Rating: 
Summary: Surprisingly Successful
Review: THE BELL JAR is often compaired to Salinger's CATCHER IN THE RYE. There is actually a certain basis for this: both novels deal with youthful characters who are completely disenchanted by the world. But beyond this the comparison breaks down, for where CATCHER is essentially a character study, Plath's BELL JAR presents us with a tightly plotted story concerning a young woman's descent into insanity, and is in my opinion considerably more successful in an overall sense than virtually anything Salinger ever wrote.The novel is largely autobiographical, recounting one of Plath's most notorious mental collapses that led to a very famous sucide attempt. In dealing with this personally volatile material, Plath shows remarkable control, and gracefully walks the fine line between carefully crafted fiction and self-indulgence, creating in the process a modern classic indicative of America at mid-century. Plath herself considered the book simply a commercial "pot boiler," a project undertaken in the hope of generating some cash. It is quite true that book is clearly written as a popular novel rather than serious fiction; it is also quite true that the book generates enough heat to boil water. But Plath was a uniquely gifted artist, and her talent simply bursts the seams of the genre: the book is possessed of a stunning passion and numerous powerful images delivered in a singularly uncompromising tone. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Enchanting! A Life in Words...
Review: I happened to read The Bell Jar for my book group discussion for the month of December and instantly fell in love with the book. More than anything else I think it was Esther and her descriptions that absolutely gripped me from the very first word. While reading the book, many times I tried to question my own sanity and what I was going through and quite surprisingly this book I felt dealt with so many issues that we all go through some or the other time in our lives. Esther's struggle with issues and people around her gave me an inkling into what was I facing with people around me. It's not more of madness than being sane that made me love this book and what it stands for - probably suffocation, probably the need to get away so many times when we are unable to do so. The probability of meeting someone nice and sensitive which never really works that way. Grappling with oneself and situations can be quite a thing to undertake. Most of the times, many of us choose to push things under the rug without paying attention to our thoughts and problems. Esther on the other hand chooses to look inside and find answers which probably is best summed up in the following lines from the book, "How did I know that someday--at college, in Europe, somewhere, anywhere--the bell jar, with it's stifling distortions, wouldn't descend again?" This quote becomes all the more poignant when one discovers that only a month after The Bell Jar, her first novel, was published, Sylvia Plath took her own life. One wonders if things would have been different had she lived today. All in all The Bell Jar is one of the books in my life, which I will never let go...
Rating:
Summary: INTOXICATING
Review: The Bell Jar is a terrifying account superbly crafted. Plath had a cool, pungent, almost hair raising writing style, deceptively simple and fluid, plus a marvelously wry sense of humor.
Rating:
Summary: the wretched truth
Review: when i opened this book i figured it will be a book telling me the inner most thoughts of sylvia plath before her suicide. But I found myself reading a book about a girl who slowly turns into a psycotic suicide. Since I was only 14 when I read this I thought of course someone would kill themself if everything in their life went horribly wrong. This is where I grew up and finally learned the wretched truth.
Rating:
Summary: Hard to put down - impossible to forget
Review: The Bell Jar is more than just a story about a young woman's descent into madness. Author Sylvia Plath drew upon her own experiences with mental illness while writing it. It is one of the most beautifully written novels with the most vivid lifelike characters. I found it to be astonishing, heart-wrenching, horrifying, and hysterical. This is the greatest of literature. I would have given this ten stars if I could have. It is definately a novel to be read again and again over the years.
Rating:
Summary: Yes, you should read this book.
