Girl, Interrupted
by Susanna Kaysen
I'd give it 4.5 if I could. It wasn't world-shattering, but it was very, very solid in both writing and concept, and I really liked it and enjoyed reading it. I found her writing to be clear and sharp, and I was fascinated (as I think was her goal) with the relationship between System and Patient, rather than being interested in any particular character.
Reading people's reactions to it here has been very interesting. Kaysen predicted a lot of them: if she's crazy, maybe I'm crazy! Better draw a clear, bright line between us.
I strongly disagree that Kaysen tries to make the case that she was sane all along in the latter part of the book. She's not distancing herself from the time when she was hospitalized; she's delving into it, engaging with it, and trying to make sense of it. She's asking what constitutes sanity and insanity. I didn't find anything defensive about what she wrote; I found it to be a razor-sharp critique of the mental health system.
Perhaps I don't feel I have to distance myself from Kaysen because I've had too many brushes with mental illness. Being somewhat familiar with Mad Pride helped, too---many of her arguments are ones I've heard before.