The Bell Jar- Sylvia Plath

Please use this sub-forum to discuss any classic books or any very old fiction books or series.
Forum rules
Authors and publishers are not able to post replies in the review topics.
Salma Siddiqui
Posts: 18
Joined: 24 Aug 2014, 15:07
Bookshelf Size: 0
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-salma-siddiqui.html

Re: The Bell Jar- Sylvia Plath

Post by Salma Siddiqui »

I love Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath because it helped me to understand mental illness more clearly. Often, people can't understand why someone with opportunity and a seemingly happy life is depressed without realizing that the depressed person can't understand her feelings either. Bell Jar spells it out for readers in an entertaining and informative way.
User avatar
amybo82
Posts: 651
Joined: 07 Sep 2014, 17:27
Favorite Author: David Sedaris
Favorite Book: cannot pick just one
Currently Reading: Calypso
Bookshelf Size: 1517
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-amybo82.html
Latest Review: The Adventures of The Gorilla Billies by Mark J Stopford
Reading Device: B00TA9FD2M
Publishing Contest Votes: 17
fav_author_id: 2790

Post by amybo82 »

I read this book as an adult, and I really loved it. I think I would've really enjoyed it in high school as well.
A book is a dream that you hold in your hand. –Neil Gaiman
LSWS07
Posts: 118
Joined: 04 Jun 2013, 17:35
Bookshelf Size: 1
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-lsws07.html
Latest Review: "Out of the Shadows and into the Darkness" by Senta Holland

Post by LSWS07 »

I read the book when I was a junior in high school. When I told my counselor I read it, he said,"Yikes! What a hard, depressing book!" He didn't even want to talk about it because he thought it was too depressing a book. It's tragic that people brush aside the humor, brilliance and poignancy of the book because they find it sad.
Latest Review: "Out of the Shadows and into the Darkness" by Senta Holland
User avatar
abbierakes
Posts: 46
Joined: 13 Oct 2014, 21:05
Favorite Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Currently Reading: The Maestro Monologue
Bookshelf Size: 0
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-abbierakes.html
fav_author_id: 4642

Post by abbierakes »

I absolutely love this book. As another person who has dealt with depression and feeling like an outside observer of life, I can completely relate to this first-person narrative. I was in love with this book by page 2.
User avatar
Redlegs
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 2144
Joined: 12 Jan 2012, 05:08
Favorite Book: Lord of the Rings
Bookshelf Size: 300
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-redlegs.html

Post by Redlegs »

This was a brilliant but extremely sad novel. I remember feeling incredibly moved as I read it, and at the same time quite awed by Plath's skill and expertise in developing the novel.

It couldn't ever be called a fun read, but it is an important book that I think everyone should read at least once.
So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
MaragothThorn
Posts: 100
Joined: 28 Nov 2014, 19:25
Favorite Author: GK Chesterton
Favorite Book: Father Elijah by Michael D. OBrien
Currently Reading: Skin by Ted Dekker
Bookshelf Size: 1
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-maragoththorn.html
Latest Review: "Bad Endings" by David Bussell

Post by MaragothThorn »

This novel of Plath's was really interesting. When I first read it, I was confused as to what the story was about, what was going on, with Plath's rather poetic style of prose. But you could clearly read the depression she had been going through before she eventually took her own life. The story still haunts me.
Latest Review: "Bad Endings" by David Bussell
User avatar
Dando
Posts: 206
Joined: 20 Nov 2014, 00:24
Bookshelf Size: 17
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-dando.html
Latest Review: "The Broken Gift" by Daniel friedmann

Post by Dando »

Having long since wanted to, I just read this book for the first time. I loved it! Many readings are available on the subject of mental illness, but it is so rare to find an honest account from the perspective of the mentally ill. I found it very powerful.
Latest Review: "The Broken Gift" by Daniel friedmann
User avatar
wchrimes
Posts: 11
Joined: 24 Nov 2014, 12:47
Favorite Author: Stephen King
Favorite Book: A Prayer for Owen Meany
Bookshelf Size: 0
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-wchrimes.html
fav_author_id: 2376

Post by wchrimes »

