The Bell Jar: A Novel (Modern Classics)

When I ordered The Bell Jar it felt like I was paying to be tortured. It has a reputation of being a depressing book, but one well written, so in my quest for a good book, the order was made. When I began reading The Bell Jar my initial thought, was 'this isn't as depressing as I thought' as even though the protagonist is depressed, she's in New York doing something that she was pleased to be doing. But as I read on, the life of this young woman seemed to implode. Her own beliefs and upbringing brought her into a situation that she couldn't cope with, and the way she kept others at a distance meant that she had nowhere to go for help. She fantasises and becomes excessively unsociable. The world becomes too tortuous for her. The protagonist is electro shocked in a state asylum which Plath writes so well that it leaves even you feeling violated, and fearful of a repeat. Fortunately a benefactor gets her into a better hospital where the world is quite different. Here we see the protagonist make judgements on others in the same or similar situations and we see a world that those who never enter into an hospital for depression never see. We also see her judge and excuse herself. The entire book is like a window into the mind of a depressed young woman who should have the world at her feet, but instead finds herself trapped within a bell jar of her own design. Of course the book is written based on Plaths own experience in an asylum, originally writing the book under a pseudonym she felt that the work drew so much on her life that she needed to protect certain characters and family. But this is what makes the book so enthralling and real life. As a poet she has a command over the English language that makes this work so thought provoking, so vivid, that it's thoroughly engrossing. Is it depressing? Yes, OK it is. But it's a wonderful piece of literature and expression of psychology that it's well worth the emotional upheaval.

I had put off reading The Bell Jar for many years because I always assumed it would be melancholy and hard going. Instead, it was quick and easy to read but very difficult to review, perhaps because my impressions were coloured by the knowledge that it was semi-autobiographical. As a work of fiction, I'm not sure that I'd recommend it, although it's well written and some of the imagery is every bit as poetic as you'd expect it to be. As a novel based on Sylvia Plath's own experiences, however, it's a brilliant portrayal of a young woman for whom nothing and nobody has any real value or meaning. It's a fragmented story, told from the viewpoint of Esther Greenwood as she embarks on a month's work in New York after winning a contest for her writing. From the start it is clear that Esther is something of a misfit who relates to neither her fellow students nor to any of the men she meets, and her narrative flits here and there as she lurches from one subject to another. At the end of the month she returns home disillusioned by the futility of everything she has seen and experienced. From hereon she slides further into mental illness, whose treatment during the fifties and early sixties was as disturbing as the lack of understanding shown to sufferers. Mercifully, I have never suffered from depression so in some ways found it hard to relate to Esther. On the other hand I have worked with clients who have attempted suicide so was able to sympathise with her and wish I could do something to help her. At the same time a part of me felt like telling her to pull herself together and do something useful - the sort of reaction I'd have expected from my mother but not one I'd ever have imagined applied to me. The significance of the title eluded me until it was revealed late in the story. Indeed, I couldn't see how it could ever be relevant, but it offers the perfect image of what the writer herself must have experienced. Despite the gloomy subject matter, the book is not depressing and even contains occasional hints of humour and amusement. I have to admit that there were times when I disliked it and considered it worth only two or three stars, but to dismiss it that lightly would be unfair. For me, the book improved as it went on, until the final chapter which contained some of the most poetic prose I have read for a long time. Some of the reviews suggest that if you've suffered from depression this book will be a comfort, knowing that others have felt the same and have survived. If you haven't suffered in this way, you should still read it - and don't give up if you don't like it. It doesn't take long to read and it really is worth persevering to the end. I wouldn't place it among the great classics of all time, but by the time I reached the end it felt like a book that everyone should experience if only to provide insight into the suffering of others.

Plath's semi-autobiographical novel is a fantastic work of literature, though not for the reasons you might expect. The start of the novel is nothing particularly special, though as the story progresses, there are vignettes which begin to appear giving insights of extraordinary self-awareness. The main theme that Plath explores is the isolation felt by someone going through depression and breakdown, which is very hard to express to those on the outside looking in. One of the ways in which she does this in the book is by having a variety of secondary characters who often seem to appear out of nowhere and then disappear quite quickly, only to reappear later on with little connection to their earlier cameos. Yet in these, there is the sense that the characters lack depth. This is quite a deliberate move by Plath, not an example of poor writing. When your world is insular and suffocating in an intangible bleakness, other people become two dimensional and plastic. As the novel progresses, there are seeming gaps in the narrative where you suddenly find yourself in a whole new scene just seconds after having been somewhere else in an unresolved situation. This again is a way in which Plath sees the world, with yawning gaps in memory, something that is very common in people with depression. Once the reader has adapted to this writing style, the work is an utterly moving piece of literature. For the most part, I read this on the train over the course of a week, and at times had to dab the odd tear from my eye and try and disguise it from my fellow commuters. * spoiler warning below* As someone who has suffered from depression at times myself, there was much here to identify with, and it brought back some memories from a very dark time in my life. There is a point in the book where it all seems to have to a head and the deepest of fogs is taken to its logical conclusion. Knowing that Plath took her own life shortly after the publication of the book, it reads horribly like a self-fulfilling prophecy. However, perhaps in an effort to sanitise the book slightly, Plath pulls out at the last minute and gives her character a way out, with renewed hope, albeit with an uncertain ending. This does give the book an air of optimism that feels slightly out of place and I can't help but wonder if it might have been better had the book ended in the coal cellar. To anyone who has ever suffered with depression, this is an absolute must read, and also to those who have ever had to try to support and understand someone else who has.

