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Such an honest, human voice, dark yet humorous. For anyone wondering - this is a must-read!

I wish I could hand this book to 25-year-old Meg because I think it would‘ve resonated even more strongly then. I saw so many of the struggles I‘ve had on my own mental health journey reflected in Esther, and I think many others do, which is why it‘s such a classic. I loved the introduction written in the 1990s by her former editor and the 16 page bio at the end that are included in this edition. Thanks @Emilymdxn for this #ALSpine rec!

#bookmail
Lovely new illustrated version of The Bell Jar 😁

This was my first time reading this and knowing Sylvia‘s history made it difficult at times. I‘m glad I read it though.

This is my November #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks

So glad I finally read this one. Written in the 60‘s, this gives me a lot to think about between the then and now when it comes to mental illness, love interests and relationships. Have we progressed? Enough? #Pop22 ~ a sapphic book

It‘s #bookspin day! The tagged is my bookspin and The Last House on the Street is my #doublespin for November.

@TheAromaofBooks

I haven‘t read this since I was in my 20s (I‘m now 57). I‘m revisiting a lot of books that I either haven‘t read in a long time, or that I enjoyed so much just a few years ago. I‘m a little all over the place with my reading right now. I can‘t seem too find anything that really sticks with me. #readingslump

Yes! The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath. I‘ve probably read it 4-5 times. #littenswanttoknow @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I think this is a really important book, even if I didn‘t particularly “like” it. The autobiographical significance it has regarding Plath‘s life (and death) make for a compelling narrative around the novel. Plath had talent. I find her metaphor of a bell jar to describe depression/mental illness an effective one. It‘s a shame there aren‘t more of her novels to read. Like so many young artists gone too soon, the lost potential is a tragedy. 3.5⭐️

I loved this book, it really goes to show that even in todays society women are being treated similar about their mental health. Parts of this book resonated with me because I too, suffered depression and was hospitalized for it. I would‘ve loved to read other novels by her, the relationship between her and Ted and her decision to ultimately have children knowing she was so against it in this book.

How did I know that someday-at college, in Europe, somewhere, anywhere-the bell jar, with its stifling distortions, would descend again?

What I hate is the thought of being under a man‘s thumb. I had told Doctor Nolan. A man doesn‘t have a worry in the world, while I‘ve got a baby hanging over my head like a big stick to keep me in line.

I‘m a few days late, but thanks for the #wondrouswednesday tag @jimfields3 !!

🌸 I *mostly* read every day. It‘s a very rare thing for me to not read a least a few pages everyday.

🌼 I tend to read before bed every night, but also try to carve out time to read on my lunch break. I also bring a book with me everywhere for those unexpected opportunities to read!

🌺 I think my go-to comfort genre is thrillers/mysteries - I love a good twist!

Our wedding anniversary today 🥂🥂
Book on the left I brought for hubby- I got the folio version of The Bell Jar from hubby, which I have been coveting since publication ❤️

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Narrated by a young, talented MC going through a mental break down. The POV was interesting but because it was through the MC‘s thoughts, sometimes things jumped around and weren‘t explained or made explicit to the reader, and I often found my mind wandering elsewhere.

Reading The Bell Jar for my book club/class, and this smacked me in the face. #abortionishealthcare

Lovely writing, a book I devoured quickly. We see the world through the eyes of 19-year old Esther in the 1950s as she recounts with realism, wit and sarcasm her life as a student, her sliding into severe depression, her inner turmoil and fight with suicidal thoughts and the ensuing atrocious treatment applied at that time.

Wow and wowed again! Levels of humor and wit that cause you to laugh in the very darkness Plath takes you to play

This gets very dark after chapter 9- still witty, still brilliant, but dark…

Odd surprise similar to the surprise I had with Breakfast At Tiffany‘s but in a different way. When I read BAT I was surprised to read a very dark novel. Here with the Bell Jar, it‘s filled with much more wit and (though at times gross) humor, when I was expecting just bleak darkness…

👻😈💀😱🫣🔪🩸

I love Horror because of how far the authors can and tend to push the boundaries. I love a good dark fucked up story that‘s far removed from my everyday reality because it‘s easier to get lost in those stories.

I judge books by their covers so for impulse reads I always go with books that jump out to me and then read the blurb to see if I‘m interested.

@Moonprismpower @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @catiewithac

Check out my review of The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath on Book Interrupted‘s Manuscript Monday. https://www.bookinterrupted.com/post/manuscript-monday-the-bell-jar

Hello #LMPBC - Group V (for Vintage)! I‘m so glad you all decided to join me in reading some classics, both traditional and modern! Here is my list of potential picks. Let me know what works for you!

I love this book so far, this book is so emotional but she seems so emotionless. She always dreamed of becoming a big time poet. She was then selected for a month long internship in New York. Esther struggles to find herself, with the norms of an unfulfilling society, and her encroaching madness and oppressive environment. This book really focus on distorted viewpoints distinctions inherent in what it sees

Lors de ma lecture, je n'ai pas eu de mal à m'imaginer visuellement ce qui se passait dans le récit. J'ai tendance à me faire des films dans ma tête lors de mes lectures de romans, ça a été relativement simple avec ce-dernier. Je voyais les couloirs, les chambres de l'hôpital. À un moment je sentais presque l'odeur caractéristique des hôpitaux et des produits chimiques, tout comme le goût amer de certains médicaments.

