The Bell Jar: A Novel

Sylvia Plath

Aug 2015 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

A realistic and emotional look at a woman battling mental illness and societal pressures written by 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 neurosis becomes 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.

This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

Ratings and reviews

I had such high expectations for this book. I am familiar with her story and poems to an extent. I did not like the main character at all. At each turn she willfully chose each decision, lived in a perceived outsider state due to her own inflated sense of self. This was not poorly written, just no "ahead of its time portrait of depression or insanity". But more of a, prolonged tantrum.

It was exceptional. When you start reading the book, there are hints of how mentally ill Esther was, but it doesn't compare to the middle/end of the book, where everything starts tumbling down. I never expected the book to go where it went, but I wasn't disappointed. I really wanted the book to be longer, because I was really fascinated by Esther's life. It was a fine written book with great poetic phrases.I can't wait to read more of Sylvia Plath's late work.

Intentionally uncomfortable is why I gave 4, not 5. I don't want this mood of book recommended to me often. That said, it has beautifully timed plot advancement as well as stalls. Rich read. Not a bit surprising that the author was a poet. There were phrases and passages I found myself reading over and over, savoring like food.

About the author

Sylvia Plath was born in 1932 in Massachusetts. Her books include the poetry collections The Colossus, Crossing the Water, Winter Trees, Ariel, and Collected Poems, which won the Pulitzer Prize. A complete and uncut facsimile edition of Ariel was published in 2004 with her original selection and arrangement of poems. She was married to the poet Ted Hughes, with whom she had a daughter, Frieda, and a son, Nicholas. She died in London in 1963.