Product Description

A student from Boston wins a guest editorship on a national magazine, and finds a new world at her feet. Her New York life is crowded with possibilities, so the choice of future is overwhelming. She is faced with the perennial problems of morality, behaviour and identity.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5270 in Books
• Published on: 2001-04-09
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 258 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
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

The original and best on depression?
Sylvia Plath is probably one of the most recognisable female authors and poets of modern times, she will be largely remembered for her haunting poetry of depression and mostly autobiographical novel (the first and last) the Bell Jar in which her real life persona is replaced by Esther Greenwood, a young woman who is on the verge of breaking into the writing world. In the first section of the book Esther is an intern in New York working for a prestigious fashion magazine. It is clear from the outset that she has worries as she cannot find any immediate beauty in the cosmopolitan world of NY, she merely carries on day to day but it is clear the enjoyment and excitement is gone.

As the book progresses we see her return home where she essentially suffers a nervous breakdown in which she is unable to move from her room and concludes that the everyday tasks of life are too unbearable. She then goes on the journey into a deep depression in which she clearly considers the best method for suicide, has regular visits to a psychiatrist and spends time in a mental rehabilitation unit. The one thing that this book highlights is the terrible way in which mentally ill people were treated in the 50’s and early 60’s, the method of electric shock therapy to eradicate her depressed feelings leaves her scared of any other ‘help’ she may receive, and we see how petrified she becomes when next given this ‘treatment’ albeit once more under more friendlier circumstances.

The story is a powerful evocation of Plaths own mental health issues and by writing this book she successfully suggested to a quietened nation of other mental health sufferers that it was ‘ok’ to feel this way and that it happened to the best and most promising bright young things. The way in which the Bell Jar is still seen as a core piece of literature on depression shows the values it holds even today, when rivalled against other authors memoirs such as Elizabeth Wurtzel’s ‘Prozac Nation’ and later on ‘More, now, again’ she remains the original and possibly the best writer on the issue of depression and mental health.

A fantastic, haunting insight
Sylvia Plath's semi-autobiographical novel is a harrowing, thought provoking insight into the mind of a woman who is almost synonymous with mental illness.

Indeed, the mental health issue runs through the novel and the main character, who is based on Plath in a number of ways, spends a significant amount of time in a mental institution, dealing with the effects this has on her and her condition. The work provides a haunting insight to the reality of a mental illness, and how this affects the sufferer and their immediate family and friends.

From studying Plath's poetry, it can be clearly seen that the central character is based on the author. The most obvious representation comes from their conditions in the novel (bi-polar disorder, abandonment issues, a hint of an Electra Complez) and if you know anything about Plath, many short quotations in the novel take on a much more significant meaning than they would on their own. In fact, it is probably best to understand the writer's basic background before approaching the novel.

So far, I've painted a picture of a heavy, depressing read. Whilst I cannot deny that it is a heavy book dealing with a massive subject, I did not find it depressing in any way, but rather fascinating.

"The Bell Jar" is a crucial work of American literature, and is an essential purchase for any fan of Plath's work, or any fan of literature in general. Be warned, however, that it is a heavy book, particularly if you do not understand the background.

One of those rare things - a book that changed my life.
I first read 'The Bell Jar' on recommendation from my English teacher as I studied for A Level English Literature. I didn't have particularly high expectations - I like Plath's poetry but I suppose I thought an entire book like it might be rather tiresome!
How wrong I was.
Some people describe this book as hard to get into, but I have to say I didn't find that at all. I read the whole thing in a day, beginning at 10am and finishing at about 10pm, with hurried breaks for meals!
I was struck by how similar it was to 'The Catcher In the Rye' (itself one of my favourite novels), but the difference is that 'The Bell Jar' has overtones of feminism, which really struck a chord with me as I am interested in feminist issues.
Also, I noticed that one reader on here said that Plath didn't detail exactly why Esther descended into depression - I disagree. It was the futility of everything; just the first few pages tell you that. "It was the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs" says Esther.

What I loved about this book was the way I managed to identify with the main character, to whom I am fairly similar. Esther is humourous and succint, and (at the beginning at least) perfectly normal. It is clear also that she is an extremely intelligent young woman. That is what makes what happens to her all the more disturbing; it could happen to you, too.