The Bell Jar Paperback - 2013
by Sylvia Plath
This extraordinary work--echoing Plath's own experiences as a rising writer/editor in the early 1950s--chronicles the nervous breakdown of Esther Greenwood: brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, successful, but slowly going under, and maybe for the last time.
About this book
The Bell Jar is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Sylvia Plath, published in 1963. It tells the story of Esther Greenwood, a talented and ambitious young woman who struggles with mental illness and societal pressures in the 1950s.
The Bell Jar is a powerful and poignant portrayal of mental health and the pressures faced by young women. Plath's use of language and imagery captures the complexities of Esther's inner world, making the novel a powerful exploration of the human condition.
It’s Plath’s only novel, and the book is often regarded as a roman à clef due to its parallelism with the author’s own experiences and her struggle with mental illness. Plath committed suicide a month after The Bell Jar was first published.
Reader reviews for The Bell Jar
Review summary
Readers largely admire the novel’s luminous prose, indelible imagery (not least the fig-tree metaphor), and its immersive, diary-like descent into depression amid mid?century psychiatric practices. Many see it as a landmark portrait of female ambition, constraint, and mental illness, whose candor and craft still feel contemporary. Yet a sizable contingent finds the experience relentlessly bleak or emotionally alienating, citing a self-absorbed, unlikeable narrator and stretches that feel inert. Most controversially, readers call out racist, homophobic, and fatphobic passages that they argue cannot be excused by historical context, which for some fundamentally mars the book. The result is a canonical but polarizing work—formally exquisite, culturally pivotal, and ethically troubling to many.
Readers say this book is:
beautifully writtenhauntingimmersivedisturbingproblematicdepressinginsightfuldivisivedarkly funnydatedWrite a review for this book
Important Terms and Guidelines
- Please focus on the book’s content and context. Also, add any personal comments as to how you enjoyed the book. Substantiate your likes and dislikes. You may make comparisons to other books.
- Reviews must be at least 140 characters in length.
- Please do not reveal critical plot elements.
- This is not a help line. Contact customer support if you need help.
Your review must not include:
- Obscenities, discriminatory language, or other insulting language not suitable for public domain
- Advertisements, “spam” content, or references to other products, offers or websites.
- Email addresses, URLs, phone numbers, physical addresses or other contact information.
- Overly critical comments about other reviews or reviewers
- Time-sensitive material (i.e. promotional tours, seminars, lectures, etc.)
- Availability, price, or alternative ordering/shipping information
From the publisher
First line
From the rear 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.
First edition identification
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath first edition was published by William Simmonds; London, 1963. It was bound black cloth-affect boards with spine lettered. Plath originally published it under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas". The first edition pictorial dust-jacket was designed by Thomas Simmonds.
Details
- Title The Bell Jar
- Author Sylvia Plath
- Binding Paperback
- Edition [ Edition: repri
- Pages 288
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher Harper Perennial, New York, New York, U.S.A.
- Publication date 2013-06-11
- Illustrated Yes
- Features Illustrated
- ISBN 9780061148514 / 0061148512
- Weight 0.6 lbs (0.27 kg)
- Dimensions 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.9 in (20.83 x 13.97 x 2.29 cm)
- Reading level 1050
-
Themes
- Demographic Orientation: Rural
- Demographic Orientation: Small Town
- Ethnic Orientation: Native American
- Sex & Gender: Feminine
- Topical: Coming of Age
- Category Fiction - General
- Library of Congress subjects Psychological fiction, Suicidal behavior
- Dewey Decimal Code FIC
Media reviews
Citations
- Entertainment Weekly, 06/27/2014, Page 23
More Copies for Sale
The Bell Jar
by Plath, Sylvia
- Used
- Very good
- Condition
- Very good
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780061148514 / 0061148512
- Quantity available
- 1
- Seller
- Item price
-
A$14.55Free Delivery to USA
Show details
The Bell Jar : A Novel
by Plath, Sylvia
- Used
- Condition
- Used
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780061148514 / 0061148512
- Quantity available
- 1
- Seller
- Item price
-
A$17.76Free Delivery to USA
Show details
The Bell Jar
by Plath, Sylvia
- Used
- Paperback
- Condition
- Used
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780061148514 / 0061148512
- Quantity available
- 1
- Seller
- Item price
-
A$17.89Free Delivery to USA
Show details
The Bell Jar
by SYLVIA PLATH
- Used
- Paperback
- Condition
- 4 PB Extra Nice +5%
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780061148514 / 0061148512
- Quantity available
- 1
- Seller
- Item price
-
A$19.39A$6.50 Delivery to USA
Show details
The Bell Jar
by Plath, Sylvia
- Used
- Good
- Paperback
- Condition
- Good
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780061148514 / 0061148512
- Quantity available
- 1
- Seller
- Item price
-
A$19.75Free Delivery to USA
Show details
The Bell Jar
by Plath, Sylvia,
- New
- Condition
- New
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780061148514 / 0061148512
- Quantity available
- 2
- Seller
- Item price
-
A$20.91A$5.76 Delivery to USA
Show details
The Bell Jar
by Plath, Sylvia,
- Used
- Condition
- New
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780061148514 / 0061148512
- Quantity available
- 2
- Seller
- Item price
-
A$20.91A$5.76 Delivery to USA
Show details
The Bell Jar
by Plath, Sylvia
- New
- Condition
- New
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780061148514 / 0061148512
- Quantity available
- 120
- Seller
- Item price
-
A$21.41A$5.76 Delivery to USA
Show details
The Bell Jar
by Plath, Sylvia
- New
- Paperback
- Condition
- New
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780061148514 / 0061148512
- Quantity available
- 16
- Seller
- Item price
-
A$22.96A$5.76 Delivery to USA
Show details
The Bell Jar
by Plath, Sylvia
- New
- Paperback
- Condition
- New
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780061148514 / 0061148512
- Quantity available
- 1
- Seller
- Item price
-
A$32.75Free Delivery to USA