Bell Jar

, Sylvia Plath

Paperback, 234 orrialde

English hizkuntza

2005ko eka. 29a(e)an Faber and Faber(e)n argitaratua.

ISBN:: 978-0-571-22616-0
OCLC zenbakia:: 898242383

(3 berrikuspen)

Working in New York one hot summer, Esther Greenwood is on the brink of her future. Yet she is also on the edge of a darkness that makes her world increasingly unreal. In this vivid and unforgettable novel about the struggles of growing up, Esther's world shines through: the wide-eyed country girls, her crazed men-friends, hot dinner dances and nights in New York, and a slow slide into breakdown. --back cover

11 edizio

Claudia (e)k Sylvia Plath(r)en The Bell Jar liburuaren kritika egin du

None

5 izar

Al principio, pensaba que The Bell Jar sería una novela diferente, más frívola. Esther, con sus opiniones de alumna pródiga y un poco ditzy, una rubia del montón con buena redacción, parece que van a seguir así a lo largo de la historia.

Sin embargo, hay cierto momento en el cual se rompen las expectativas y acompañas a la protagonista, poco a poco, en su descenso, a un sufrimiento depresivo y continuo. Las metáforas de Plath son cuidadas, pero duelen. Y así la autora también disecciona de fondo la situación mental de las mujeres, los manicomios y los tratamientos que sufrían las de su misma condición.

Me ha tocado, la verdad.

isa (e)k Sylvia Plath(r)en The Bell Jar liburuaren kritika egin du

"Darkly Funny" is apt

4 izar

Edukiari buruzko abisua Mentions of depression and racism

Esther is an interesting but (in my eyes) unsympathetic character. She has a certain manipulative streak that unsettles me. But she makes up for it by being quite humorous at times, intentional or not. Sometimes I can't quite tell if she is self aware enough of herself.

Plath, however, is completely self aware. She inserts humour in unexpected places. She makes acute observations about the characters. She is a little cynical. It's evident that Plath is in a precocious place in her psyche. And she turns it into a beautiful work of art.

It would be remiss to praise Plath but not address her racism in this book. She continuously uses "Chinaman/woman" as descriptor and an insult. She writes a grotesque caricature of a Black man in one scene. It did not wholely take me out of the reading though, since it seems very in line with Esther's character, but it is something that should be taken note of since Esther is practically an avatar for Plath's own psyche.

As for how I felt about this book... I enjoyed it. There were a lot of moments where I inwardly cringed at Esther's behaviour. But I still found her character completely compelling. It was dark, yes. An accurate portrayal of depression, yes. And an interesting look into how mental health and women are treated in the 1950s. I feel like the end kind of went over my head and will need to read this again at one point.

Dɪɢɪᴛᴀʟɪs Pᴜʀᴘᴜʀᴇᴀ (e)k Sylvia Plath(r)en The Bell Jar liburuaren kritika egin du

A must of 20th century us literature

5 izar

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.

Gaiak

Modern fiction
Fiction