The Bell Jar
Nov 2008 · Faber & Faber
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About this ebook
'A literary rite of passage.' The Times
'She changed our world.' Guardian
Esther is supposed to be having the time of her life. Her internship at a fashion magazine is a whirl of cocktail parties and dinner dates in the shimmering city. But why doesn't she feel anything? Back home in the suburbs, she is trapped inside a suffocating bell jar . She can't write her novel; her boyfriend is a hypocrite; there seems no point in getting out of bed. As she spirals into darkness, her world becomes increasingly unreal ...
An unflinchingly honest portrait of a young woman's breakdown, Sylvia Plath's iconic The Bell Jar has transformed the lives of millions of readers since it was first published in 1963. Its witty, acidic, razor-sharp voice will stay with you forever.
READ IN AN AUDIOBOOK EDITION BY MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL
ONE OF THE BBC'S '100 NOVELS THAT SHAPED OUR WORLD'
'Plath's masterpiece . . . It's amazing how relevant this book still is.'
'I just couldn't put it down.'
'Ever better than I expected.'
'She changed our world.' Guardian
Esther is supposed to be having the time of her life. Her internship at a fashion magazine is a whirl of cocktail parties and dinner dates in the shimmering city. But why doesn't she feel anything? Back home in the suburbs, she is trapped inside a suffocating bell jar . She can't write her novel; her boyfriend is a hypocrite; there seems no point in getting out of bed. As she spirals into darkness, her world becomes increasingly unreal ...
An unflinchingly honest portrait of a young woman's breakdown, Sylvia Plath's iconic The Bell Jar has transformed the lives of millions of readers since it was first published in 1963. Its witty, acidic, razor-sharp voice will stay with you forever.
READ IN AN AUDIOBOOK EDITION BY MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL
ONE OF THE BBC'S '100 NOVELS THAT SHAPED OUR WORLD'
'Plath's masterpiece . . . It's amazing how relevant this book still is.'
'I just couldn't put it down.'
'Ever better than I expected.'
'A literary rite of passage.' The Times
'She changed our world.' Guardian
Esther is supposed to be having the time of her life. Her internship at a fashion magazine is a whirl of cocktail parties and dinner dates in the shimmering city. But why doesn't she feel anything? Back home in the subur...
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Ratings and reviews
119 reviews
Keah Matthews
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September 9, 2019
A difficult read. An insightful look into the poor woman's experience, however I feel that too much info is implied and context is lost within the time jumps of the book.
3 people found this review helpful
Katherine Strong
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June 28, 2014
Harrowing read. If the purpose of reading is to make you think, move you, change you in some way, affect you, this book does just that. Deeply, deeply human, uncomfortably close to the knuckle for anyone who has suffered mental health issues, but very worthwhile read. Hesitate to say i enjoyed it, i didn't, but i knew that before i started it.
7 people found this review helpful
G Galea
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April 29, 2019
Her soul laid bare in this neat, flowing masterpiece; Sylvia summons those who read her words from behind the bell jar wall. A glimpse into the pain of the eternally tortured, it educates, illuminates and causes discomfort associated with growth.
4 people found this review helpful
About the author
Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and studied at Smith College. In 1955 she went to Cambridge University on a Fulbright scholarship, where she met and later married Ted Hughes. She published one collection of poems in her lifetime, The Colossus (1960), and a novel, The Bell Jar (1963); Ariel was published posthumously in 1965. Her Collected Poems, which contains her poetry written from 1956 until her death, was published in 1981 and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry.
Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and studied at Smith College. In 1955 she went to Cambridge University on a Fulbright scholarship, where she met and later married Ted Hughes. She published one collection of poems in her lifetime, The Colossus (1960), and a novel, The B...
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