Rating: 
Summary: Mixed Reviews
Review: My family read this book together so we could discuss it, and after having read it, our feelings were mixed.Mom found this book utterly boring. She said she could not empathize with the main character, and didn't care what happened to her. Dad enjoyed the imagery, and said he would like to read some of her poetry. He also enjoyed her observations, which were at times witty and clever. But he felt the book was lacking. Then there's me. I really enjoyed The Bell Jar, finding it to be a real page-turner, even if not the greatest book I have ever read. After reading the biography in the back of the book, I have to think that Esther Greenwood and Sylvia Plath are one and the same. One interesting point of The Bell Jar is that it can be interpreted in many ways, but one doesn't have to TRY to interpret it in order to understand and enjoy the story. That is, it can be read on many levels. The content of this book is at times shocking, so I would steer the very faint of heart and children away. It's a good, easy read, and it paints a picture similar to Girl, Interrupted or One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. If you like a good, psychological study, you might want to read The Bell Jar. I also suggest The Bell Jar to a book discussion group, as there is plenty to talk about as the story moves along.
Rating: 
Summary: I Cringed
Review: I cringed when reading the suicidal episodes that Esther Greenwood(Sylvia Plath's alterego) put herself through. I'm thinking, " Why would a witty, tall, charming, intelligent girl on college scholarship and great grades and a loving mother want to end it all?" I'm a 28 year old male who finds witty and cynical girls like Esther charming so when I came upon the multiple suicide attempts, I'm cringing pissed off thinking, "Why?" I would be cheating you if I told you - read it and find out. The book was a normal coming of age type book for the first 100 pages, and then all of a suddent Esthter talks of the 19 razors blades she keeps in her purse, and then the entire premise of the novel deepened tenfold and took an unforgettable 180 degree turn into the enigmatic bell jar. When she vividly imagines slitting her wrists I felt nauseous and about to puke wanting to throw the book down. Needless to say, I really got into the novel and the characters -undoubtedly because they're all real people in Plath's life... This classic is deeply disturbing, yet refreshingly redeeming & reinvigorating. FYI: A must read - not just for chics.
Rating:
Summary: Trapped inside a bell jar
Review: The Bell Jar is definitely a book that I could read more than once. It's an intriguing tale of a young college-aged woman dealing with suicidal insanity and attempting to cope with society. The way Sylvia Plath tells the forlorn story of Esther Greenwood in the first person makes you enter the psychotic world of the book and makes you feel as if its your story that you're reading. She places you inside Esther's mind and you feel like you are actually there experiencing all of her incidents with Buddy Willard (her should-be lover), all of her blind dates, and all of her unbelievable loneliness that leads her to be suicidal. This book is said to be based on Sylvia Plath's own life just before she committed suicide, so that could explain the incredible vividness of depression and desolation throughout the book. The story begins with Esther in New York City working for a magazine as a summer job. She gets to know a few of her female co-workers but never truly fits in with them. She attends many banquets and parties for the magazine and has a few adventures of her own, but all this time, she refuses to let herself give in to the artificial feminine stereotype that all of the women around her fulfill. Esther begins to take notice of all of her faults and the faults of the people surrounding her. As the novel progresses, Esther's mind seems to grow more and more incoherent and she seems to be disconnected from the world. Once her summer job is over, she moves in with her mother in a suburban Boston town. For the first few days, she relaxes and observes the neighborhood from a house window while pondering about what she will do with the rest of her summer. She quickly gets bored with that and attempts to write a book but her mind just keeps getting more and more fragmented to the point where she cant sleep, read, write, or eat. This goes on for a whole week before her mother realizes what is happening to her daughter and forces her to see a psychologist. This leads Esther into intensive shock therapy and more thoughts of suicide. It is then that she realizes that she's been viewing life from a different perspective, as if surrounded by an opaque encasement... like a bell jar surrounding her. I could without a doubt relate to this book in so many ways. I shared an abundant amount of the same opinions about society as Esther did and could relate to some of the incidents. I'm pretty sure that everyone could relate to what Esther is feeling at some point in their lives. From her excursions in New York City to her terrifying shock therapy, Sylvia Plath will most definitely keep you interested in Esther's life until the very end and will leave you craving more. I recommend this book for everyone who enjoys reading about the twists and turns of the human mind.
Rating:
Summary: being under the bell jar
Review: Initialy i read this book based on the fact that a friend had read it and felt that she had either (a) misunderstood the book or (b) had been very unsympethetic toward the main character and was completely unsympathetic to her situation. Taking it upon myself to see if the book did indeed reveal the mystery of Sylvia Plath's disease (for that is truly what it is), I found it to pleasantly display her feelings during the book's time frame. Between Esther's high's and low's and her continual obsession with the thought of suicide until she finally tries it for herself, and then the eventual downfall of her friend, to the release of her from the confining spaces of the institution and the horror of shock therapy. I have heard many people voice a disatified emotion toward the somewhat abrupt ending of the book. I myself, while looking at the end of Plath's life, could easily see the path that Esther would soon follow. It shows a fantastic look into the unpredictableness of mental illness and describes, in detail the uncomfortableness of being trapped inside the distorting effects that the bell jar can produce upon us. For those of you who are fortunate enough to not know the tragic effect produced by the bell jar, you are truly the lucky ones.
