Nussaibah Younis: ‘The Bell Jar helped me through my own mental illness’

2026-02-06 - 10:05

The author on taking solace in Joan Didion, discovering Donna Tartt and being cheered up by David Sedaris My earliest reading memory The first books I became obsessed with were Enid Blyton’s boarding school stories Malory Towers and St Clare’s. When I was eight, I’d hide them under my pillow and read by the hallway light when I was supposed to be asleep. My favourite book growing up Roald Dahl’s Matilda. I felt woefully misunderstood by the world and longed to be adopted by a very pretty teacher with only cardboard for furniture. I spent a lot of time trying to make a pen move by concentration alone. Sometimes I still try. Continue reading...