The Bell Jar

“It is this perfectly wrought prose and the freshness of Plath’s voice in The Bell Jar that make this book enduring in its appeal.” — USA Today Famous American author Sylvia Plath offers a genuine and poignant look at a woman suffering social pressures and mental illness. In ‘The Bell Jar’, Esther Greenwood's brilliant, gorgeous, incredibly talented, and successful career are chronicled as they progressively crumble—possibly for the last time. Sylvia Plath skillfully immerses the reader in Esther's breakdown with such intensity that it becomes possible to understand and relate to Esther's neurosis, making it seem as plausible and familiar as going to the movies. The Bell Jar is an eerie American classic because of its remarkable achievement of penetrating so deeply into the dark and terrifying corners of the psyche. "I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, "This is what it is to be happy."—Sylvia Plath (The Bell Jar)