Book review: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
May. 31st, 2006 06:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
juushikaTitle: The Bell Jar
Author: Sylvia Plath
Published: New York: Random House, 1998 (1963)
Page Count: 229
Total Page Count: 17,712
Text Number: 50
Read For: My own enjoyment (checked out from the library)
Short review: A largely autobiographic novel, The Bell Jar is a story of depression and mental illness. Esther is a poor student from a small town, on a scholarship to do guest editing for a New York magazine. Her time in New York, obsession with the power than men have over her, and own apathy gradually lead to a mental breakdown. Institutionalization, shock therapy, and suicide attempts follow, all closely mirroring Plath's own history. Written honestly, with great skill and talent, The Bell Jar gives insight into depression and mental illness and tells a very personal, depressing, unique story. It's a hard book to sum up and even to talk about, but I recommend it very, very highly to all readers.
As fascinating as this book was, as clear as the writing is, I find it difficult to talk about. The Bell Jar is perhaps the best memoir/book on depression and mental illness, providing a very human, realistic, and identifiable view of depression from the inside out. Plath writes so clearly that it is impossible not to understand her protagonist and the events in her life. As such, it's an informative, invaluable novel which allows the reader to understand, even experience, a point of view that would otherwise be unknown to them—and so it can be a very emotional book to read.
Besides this measure of intrinsic value, the novel simply reads and moves well. It is a memoir, not an detective story or a romantic novel, and as such the plot isn't the focus: rather, it is characters and experiences that matter. The honest, gritty memoir is reminiscent of The Catcher in the Rye (although, I would say, much better). But the story is still compelling: not matter how gritty, even through the mental breakdowns, Esther is so well-written that the reader ca identify and sympathize with her throughout. Furthermore, the text reads smoothly and quickly while still chronicling some truly harrowing and depressing events. The book is compelling, well-written, and worthwhile not only as a memoir of depression but also as a skillful novel.
The rest of my thoughts about the text are lengthy rambles on women, madness/mental illness, and writing, but they are out of place here. The only thing to leave you with is a strong recommendation of The Bell Jar. Read it—there's nothing more complex than that. It is an accessible novel, both in length and writing style; it is skillful, a masterly work; the description of depression, of treatment, of interaction with the rest of the world is worthwhile for anyone to read. I highly recommend this book and am very grateful that I finally got around to reading it myself.
Posted here on Amazon.com.
Author: Sylvia Plath
Published: New York: Random House, 1998 (1963)
Page Count: 229
Total Page Count: 17,712
Text Number: 50
Read For: My own enjoyment (checked out from the library)
Short review: A largely autobiographic novel, The Bell Jar is a story of depression and mental illness. Esther is a poor student from a small town, on a scholarship to do guest editing for a New York magazine. Her time in New York, obsession with the power than men have over her, and own apathy gradually lead to a mental breakdown. Institutionalization, shock therapy, and suicide attempts follow, all closely mirroring Plath's own history. Written honestly, with great skill and talent, The Bell Jar gives insight into depression and mental illness and tells a very personal, depressing, unique story. It's a hard book to sum up and even to talk about, but I recommend it very, very highly to all readers.
As fascinating as this book was, as clear as the writing is, I find it difficult to talk about. The Bell Jar is perhaps the best memoir/book on depression and mental illness, providing a very human, realistic, and identifiable view of depression from the inside out. Plath writes so clearly that it is impossible not to understand her protagonist and the events in her life. As such, it's an informative, invaluable novel which allows the reader to understand, even experience, a point of view that would otherwise be unknown to them—and so it can be a very emotional book to read.
Besides this measure of intrinsic value, the novel simply reads and moves well. It is a memoir, not an detective story or a romantic novel, and as such the plot isn't the focus: rather, it is characters and experiences that matter. The honest, gritty memoir is reminiscent of The Catcher in the Rye (although, I would say, much better). But the story is still compelling: not matter how gritty, even through the mental breakdowns, Esther is so well-written that the reader ca identify and sympathize with her throughout. Furthermore, the text reads smoothly and quickly while still chronicling some truly harrowing and depressing events. The book is compelling, well-written, and worthwhile not only as a memoir of depression but also as a skillful novel.
The rest of my thoughts about the text are lengthy rambles on women, madness/mental illness, and writing, but they are out of place here. The only thing to leave you with is a strong recommendation of The Bell Jar. Read it—there's nothing more complex than that. It is an accessible novel, both in length and writing style; it is skillful, a masterly work; the description of depression, of treatment, of interaction with the rest of the world is worthwhile for anyone to read. I highly recommend this book and am very grateful that I finally got around to reading it myself.
Posted here on Amazon.com.