I read this in junior high as one previous poster did. It was very unsettling and definitely makes the reader feel the claustrophobia and general darkness of depression. Having had two major depressive episodes in my life, this book is amazingly clear on how depression feels. Sylvia Plath is indeed a genius.
User avatar
zoedecicco
Posts: 107
Joined: 10 Dec 2014, 12:04
Favorite Book: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Bookshelf Size: 5
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-zoedecicco.html
Latest Review: "The Bad Path to Enlightenment" by Lee A. Eide

Post by zoedecicco »

This is one of my favourite books. I have read it a number of times. As someone who suffers from depression, I can relate to a lot of it. Her prose is beautiful. She really was a tortured genius. A sad and haunting book, but beautiful.
"80% of success is showing up" - Woody Allen

"There are no small parts, only small actors." - Constantin Stanislavski
Latest Review: "The Bad Path to Enlightenment" by Lee A. Eide
User avatar
DATo
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 5770
Joined: 31 Dec 2011, 07:54
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by DATo »

This is about as raw an autobiography as has ever been written. I read somewhere that the real-life counterpart to one of Plath's characters immediately recognized herself in the novel. Most tragically were the pleas for help voiced in her writing, pleas which potential suicide victims often voice before acting - pleas which foreshadowed, in reality, rather than storyline plot, her future.

It is nearly impossible for me to think of Sylvia Plath without thinking of Virginia Woolf. Somehow I think they would have created a very great friendship. I would love to see a stage play in which the two authors are presented together as friends.
“I just got out of the hospital. I was in a speed reading accident. I hit a book mark and flew across the room.”
― Steven Wright
AngelBellaDonna
Posts: 20
Joined: 22 Dec 2014, 16:06
Bookshelf Size: 0
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-angelbelladonna.html

Post by AngelBellaDonna »

I just read this book, and it was amazing. I love the insight into mental illness. This has really gotten me into Sylvia's work.
User avatar
joseph248
Posts: 3
Joined: 26 Dec 2014, 08:26
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by joseph248 »

I read this a few month ago and I loved it !
I loved the truth behind it , I loved the writing and the imagery , I still can't forget that fig tree branching out in front of Esther/Sylvia and how it resonates with me.
I have a question though I hope somebody can answer: there is one event in this book I don't understand , as in I don't understand the meaning behind it , if there is any deep meaning that is, it's when Esther loses her virginity and starts to bleed. Can anybody shed some light to this events meaning?
Thank you!
User avatar
DATo
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 5770
Joined: 31 Dec 2011, 07:54
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by DATo »

Don't know if anyone here is aware of this but a very good movie (in my opinion) was made of the final years of her life.

The title of the movie is Sylvia and the title character was performed by Gwyneth Paltrow with Daniel Craig as her husband - the poet, Ted Hughes.

If you are interested you can find more info on it here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0325055/?re ... lmg_act_21

There is an excellent trailer available at this URL. (click the "skip ad" box within the movie frame in the lower left).

/
“I just got out of the hospital. I was in a speed reading accident. I hit a book mark and flew across the room.”
― Steven Wright
fmetheny
Posts: 17
Joined: 26 Dec 2014, 12:40
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by fmetheny »

This has been one of my all time favorites since I was a junior in high school. I have read the book many times. Sylvia Plath was someone who could take different aspects of the human condition and force you to feel them. She lived a very solitary life within the confines of her own mind and this is reflected greatly throughout her work. I first discovered her poetry before finding "The Bell Jar". Between Plath and Emily Dickinson I was completely engrossed. Once I discovered "The Bell Jar" I was feeling like I had found a kindred spirit, at least during that time in my life. The book is very dark and has many depressing overtones. However, she struggled with those very feelings everyday, as I am sure many of us have at various times in our own lives.
Sarah10
Posts: 45
Joined: 17 Dec 2014, 22:42
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by Sarah10 »

I usually don't enjoy novels in the first person but I enjoyed The Bell Jar more than I thought I would. I didn't love it, but I liked it and I see why Plath is considered such a great writer. It is a good representation of the mindset of someone suffering with depression. I don't want to spoil anything but I enjoyed that the ending was left somewhat ambiguous.
Post Reply

Return to “Classic Books”