Paperback, 258 pages

English language

Published June 28, 1974 by Faber & Faber.

ISBN:
978-0-571-08178-3
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OCLC Number:
823691394

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5 stars (1 review)

We follow Esther Greenwood's personal life from her summer job in New York with Ladies' Day magazine, back through her days at New England's largest school for women, and forward through her attempted suicide, her bad treatment at one asylum and her good treatment at another, to her final re-entry into the world like a used tyre: "patched, retreaded, and approved for the road" ... Esther Greenwood's account of her year in the bell jar is as clear and readable as it is witty and disturbing.

11 editions

A must of 20th century us literature

5 stars

This is prose writing at it's absolute best, and however distressing the content of the book may be , you can't fail to be impressed by the masterful use of English by this unbelievably gifted young woman. I went on to read Sylvia's journal, and at that point it became obvious that you can substitute the name Esther for Sylvia - they are one and the same. I've felt compelled to read much of the other prose and poetry she wrote in her tragically short life and can totally understand why she's regarded as one of the greatest writers of twentieth century literature.

Subjects

  • Psychiatric hospital patients -- Fiction.
  • Women periodical editors -- Fiction.
  • Mentally ill -- Fiction.