Review: After discovering that my English teacher shared some of my tastes in literature, I asked her to recommend me another book to read and "The Bell Jar" came up. This is one of the best novels I have read in a long time. Plath's writing is almost poetic, and the overall novel is such a beautiful reflection of her life. Although depressing (the novel almost brought me to tears twice), after reading it I felt a great sense of satisfaction. Although this is a biography of the authors life, this novel mirrors many issues that every young woman will go through, and for this reason, amongst many, I strongly recommend that every girl, teen and woman reads this novel (I'm not sure if the average male would enjoy reading it). Plath obviously puts her heart and soul into her writing, and it shows, so I, as a reader, was able to empathise with the author on so many levels that this novel has left a mark on my mind that will probably stay there forever. *sigh* I'm addicted to good reading...
Rating:
Summary: Excellent...
Review: The Bell Jar is a psychological examination of a young woman's mental deterioration. The book is written perfectly: there are moments when you'll laugh out loud and moments when you'll want to cry yourself to sleep. Perhaps the most important aspect of Plath's novel is its striking ability to paint a clear mental picture for its readers. Any person reading this book could probably--and quite easily--relate to the main character as she struggles to find meaning and purpose. In fact, there are few early hints about the breakdown that will occur. It is troubling, then, when readers come to learn that this narrator, with whom they have learned to relate and compare themselves, is in the midst of a serious mental breakdown. This book has been called Plath's hidden autobiography. It has also been compared to JD Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye." As a huge fan of "Catcher...", I can understand some of that comparison. Plath's writing style is often similar, and her main character (Esther), like Holden Caulfied, is a troubled youth searching for meaning in life. The comparisons shouldn't go much further, however, as the active plot in The Bell Jar provides a distinctly different backdrop. "The Bell Jar," in short, is a must-read.
Rating: 
Summary: Dramatic life, under-delivered book
Review: I read this book after I finished Ronald Hayman "Death and Life of Sylvia Plath". Considering just how dramatic her life was (that ended in suicide), and how much she was such a melodramatic person (a scene between her husband and his mistress), I was a bit disappointed to find that this semi-autobiographical book isn't dramatic enough. She told the story in almost monotone, teenage, and detach way, even though at rare points she does become "involved". I guess I was expecting to read a much more "gut wrenching dramatic" story telling considering that her actual life WAS like that.
Rating: 
Summary: Crawl out from under the Jar
Review: So, "The Bell Jar" isn't a book that many 30-something males find themselves picking up and bonding with. Granted, but the only reason we were given horizons in this life, was to push those babies out...that's right expand 'em every chance you get. The Bell Jar did expand mine to some degree. The writing would probably reach out to a young adult more so than someone in mid-life, but it is solid throughout and tells the story of Plath's largely autobiographical descent into mental illness. Plath comes up with an apt metaphor for her condition, calling upon the strength of language she was bestowed with as a talented poet. The Ball Jar descends around her cutting her off from the "normal" world...it sets her apart, cuts off the air. I think Plath must not have been able to escape the Bell Jar in the end as a tragic suicide ended her gifted art early in 1963. It gives us hope today, that we have found better ways to deal with mental illness since those times and individual's stricken with a condition are allowed options and get the chance to chose life. I guess reading "The Bell Jar" at this stage of life did expand some horizons, but would probably reach out to those coming of age and let them know problems are out there, and they can be dealt with. I wouldn't call it an essential read for me, but it might be to others. Read Sylvia Plath for her poetry over her prose and study her life for a cautionary tale and appreciate what we have learned since then.
Rating:
Summary: A Review of The Bell Jar
Review: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath was written in a modern contemporary setting. The novel is based upon a young girl who slowly descends into a deep depression. The world around her affects her living style causing her to not be able to function normally. She begins having trouble eating and sleeping. Throughout the book, she begins to have thougts of suicide, and soon after many attempts at it. After an incident where she disappears for a week, she checks into several mental institutions. Toward the end of the book, the author begins to forshadow her condition worsening and creating a more devastating disaster. It is believed that most of the book was based on the authors own life. Soon after the book was published, the author committed suicide herself. The novel was often times confusing but shed light on many unknown aspects. The reader is taken on a journey of drastic emotions. This book is mainly targeted for high school students.
| 
