The book, Girl Interrupted - (to be radically distinguished from the movie based on it) - is one of the most masterful pieces of writing of the 21st Century. The book's clear, crisp, spare prose style is so elegant and masterful that I like to describe it to people as " …more lyrical prose"...almost poetic. From the day I first read the book, Girl Interrupted, it has been one of the chief influences on my own writing style. (Prior to that, Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar" held this honor alone. Given that "The Bell Jar" won significant literary awards, this should give some idea of the esteem in which I hold Ms. Kaysen's writing.) I have written a book of a similar genre of my own (which I have been editing over the past decade). I believe that I have a talent for writing, and I definitely have a tale that must be told. However, if my finished work shows even a fraction of the immense talent displayed by Susanna Kaysen in "Girl Interrupted", I will be a success. (less)