Rating:
Summary: one of my favorite books ever!
Review: I recently bought the book just looking for something good to read and i immediately loved the book. I think that Sylvia Plath was very deep and involved in her writing and found i really felt how Ester was feeling.The book was different from the ones i recently read and i plan to read many more of Plaths' literary works.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a good book
Review: I think the main reason people like this book is because they are young and immature. When I read this at 19, I was not blown away, but I didn't realize how bad it was until I read it again in my late 20's. There are some wonderfully described passages and some nice images (her talent as a poet coming through) but the dialogue is terrible and the characters are card board cut outs. Esther is self-pitying and morose, and I could care less about her or what happens to her. The chapter about her trying to write the novel is prob the most entertaining, but still no where being good. Plath did not think much of this book, and nor do I, and I think people should feel more compelled to admit it is boring and a poor work. On that note- Plath is a great poet, and many writers struggle outside their selected genre. She also has some racist remarks about the black men in the hospital, and none of the characters in Esther's world have a POV- it's all about her, and that's all. In order to get sympathy from your readers, a good writer needs to tell both sides, not just wallow in their own self pity and endless melodrama. I'd say read this with a pound of salt, but know it's not any good.
Rating:
Summary: fabulous
Review: a book portraying Plath's life.
Really emotionnal and full of passion.
A book to enjoy to read even though it is not an ironic book. It so interesting!
Rating:
Summary: So what the heck is a bell jar?
Review: The Bell Jar is, what is consider, one of Sylvia Plath's greatest works. Plath wrote this novel as a biographical fiction. Sylvia Plath took the main events during a certain part of her life and changed the names and characters. This novel eloquently describes Plath's downward spiral to depression in, what some criticas call, a Salinger mood. The themes in this novel vary from Esther Greenwood, the main character, dealing with the loss of her virginity to her hatred of the domestic role that women of her time were forced to play. I really enjoyed this book because it was real. It is interesting to know that the insane events that occur in the novel actually happened to the author. I would recommend this book to anyone that has an open mind to read about suicide, sex, and electroshock therepy. Read and enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful read, even (especially?) today
Review: When I began this book I really didn't know what it was about, even though I knew a bit about Sylvia Plath's life. I was very shocked as I read on and found myself completely emotionally involved in Esther's life. It's a very gripping read, and one that I (a 19 year old college student studying english!) identified with muchly. At first it was hard for me to understand Esther's shift from being somewhat "normal" if not a bit apathetic, and suicidal depression. But if you read closely, the answers are there. I think Plath writes in a way that is very straight forward and without excessive emotion. She lets you react to her work without trying to force your ideas in one direction or another. Esther feels she has to kill herself: she gives a few reasons but doesn't try to persuade us that what she's doing is right or noble. She chronicles not only her own descent into depression and madness (which is written wonderfully -- we're as caught up in her own shattered perception as she is) but also the terrible psychological views of the time as well as treatments (lobotomies, electro-shock therapy), the stigma surrounding depression/madness, expectations for women, and the burdening pressure society has on young hopefuls. It's a wonderful story that is what it is and leaves you to make up your own mind. Even if you don't enjoy it or understand it, The Bell Jar is an important step in feminist novels, understanding psychological disorders, and literature itself.
Rating:
Summary: The Bell Jar
Review: Annotation: Sylvia Plath writes an amazing story about a young teen named Esther Greenwood. Esther goes through mental breakdowns and Sylvia Plath makes sure you know every detail. She bases this book on her rel life experiences and everything she goes through. This is an emotional story that will pull you in and make you not want to put your book down.
Author Bio: Sylvia Plath was born in Boston on October 27th, 1932. She attended Smith College on a scholarship, and in 1952 won a Mademoiselle short story contest, which allowed her to work as a guest editor in New York. When she came back she tried committing suicide and ending up in an institution for a while. After she got out of the institution, she went to finish college at Smith and then went to Cambridge after that. She ended up meeting a poet named Ted Hughes. They ended up moving to the United States. She wrote her first book of poetry called The Colossus and Other Poems in 1960. Shortly after in 1963 she published The Bell Jar and a month later committed suicide.
Evaluation: This book is a very good book and I would recommend it to any young teen and older. Sylvia Plath had made this story relating to real life experiences and to be able to read about it is very interesting. My friend had been reading it and it sounded good so I picked it up and couldn't put it down. It started off a little slow but ended up being interesting for the rest of the story.
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