I really struggled to get into this book at first and I was quite disappointed in myself and this book is regarded as a classic and I wanted so badly to like it. The book is very depressing and hard going which is obviously the intention of the author as it relates to the story but at times I felt it becoming difficult to carry on reading and my concentration started to wonder, something which I feel should never happen when reading a book. I was glad that I stuck it out until the very end though, as the last few chapters did have an effect on me and I began to relate to the character and to the author. I understood the journey that the character had been on and the whole story began to piece together. At first I thought I would be glad I had finished the book but I felt sadness when it ended and I knew then that I had been effected by the story told by author, especially as it reflected her own life. It is a sad, unique and inspiring story that I'm glad I stuck with because it shows how easy it can be for anyone to be affected by a mental illness and how alone people can feel even when they seem to have it all. I now understand why this book is so greatly celebrated as teaches valuable lessons about depression and loniless in such a raw and gripping way. Sylvia Plath is known to have a great way with words and she definitely does not fail here. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys classics such as The Catcher in the Rye or Of Mice and Men.

Fantastic read incredibly depressing

The Bell Jar begins with Esther Greenwood explaining how she came to be in New York and how she was feeling during that time. Plath adds in current events of the time to make it easier to relate to the place and time in which it is set. The first descriptions of New York are not the most pleasant and while explaining about the extravagances of the magazine industry, Plath manages to make the city seem dark and grey. The opening of the book made me want to know more about Esther, her life and how she spent her time in New York. As Esther's time in New York is further explained, it is clear quite quickly that she doesn't feel at home there. Esther, used to being known for doing well in school and winning scholarships feels like an extremely small fish in a huge pond. Although the other characters are not described in too much detail, Esther makes it known that she doesn't feel anything like them and doesn't think that she has much in common with the other girls at all. The way that Esther's character is written would make me think that at the time the book was published, women everywhere would have been able to relate to her. She isn't the most confident of characters and is open about her fears and worries about the world and her future. This was something that I found really intriguing about Esther. The Bell Jar is partly autobiographical of Sylvia Plath's life and deals with the topics of mental illness and suicide. These themes are strong throughout the whole book. When in New York, Esther knows she doesn't quite fit and this begins her slow descent into depression and an intense sadness. Even though Esther keeps her personality throughout the book, parts of her slowly get lost in the big world that she is experiencing. She is cold and calculating about some major issues like losing her virginity and her views about marriage are far from those of other women during that time. Esther becomes mentally unstable following her return home from New York and this is where the novel mirrors parts of Plath's own life. I thought that this was going to be a really depressing book after knowing the subject matter but everything was so interesting instead. Watching Esther's mental health get worse and worse and seeing the different kinds of establishments that she was put in gave me more perspective on what Plath's own life would have been like. Due to Esther's condition and her life experiences, Plath made me like her but also feel empathy for her at the same time. The Bell Jar is a wonderfully written novel full of poetic prose and crisp descriptions. While the novel tackles tough themes, especially for the time it was written, it is a compelling read and one that I enjoyed thoroughly.

A beautifully structured and refreshing account of a mental downward spiral. It is all very subtle and slow, as it would have been whilst she was experiencing it herself.. and probably more than truthful as Plath has hidden herself behind another character probably to feel a better sense of personal security. I think that a lot of people, not just people suffering from similar mental illness, in this day and age, can relate to a lot of her words and views on the world. Some more negative reviews of this book have stated that this book is 'slow' or 'dull' and I just can't see either of those things as being negative in the case of this particular artistic work... Depression makes the world slow right down, and it is very much reflected in her book. Her descriptions of things make it all so colourful and vivid in my head, but it may have been so dull and grey to her at the time. The book is a true insight into Plath's mind, and is very well written. Plath is in no way self-indulgent in her writing (unlike Wurtzel's Prozac Nation which is ABYSMAL), or at the time of events - she continued to try and live and be happy with people despite the black cloud gradually encapsulating her mind. Throughout the whole book, and probably in real life, she is desperately seeking to live her life, and not to die.. but in the end, and not long after this book was published, she ultimately, and very sadly, failed. 'I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.'

