was that I would have liked it better had I not seen the film, I think I was too influenced by the film. So my first recommendation would be if you haven’t seen the film yet, do read the book first.
One of the things I liked about this book is it’s Susanna Kaysen’s story; now that may seem an odd thing to say since it’s Kaysen’s memoir, but having watched the film, Susanna may have been the main character but it was Lisa, a fellow patient, who was the main attraction. Winona Ryder is an amazing actress but Angelina Jolie owned that film! So what this memoir does is, it strips away the entertainment factor, the brilliant portrayal of Jolie acting as Lisa, and allows us to focus solely on Kaysen. If you’ve seen the film already and choose to read this memoir, you won’t be able to help but compare the portrayal of the characters in the book to what you’ve seen on the screen, and you’ll find it much less entertaining. For some, the removal of this dramatisation will be majorly appealing as it may feel like a truer account of Kaysen’s experience, whereas others may miss the drama the film delivers.
For me personally, I preferred the film, I won’t deny I loved Jolie in the film; she was so worthy of that Best Supporting Actress Oscar! But the reason I preferred the film is because the memoir read a little haphazardly in places. I really liked the beginning, and found it interesting to read about Kaysen’s experience in the psychiatric institute. As a mental health nursing student, the running of the ward in particular was really interesting to me, to see how different healthcare delivery was then, compared to today.
This memoir gives glimpses into Kaysen’s experience, it’s not a full detailed account of her year and a half in hospital – I didn’t mind that at all, but towards the end of the memoir, I felt the style of the writing changed from an informative account to Kaysen’s musings, particularly the chapter titled Mind vs Brain, it just read a bit disjointed to me. And while someone should absolutely include their musings in their memoir, it’s theirs after all, it shouldn’t happen in a way that distances the reader. I’m someone who looks for the personal element in nonfiction, rather than a more scientific approach, but here I preferred the account of what happened (ward rules, schedules, reason for patient’s admission, etc) rather than her musings. Although, I must say I did really like how Kaysen explained her diagnosis, borderline personality disorder, and then looked for comparison between herself and the characteristics of the diagnosis.
Overall, I’m happy to have finally read this memoir, and as mentioned earlier, it’s a shame I didn’t read it prior to watching the film so I had no pre-emptive notions of anything. It was good to read Kaysen’s experience in her own words (and see how true to the book the film was). Also, I love the title of this memoir, so it was great to learn where it came from and why Kaysen chose it. If you’re looking for a quick read (170 pages, edition dependent) of a young girls account of her experience in a psychiatric institute and her life shortly after, I have no reservations recommending this book, but if it’s a choice between the book or the film – I’m going with the film.
This book is available to buy from: Amazon UK / Book Depository
Keeper of Pages 
Ooh I’ve been wanting to read this one! I haven’t seen the film yet but after what you’ve said I’ll make sure I read it first. Great post 🌻
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Thank you, I’m so glad you liked the post. I think you’ll definitely get so much more out of the book not having seen the film. I’m going to have to start checking all films now to make sure they weren’t a book first!
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What a fantastic review, Janel! When I saw the movie years ago, I also had no idea that it was based on a book. I may read the book just because it’s been so long since I watched the movie (I’ve probably forgotten the details!). Glad to know you preferred the movie.
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Thank you, I’m so glad you liked my review. I’ve seen the film so many times, it’s partially ingrained in my brain, haha – it’d be interesting to see how much of the film, if any, comes back to you when you read the book 🙂
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I haven’t seen this movie (I think) but it sounds interesting. With so many books to read, I’m putting the movie on my wishlist :-). Great review!
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Thank you! It’s such a fantastic movie, I’ve seen it so many times!
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Yes, Janel! I think you really summed up some of the issues I encountered with this and reflecting back now, maybe having watched the film first also hindered my own experience. I do think “haphazard” is a great description! Wonderful review!
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Thanks Danielle, so glad you liked my review, and can relate to it. I definitely went into this one with preconceived ideas of what to expect based on watching the film. I do love that when she left the hospital she said she was going to be a writer and went on to writes a few fictional novels.
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Agreed, encouraging and inspiring. I had just hoped to be one of those adding this to the list of “life-changing” reads and found I was not. But I really appreciated it still.
