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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4 stars (3 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.

16 editions

reviewed The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (Faber paper covered editions)

"Darkly Funny" is apt

4 stars

Content warning Mentions of depression and racism

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'

3 stars

Kirja on alkupuoleltaan hyvinkin samaistuttavan ja tutun kuuloista yksinäisyyden, ulkopuolisuuden ja päämäärättömyyden kuvausta. Vaikka ympäristö, jossa päähenkilö elää ja toimii, on minulle käytännössä täysin vieras, hänen suhteensa muihin ihmisiin on siinä määrin tuttu, että tätäkin lukiessa tuli taas vahvat nuoruusvibat. Loppupuolella tapahtumat kuitenkin kääntyivät vieraammille urille, ja lupaavasti alkaneen tarinan kiinnostavuus hieman lurpsahti.

Subjects

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