Paperback, 258 pages

English language

Published June 28, 1974 by Faber & Faber.

ISBN:
978-0-571-08178-3
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OCLC Number:
823691394

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3 stars (7 reviews)

We follow Esther Greenwood's personal life from her summer job in New York with Ladies' Day magazine, back through her days at New England's largest school for women, and forward through her attempted suicide, her bad treatment at one asylum and her good treatment at another, to her final re-entry into the world like a used tyre: "patched, retreaded, and approved for the road" ... Esther Greenwood's account of her year in the bell jar is as clear and readable as it is witty and disturbing.

11 editions

The Bell Jar

4 stars

"If you expect nothing from somebody you are never disappointed." So I came across this book by pure chance on one of the websites I frequent shabd.in and gave it a read and and i am glad i did so. The story itself is so poignantly written that it really evokes strong emotions in you. Sylvia Plath's writing is brutally honest and raw. She doesn't shy away from portraying the challenges and complexities of mental illness.

A must of 20th century us literature

5 stars

This is prose writing at it's absolute best, and however distressing the content of the book may be , you can't fail to be impressed by the masterful use of English by this unbelievably gifted young woman. I went on to read Sylvia's journal, and at that point it became obvious that you can substitute the name Esther for Sylvia - they are one and the same. I've felt compelled to read much of the other prose and poetry she wrote in her tragically short life and can totally understand why she's regarded as one of the greatest writers of twentieth century literature.

Review of 'The Bell Jar' on 'GoodReads'

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I can see how this may nbe an affirming book for some people but reading this just gave me sympathetic feelings of these things PSA don't read this in one day if it's January and you're already dealing with depression. This was just too close to home to much of a reminder of the reality of what I'm living and a warning of how far this can drag you and just wow. Yeah. Do read if youve never experienced mental illness for insight because this is so spot on.

Subjects

  • Psychiatric hospital patients -- Fiction.
  • Women periodical editors -- Fiction.
  • Mentally ill -- Fiction.

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