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| View Larger Image | The Bell Jar : A Novel (Perennial Classics)
by Sylvia Plath
| | List Price: | $13.95 |  | | 8 New starting at: | $9.80 | | 13 Used starting at: | $5.48 | | 1 Collectible starting at: | $23.05 | | | | | Sales Rank: | 90092 | | Studio: | Harper Perennial Modern Classics | | | Binding: | Paperback | | Number Of Pages: | 288 | | Publication Date: | March 01, 2000 | | Publisher: | Harper Perennial Modern Classics |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Book Description
The Bell Jar chronicles the crack-up of Esther Greenwood: brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under--maybe for the last time. Sylvia Plath masterfully draws the reader into Esther's breakdown with such intensity that Esther's insanity becomes completely real and even rational, as probable and accessible an experiece as going to the movies. Such deep penetration into the dark and harrowing corners of the psyche is an extraordinary accomplishment and has made The Bell Jar a haunting American classic. |
Amazon.com
Plath was an excellent poet but is known to many for this largely autobiographical novel. The Bell Jar tells the story of a gifted young woman's mental breakdown beginning during a summer internship as a junior editor at a magazine in New York City in the early 1950s. The real Plath committed suicide in 1963 and left behind this scathingly sad, honest and perfectly-written book, which remains one of the best-told tales of a woman's descent into insanity. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 479 reviews)
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Left feeling disappointed 
I purchased the 25th anniversary edition after ready an bit of the new introduction, and was really excited to read the book and didn't think that I would be left feeling disappointed. I was wrong - the book seemed to drag, I found it rather fragmented, and just as the story started to get "good", I was at the end of the book, and found myself wanting more, when there was nothing more.
It is written well, but, I would have to say, I really don't understand what all the hype is about.
September 02, 2008 | |
I was moved 
I was hesitant to pick this up, but I am so glad I did. Plath beautifully wrote her story about a woman's undefinable mental battles combined with the demands of instant perfection from others (academically, socially, career-wise, and talent-wise), her own insecurities, and her own desires to be what she wanted on her own terms (something that didn't happen in her generation.) I could really relate to Esther in many ways, and I was swept away with the beauty in which it was written. It was interesting to be someone on the outside looking in on someone who was on the inside looking out. It was also interesting to get a glimpse of the struggle professional and intellectual women faced with the demands of 1950's housewife society. This was an amazing read.
September 02, 2008 | |
Classic? 
Before I go into criticism of The Bell Jar, I will say that Sylvia Plath is an excellent writer but you can tell she's more of a poet than a novelist. That having been said, I felt absolutely no connection with any of the characters in this novel. Esther just seems unsatisfied 24/7 and never wants to connect with anyone. The whole premise of the book is just dark, depressing, and disturbing. It sounds like Sylvia Plath wrote this like a personal diary and replaced her name with Esther Greenwood. While reading this, I was asking myself, "What goes on in this woman's mind and what makes her think this is alright to show to the general public?" Nobody wants to relax by reading a book about suicide, cutting yourself, depression, etc. This book is out-dated because the teenage suicide rates in the 1950s weren't as high as the ones today which should give teachers a reason not to have students read this for an assignment. Plath tries to present suicide as a rational solution to any problem in "The Bell Jar." What if a person who has considered suicide read this book? This is NOT a classic at all. Classics have memorable stories and characters that we as the readers can connect to. "The Bell Jar" makes no connection at all to the reader. Sometimes authors have to know what their limits in writing are when it comes to what the general public wants to read. I don't recommend this book to anyone, especially those dealing with depression or any other similar problem.
August 19, 2008 | |
This isn't a book about depression 
Reading through some of the mediocre-to-negative reviews of this book, many people seem to have the idea that Esther Greenwood is depressed. Just really, really depressed. I feel like these people either know nothing about mental illness (aside from those conditions advertised in prescription medicine commercials) or they weren't paying attention when read the book. Esther may have started out as depressed, but she clearly becomes paranoid and delusional, losing her grip on reality and rationality as the book goes on. Her more bizarre actions are often implied or described through the casually mentioned comments of other people, and you'll miss them if you don't stop to think about what you just read. Esther herself doesn't seem to think these things are noteworthy, and it's clear there's more going on than she bothers to mention.
Anyway, I found this book interesting and worth reading, but I had one issue with it, that being the overuse of similes. While Plath's comparative images are always spot on, they sometimes seemed like unnecessary padding, and the more I read the more irritating they became. This happens throughout the book, not only when Esther is extremely ill, so I guess it's just Plath's writing style. I read some of her poems after reading the book, and the extensive use of similes seems more at home in the poetry. I would have preferred that particular literary device to be used more sparingly here, to leave only the ones that were really needed to improve the image or set the tone.
Overall, this book is worth reading for anyone who's interested in understanding what can go on in the mind of someone who is mentally ill. For those who have gone through similar periods in their lives, the book can be comforting and reassuring to the fact that you are not alone. Some people make it through, and some people, like Plath herself, don't. But I find it to offer a hopeful perspective overall.
August 17, 2008 | |
a story about mental illness
This book was really funny and really honest. But that's what I liked about it.
It was kind of frustrating because you just wanted the main character to snap out of it. I know mental illness is serious and these people cannot help themselves from feeling the way they do, but it was really frustrating because I do not share her same opinions about life and I try really hard not to be so helpless and reliant on other people to fix problems in my life. Also she talks a lot about the burden of being a woman. I think just because women have the challenge of giving birth, it is really a gift of closeness to our mothers and ancestors that nobody can take away.
Just like some people never find real love, I think Sylvia takes her emotions for granted. Like she's supposed to feel great all the time. Being a genius sometimes means being more sensitive and vulnerable to feelings of depression, but that doesn't mean she should give up. Because in the end everyone dies. We're supposed to share our sympathy for humanity, but Sylvia doesn't really care about anybody but herself because she's so alone and afraid to reach out.
All in all, I don't think this book has a positive message. There's a difference between honesty and helplessness. She's kind of helpless.
August 14, 2008 | |
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