Wow, what a raw, honest, semi-autobiography of life with mental illness of Sylvia Plath. Most of the time I struggle with classics as I find I need excitement & thrills to keep my ADHD brain interested but this book was truly good all throughout as we follow “Esther‘s” decent into madness. I loved the fresh look into the mind of a teenage girl in a decade where humanity seemed so pure and innocent & delved into issues still relevant today.

I love the book so far it‘s very enticing and luring book to read. At the beginning of the book it talks about a young girl who has mental problems and ends up going to the physic-ward for it, she began to feel like a burden to her family and attempted suicide multiple times through out her life. She wrote about it but it never went anywhere not until after she finally took her life when her husband cheated on her and her two kids.

Sylvia Plath has come up lately in the books I‘m reading so when I saw this on my mothers book shelf I knew it was time to read her. The way she describes Esters emotions and mood at any given time is perfection. The entire book I‘m taken within her and understand what she is feeling. I can see how she‘s slowly disassociating to the outside world. I‘ve had my moments of depression and it‘s never forgotten it comes with you, just like she says.

#PoetryMatters @TheSpineView
#Phone

I really enjoyed the writing style. It felt raw and honest. I wanted more out of the ending, but I suppose she left it for you, the reader, to fill in. And it seems this was quite autobiographical. Really interesting insight into depression. It‘s too bad the doctors didn‘t seem to know how to help properly.

There it is! The title.

I‘m not quite finished this book yet, but I understand why it‘s a “forbidden” classic. I don‘t think anyone who‘s sensitive to topics of mental health/suicide should read it, but it really is a masterpiece so far. Sylvia Plath may have been spiraling into despair and madness, but she really does have a way of words with describing it.

It was very deep. It got into my emotions and changed me. I‘m going through a tough time and this book helped me so much. It really connected to my feelings. It changed my whole life, i have gone emo now 🫶🏼

'It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they executed the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York.“ This was the cover of my 1st copy of The Bell Jar. It hadn't been published in the USA at that time, and I ordered it from #Blackwells! I had read her stories in the Atlantic. I have never forgotten the first line or the last, and I was about 16 when I first read the book. #amreading
#FirstLineFridays @shybookowl

Still miss you 🖤it hasn‘t gotten easier but it‘s more familiar so it hurts less. To anyone out there struggling, you‘re not alone even if you feel like it 🕯

#newfolio
Just (e5. ♥️♥️
I have not given in yet, it‘s been an hour and 5 minutes.

Once again, this quote really gives the reader a look into what all the character development leading up to Esther‘s insanity has been for.

“Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one‘s head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no tomorrow. To forget time, to forgive life, to be at peace.”

I feel this quote, right before her first attempt to take her own life, really shows how deep into madness Esther has been trapped in.

“But when it came right down to it, the skin of my wrist looked so white and defensless that I couldn't do it. It was as if what I wanted to kill wasn't in that skin or the thin blue pulse that jumped under my thumb, but somewhere else, deeper, more secret, and a whole lot harder to get.”

Here are a few quotes that really resonated with me.

“I felt very still and very empty, the way the eye of a tornado must feel.”

“The silence depressed me. It wasn‘t the silence of silence, it was my own silence.”

“If you expect nothing from life, you are never disappointed.”

“I shut my eyes and the world drops dead. I lift my eyelids and all is born again.”

The trouble was, I had been inadequate all along. I simply hadn‘t thought about it.”

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.
I am really enjoying her writing. This is a good story so far. I only read 1st chapter,but I really like it.
My House by Nikki Giovanni
I love Nikki Giovanni. Her poetry is so beautiful

Friday marked the 59th anniversary of the publication of The Bell Jar. Here's a link to various covers throughout the years:
https://lithub.com/59-years-of-book-covers-for-the-bell-jar-from-all-over-the-wo...
Which cover is your favorite? I have several: 1) The '99 HP Perennial edition. My partner at the time gave me this as as a holiday gift. Our relationship didn't last, but I still have a copy of the book. 2) The First Faber edition-iconic!

"I am, I am, I am." #OnThisDay in 1963 Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar was published in the UK under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas. A semi-autobiographical portrait of mental illness, the book wasn't published in the US for close to ten years. It faced bans in various US high schools for its profanity, sexuality, and rejection of the woman's role of wife and mother (gasp! The horror!). #HistoryGetsLIT

Omg, thank you so much @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks for the package! Receiving it was the pick me up I needed today ❤ I have had this one on my TBR for years!

This was an interesting glimpse into the thoughts of a young woman in the 1950s descending into depression. Today mental illness still has a stigma attached, but compared to these (semi-autobiographical) experiences, today's people seem better off. I am fortunate to not experience these extreme lows and suicidal thoughts myself, so experiencing them through Esther Greenwood was eye-opening.