Having read Sylvia Plath' s poetry, I have finally got round to reading her only novel, The Bell Jar in it's 50th Anniversary edition. At times Sylvia Plath is darkly humourous, pithy, gritty and explores the depths of a mentally disturbed mind. She is an ingenue at this time of her life and decribes American 1950's college life with a mixture of humour and candour. Her peers are presented to us unvarnished. We see her pick over the shaky relationship she has with her mother together with the deep-seated grief she felt for the loss of her father. Although this is a novel, the author puts a lot of her own life into it. The brief description of electric shock treatment made me recoil! Electroconvulsive treatment (ECT) is considered a last resort for the treatment of severe depression nowadays after less invasive treatment is used like psychotherapy (talking treatments) and antidepressants. Considering how Sylvia Plath died - by suicide, it points to the failure of the early intervention of ECT. This book is now a classic and this slice of how America ( and here in the UK) dealt with mental health, in itself, a depressing picture of the repression of young women in the 1950s.

Leí The Bell Jar con muchas ganas y no me decepcionó. Es un libro que remueve bastante, especialmente si alguna vez has pasado por momentos difíciles a nivel emocional. Sylvia Plath escribe con una claridad brutal, sin filtros, y eso hace que todo se sienta muy real. Hay partes incómodas, tristes, incluso agobiantes, pero también momentos de observación aguda y una forma muy especial de mirar el mundo. La protagonista no busca caer bien, simplemente es honesta, y eso me gustó. No es una lectura ligera ni bonita en el sentido clásico, pero sí importante. Me pareció muy valiente. En cuanto a la edición, esta de Faber es sencilla pero bonita. La portada es llamativa y el papel tiene buena calidad. El tamaño de letra es cómodo para leer. Lo recomiendo, sobre todo si te interesa la literatura escrita por mujeres o los libros que exploran la salud mental desde dentro.

Un clásico que todos deberían leer por su excelsa forma de narrar. En verdad que cambia la forma de ver las condiciones de salud mental, lo recomiendo ampliamente

It's a classic for a reason. Sylvia Plath is in a league of her own, especially when it comes to poetic expression - every human being should read this essential work of 20th Century literature.

This is an amazing book and easy to read. Sylvia Plath has entered my life at a very crucial time, and in fact, her voice is spoken with an essence of raw honesty. It makes sense that I would prefer to receive the best advice from the viewpoints of authors from what they experienced rather than only receiving an opinion, which is all of what other people have to provide in current time. Sylvia Plath has the intellectual skill of finding a way into the reader’s head, and speaking up about topics one would not want to share with another soul. In her confessional poetry, it’s for the reason of giving your deepest desires, a genuinely profound insight that makes The Bell Jar positively haunting. •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Esther Greenwood is a student from Boston and the first half of this slim modern classic is a rather pedestrian coming of age story centering around the search for purpose and direction in life. Knowing The Bell Jar is semi-autobiographical is part of the appeal and part of the problem. Sylvia Plath famously committed suicide just a month after The Bell Jar was published - under a pseudonym - by gassing herself in the kitchen with her children in the next room. The Bell Jar is a coming of age story that takes place in 1953 and centers around main character Esther Greenwood, a 21 year old college student. She is bright, but has a difficult time reconciling with the stifling world of the 1950’s. Esther works for a fashion magazine in NYC during the summer of 1953 and is fascinated with the news headlines of the day, including the execution of the Rosenbergs and a man’s suicide. It appears that Esther may be on the track to bigger and better things. But Esther is not as stable as she presents herself. This is a coming of age story, like The Catcher In the Rye, but it is through rebirth and pain. Esther begins a slow decline into mental illness, so slowly it’s almost impossible to remember what the “trigger” was for her. In her rejection of conventional models of women, like purity, relationships with men, and the fashion world of NYC, she finds herself on the outside looking in. I found myself, when reading of Esther’s first suicide attempt, wondering “Well, where did that come from?” Esther had no reason to try to kill herself, she even says that she wants to see if she can do it. Plath’s use of language, imagery, and tone in The Bell Jar allowed the reader into the mind and life of Esther Greenwood. Plath is simply a genius when it comes to weaving a story. A slim 264 pages, it was easy reading. Finding this book has inspired me to read even more of her poetry, a biography, or maybe some of her published journals. It historically common in my perspective that fame is often something short-lived. Sylvia Plath only made it to the young age of 30 but left behind her a timeless legacy.

Goed boek, en in perfecte kwaliteit ontvangen