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Fab review! I haven’t since the film or read the book but I do remember the film coming out.
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Thanks! If your TBR is about to topple over and crush you, then I highly recommend watching the film!
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Hahahaha brilliant advice!
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I had no idea that this was nonfiction! Tbh I watched the film like 10 years ago and I think I didn’t get it, I was too young, I might need to try again!!!
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Yes, definitely try again, its such a brilliant film! And surprising a very close to accurate portrayal of the book.
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I read this memoir back in February, after seeing the movie more than once, and I completely agree with you. The movie does have a lot more going on, especially with Lisa’s character. I think I would have enjoyed the book better if I hadn’t seen the movie, as well. However, it only took me about 2 hours max to read this book and it’s one I’ve been wanting to read. It is definitely worth the short amount of time it takes to read. Thanks for your review. 🙂
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The fact that it’s a quick read definitely works in the books favour if you’ve seen the film. Ever since finding out the film was based on a book, I’ve wanted to read the memoir so I’m glad I can tick it off my tbr, and it certainly wasn’t time wasted reading. I wonder how Kaysen felt about the film and the dominant role given to Lisa, it’d be interesting to hear her thoughts on it…
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Agreed. It would be very interesting to find out what she thinks about that. Maybe she has an ig she can be contacted at like some other authors?
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I googled it. Taken from the interview, link below: “Kaysen didn’t mind the changes. “If someone had told me what to do in my book, I would’ve killed thern,” she says. “But the movie is another endeavor, a variation on a theme. They can’t change what I wrote or my experiences in my life.””
http://www.saffian.com/womaninterpreted.htm
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I like the way she put that.
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I think of this book as kind of a classic, but I’ve not yet picked it up. Your experience with watching the move and than liking the book less afterwards sounds very familiar to me. I’ve had that happen often enough that I wonder if I’ll always like whichever I encounter first – book or movie – better. I think it’s pretty rare for the one I encounter second to be the one I prefer.
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I can see why it would be considered a classic, but I think the film definitely boosted sales. And your theory seems pretty accurate to me about which ever medium you encounter first 🤔 In most cases I always read the book first, and always end up preferring it to the screen. I think the last time I watched the screen before reading was Under The Dome by Stephen King, and I must say I liked them equally, which is rare. But I guess whichever you encounter first is the “norm” 🙂
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You’re completely right about Angelina Jolie – it’s arguably one of her best roles, and she was a real scene stealer in the movie. Too bad you did not like this more, but I think your review made me once again think about picking this up, especially your comment about the book stripping away the drama. Great review as always!
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Thank you 🙂 ….and hell yeah, this definitely goes down as one of Jolie’s best roles! I really wish I’d read the book first, haha. I’d be interested to see what you think, if you think having seen the movie influenced your reading experience too.
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Great review! I haven’t seen the movie yet, so I might just read this memoir before I do watch it.
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Thank you! I’d love to hear your thoughts on the memoir, as you haven’t seen the film.
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I loved the film too and though Jolie was absolutely fantastic! I was unsure as to whether to also read the book having already seen the film! I really enjoyed reading your review x
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I’m not sure you’ll get much more out of the book tbh – the film was very in keeping with the book, it just elaborated/fabricated on certain bits. Saying that, it is a short book so if you come across a copy then why not….
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Excellent review!! I read this way back when…in high school, I think…I really liked it and I love the movie too. I can’t even remember how they compare anymore, great to read your thoughts on it!
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Thank you! I think I’d probably have liked this more if I wasn’t so familiar with the movie – I re-watch it all the time, haha. I’m also curious about the fiction books Kaysen has written, as she said in this memoir she was going to go on and become and writer and she actually did which I find fascinating, lol.
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Do you mainly read fiction or non-fiction?
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Mainly fiction. I maybe read one or two non fiction titles a month.
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Got it. I used to exclusively read fiction and have made a heavy transition into non-fiction in the last 2 years and benefited a lot from it. Now I try and balance (1 fiction followed by 1 non-fiction is my aim although it tends to be 2 non-fiction followed by 1 fiction in practice). If you happen to be looking for inspiration on non-fiction books to read next I write about them here: https://therapywithbooks.clinic/ Would love your thoughts.
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