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The Bell Jar Paperback – Deckle Edge, 11 June 2013

by Sylvia Plath (Author)

4.1 26,134 ratings

Edition: Reprint

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One of The Atlantic's Great American Novels

A beautifully designed Harper Perennial Deluxe Edition of this haunting American classic: a realistic and emotional novel about a woman battling mental illness and societal pressures 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 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 an enduring classic.

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"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." -- USA Today

"Esther Greenwood's account of her years in the bell jar is as clear and readable as it is witty and disturbing. . . . [This] is not a potboiler, nor a series of ungrateful caricatures: it is literature." -- New York Times

"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." -- Washington Post Book World

"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." -- Christian Science Monitor

"As clear and readable as it is witty and disturbing." -- New York Times

From the Back Cover

A Special Paperback Edition to Commemorate the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Publication of Sylvia Plath's Remarkable Novel

Sylvia Plath's shocking, realistic, and intensely emotional novel about a woman falling into the grip of insanity

Esther Greenwood is brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under--maybe for the last time. In her acclaimed and enduring masterwork, Sylvia Plath brilliantly draws the reader into Esther's breakdown with such intensity that her insanity becomes palpably real, even rational--as accessible an experience as going to the movies. A deep penetration into the darkest and most harrowing corners of the human psyche, The Bell Jar is an extraordinary accomplishment and a haunting American classic.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (11 June 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0061148512
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0061148514
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.97 x 1.83 x 20.96 cm

Customer Reviews:
4.1 26,134 ratings

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Sylvia Plath

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Sylvia Plath was born in 1932 in Massachusetts. Her books include the poetry collections The Colossus, Crossing the Water, Winter Trees, Ariel, and The Collected Poems, which won the Pulitzer Prize. Plath is credited with being a pioneer of the 20th-century style of writing called confessional poetry. Her poem "Daddy" is one of the best-known examples of this genre.

In 1963, Plath's semi-autobiographic novel The Bell Jar was published under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas"; it was reissued in 1966 under her own name. 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.

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Megzzie

Truly Spectacular

Reviewed in Australia on 22 January 2022

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Like a deep breath of fresh air. This novel was a voyage into the trials and tribulations of womanhood and mental illness and a whimsical exploration of of being lost and found. It’s raw, intelligent and provocative. I adored it. I can finally see what all the fuss is about.

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Sergiu Pobereznic (author)

Skilled writer with insight.

Reviewed in Australia on 13 September 2015

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The young, intelligent and talented Esther Greenwood wins a summer internship for a New York magazine. What should be an exciting experience turns into one of depersonalization. She becomes detached from the life around her and loses her sense of belonging. She finds herself surrounded by indecision and gradually descends into the claws of depression. In the last section of the novel she contemplates various methods of suicide with a stony, emotionless quality that will alarm most people. This aspect is quite realistic from my perspective. Death eventually puts a stop to her problems and life's uncertainties.

My feeling is that if you have never suffered from depression – in the way that the protagonist Esther does – then you may find the tale highly improbable. However, the turmoil of the mind that Plath depicts is as close to what I know and understand of depression as can be. If you can actually connect with the writing you will be changed forever. (There are some small inaccuracies, but they are not worth mentioning).

Even though this book is considered an American classic, it reads like a novel that could have been written quite recently. The topic communicates the restricted role of women in the 1950s in an all male oriented society. I have only one gripe. I wish this book was not called Feminist Literature. It is 'good' literature and should be regarded as such.

"All the heat and fear had purged itself. I felt surprisingly at peace. The bell jar hung, suspended, a few feet above my head. I was open to circulating air."

In the last stretch when she contemplates likely methods of ending her life 'without much ado' she does so with an unnerving ease, emotionless as a wax sculpture. Death is like the ultimate remedy to the problem at hand - her inability to cope with her own life any longer. Death also saves her from the tyranny of indecision.
Sergiu Pobereznic (author)

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christine kondos

Three Stars

Reviewed in Australia on 4 February 2015

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OK if you're not feeling depressed yourself.

One person found this helpful

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RinaL

How glad I am I have read it now

Reviewed in Australia on 19 February 2015

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Somehow I had got through a lot of my life before I read The Bell Jar. How glad I am I have read it now. It has not aged. The clear narrative and unwavering account of how the culture of the 1950s and '60s impacted on an intelligent young woman with heightened perceptions and reactions are compelling. We may have come further along the road of progress since then but our roots are unmistakably recognisable in this semi-biographical novel. It is excellent background for reading Plath's poetry.

3 people found this helpful

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Kelly

A book everyone should read

Reviewed in Australia on 16 December 2016

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It's definitely an interesting read, the character shows her true self and makes you question your own personality.

Reviewed in Australia on 15 September 2022

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In very good condition, brilliant book

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Anon876000

Couldn't put this down!

Reviewed in Australia on 5 September 2021

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Lovely visual style of writing I enjoyed this journey into the mind of Esther the main character, very raw and real.

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J. K. Guy

An engaging work

Reviewed in Australia on 4 July 2020

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A very engaging work. Fresh & so alive. Whilst the authors poetry is also fresh & engaging I wish She had lived on to write further prose.

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Jack reichenbach

fantastic literature

Reviewed in the United States on 18 February 2024

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She could say so much with so little. She could punch you in the stomach with her words and inspire you on the next page. She could describe tragedy like it would be a relief. I read this book a bit skeptical of Plath. I avoided her my whole life cause loving Plath i saw as cliche. All the poets I’ve been around gawked and hung posters of her words on the walls. Or a feminist would chime in about Ted Hughes and rant about the patriarchy and how Plath was a martyr. But no, it is not cliche. I’d even dare say she wasn’t ABOUT feminism. She was a brilliant, beautiful, thoughtful and inspiring female writer of her time. A stand out. Using words so relatable and attainable, you swear you’re talking to her in this novel or should I say she’s talking to you. I’m caught, drowned in my love of Sylvia plath’s work now. I’m sorry I didn’t read it sooner. However life has so many twist and turns that had I not experienced some of my own life, I’d never believe this story or care for it in my younger years. Now having experienced a life and had my own bell jar loom over my head, this novel speaks truth to the feeling of the bell jar. I could go on and on. So I’ll summarize what I mean.

She’s honest with her world and self and doesn’t hold back or pull punches. If you’ve ever had a stint or time of despair in your life, this book describes it so well you’ll begin to feel the bell jar all over again. I found this book reads more like a modern narrative poem than a novel. Her musings on baths, the bell jar, rebirth, and uncertainty is one of the best books I’ve ever read. I felt I was her….am her. It’s not a book you simply shake off. It sticks to you for a while. For those that have had similar trials in their life it will not only stick to you but it will make you feel as if for one moment in time lived a person who understood you. Simply it’s a masterpiece.

15 people found this helpful