The belljar: Sylvia Plath

by Mary Ellen Snodgrass

14 pages, Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 1993

About the author

Mary Ellen Snodgrass is an American educator and writer of textbooks and general reference works.

Reviews

[Linda Ljnda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not really sure how to feel about this book. It was very hard for me to read and it took me a long time to finish because i barely had any motivation to keep on reading it. I feel like I only started liking it in the the last third part. It was pretty depressing and it made me think a lot about my role as a woman in our society and how lucky i am to be taken more seriously than women in the 50s. I might have not fully comprehended the message of this book. It may have helped me to realize that people are not always as okay as they seem to be and that everybody has their own package to carry.

[Ayushi Dayal · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.2
I dont know how Sylvia Plath has articulated all that I think and worry about. I didn't think that I could relate to someone who has nothing in common with me except being a women but Plath has through time ,culture, age, religion, nationality and raciality made me see someone just like me with same dreams and same difficulties. I really liked and at the same time hated what was happening in all too real world.

[Ben Brice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Belljar in 3 sittings which emphasises how Engrossing Plath is, more specifically her writing style. The way she orchestrates the confessional nature of the book yet still keeps it fresh and flowing amazed me, along with how subtle yet moving her presentation of Esther and her fall was. Despite this however, the pacing does stagger in some areas, like the start and the 3rd quarter of it, and even though the themes and topics she covers are significant and make it so amazing for its time, they also contribute to these periods when it’s hard to digest the novel.

I would rate it a 4.5, and it is definitely a must read

[Isabel Schley]

Crazy how she was just a little sad and lost during her mid twenties and they went ahead and locked her up in the loony bin and gave her shock treatment. Best line in the whole book is when she saw a penis for the first time and said it "reminded her of a turkey's neck" and made her feel "depressed." So true.

[Carly]

Absolutely beautiful literature. It explores the societal expectations of women in the 1950s as well as mental illness in a very real--and painful--way. It's definitely one of those books where parts of it will linger with me.

[Robin Osan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My heart hurts for Sylvia Plath, really loved the writing

[SalemGas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nah this shit overrated as hell this the book equivalent of meeting a girl that go to a cool art school then they try to put u on to sum mac demarco smh #misogyny

[Iqra Butt]

An average book,took me so long to get through it.

[Maya Philpott · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Interesting. Not riveting

[Salma · Rating 3 out of 5]

other than the fig tree analogy this book was nothing special

[Babigél · Rating 5 out of 5]

az egyik kedvencem, nagyon hamar befejeztem

[Bridget Simmons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Depressing but in like a good way, in a way that makes you feel seen.

[Julia ghoulia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I related to this book a lot but towards the ending I was getting scared because of how much I was relating. I guess it’s not sylvia’s fault I saw myself and didn’t like what I had seen.

[Samantha Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda slow at first, all over the place but in a beautiful life sort ah way. The fig tree is so incredibly relatable and almost exactly what I needed.

[Soleil · Rating 3 out of 5]

racist white depressed woman, aber lowkey real (nid de racism)

[Lamya · Rating 5 out of 5]

love it

[Ster Stammes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ik moet zeggen dat ik niet zo goed weet wat ik nou heb gelezen. Alsin ik weet het wel maar ik miste een beetje een plot. Ik denk dat ik te weinig kan relaten aan de hoofpersoon/auteur.

[kkaren · Rating 4 out of 5]

altered my perspective on life

[Layla Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

i get why everyone makes fun of this holy pretentious

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something, something, the fig tree metaphor,.
Just read the book

[Shekhar · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is my brain on a normal day anyway

[Fangyuanita · Rating 3 out of 5]

挺细腻的，感觉确实可以把抑郁症患者的心理描写写得非常真实，but I aint got depression所以也不好100%说真实。据说是类似自传般的小说，但是总体非常非常细腻。喜欢她对Fig trees的那段描写。

[laila · Rating 2 out of 5]

maybe i’ll try read it in a few years. was a very hard book for me to get into and felt very much nothing, though i did not finish it so idrk what to say

[Hannah Wankel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good stuff, some very relatable thoughts

[Giulia · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the beginning it was hard to engage with the story cause it seemed very futile, but then I understood it.

[Jodi Rachael]

I couldn’t get into this one, started on audio, after an hour I struggled.

[John Holsenback · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting perspective on depression and coming of age in a modern society from a female perspective.

[maree · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book is one of my all-time-favourites. it’s a poetically written coming-of-age story that I felt deeply connected to and will always recommend.