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Loading... The Bell Jar (Modern Classics) (original 1963; edition 2005)by Sylvia Plath (Author)
Work InformationThe Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (Author) (1963)
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I have avoided reading this book for over four decades, since I first heard of it. I thought the hype about it had more to do with the perverse fascination people, in general, seem to have with suicide and crime and horrific tragedies. Having read it now, I do think that probably was part of the hype, but it is much more than a tabloid-like expose. As a writer, Ms. Plath likely felt compelled to write this story before she could get on to other novels; that was the impression I got as I was reading it. Indeed, I read in the biographical note by Lois Ames at the end of my edition, that Ms. Plath said as much after it was published in England: “She told another friend that she thought of The Bell Jar as ‘an autobiographical apprentice work which I had to write in order to free myself from the past.’” It was an extraordinary book for its time, and it showed the promise of a great writer, who, unfortunately, took her own life before the world got to see her novel-writing talent blossom. ¡NEVER STOP A BOOK IN THE MIDDLE! This book started out bad. The writing was fine, but the story simply was not going anywhere. Then suddenly it is interesting (and especially relevant to me) and continues through to the end. The Bell Jar, that demon! Luckily mine is behaving right now, though we all live with the preparation and knowledge of its eventual persecution. Bare with me as i try to find the right words to describe the way this book has touched me. I normally stick to my easy breezy romance reads for the simple fact that they are relaxing and fun. This book challenged me to look at depression in a different way. I have a background in psychology so it was extremely refreshing to read about the struggles that a person goes through with this disorder on a real level verses an applied science level. I enjoyed this is a 5 star read for me.
Esther Greenwood's account of her year in the bell jar is as clear and readable as it is witty and disturbing. It makes for a novel such as Dorothy Parker might have written if she had not belonged to a generation infected with the relentless frivolity of the college- humor magazine. The brittle humor of that early generation is reincarnated in "The Bell Jar," but raised to a more serious level because it is recognized as a resource of hysteria. The narrator simply describes herself as feeling very still and very empty, the way the eye of a tornado must feel. The in-between moment is just what Miss Plath’s poetry does catch brilliantly—the moment poised on the edge of chaos. The first-person narrative fixes us there, in the doctor’s office, in the asylum, in the madness, with no reassuring vacations when we can keep company with the sane and listen to their lectures. It is this perfectly wrought prose and the freshness of Plath’s voice in The Bell Jar that make this book enduring in its appeal and make it as meaningful . . . as it was 25 years ago Belongs to Publisher SeriesAntípoda (41) Bibliothek Suhrkamp (1221) — 7 more Harper Perennial Olive Editions (2009 Olive) Lanterne (L 307) Rainbow pocketboeken (76) A tot vent (368) Has the adaptationIs abridged inHas as a studyHas as a commentary on the textHas as a student's study guideAwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
Classic Literature.
Fiction.
Literature.
HTML: A realistic and emotional look at a woman who falls into the grips of insanity written by the iconic American writer Sylvia Plath "It is this perfectly wrought prose and the freshness of Plath's voice in The Bell Jar that make this book enduring in its appeal." ?? USA Today 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 neuroses become completely real and even rational, as probable and accessible an experience 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 No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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The first two things I noticed about this short novel was that the story itself seemed to very anecdotal. Small, almost unimportant events and observations simply strung together, with no real through-story. The other was that the writing itself is gorgeous.
So this sits—for me, at least—almost in the same region as, say, Kerouac's ON THE ROAD in that the only specific story is the main character's experience.
Yet, for all of that, as the story gets darker and darker, the book is impossible to put down. And knowing that this was the last full novel she wrote, I found myself wondering what brilliant offerings Plath could have produced, if she'd had more time. ( )