The Bell Jar
Sylvia Plath
Overall Rating : 5/5
Summary
What seems like the story of a highly successful young lady- on a scholarship, doing a summer internship in New York for an acclaimed fashion magazine, living ifancy hotel- The Bell Jar quickly unravels the glitz and bling to reveal a more confused and depressed protagonist. Everything seems to be going well for Esther, the protagonist, but she seems to be struggling to keep up with the changing people and environment. And when she does get help, it only makes it worse- stripping her from being an independent woman to a patient who needed to be monitored at all times.
My take
Despite the slow decline of the protagonist’s health, I loved the story. Although I did not find the beginning all that interesting, but I slowly got attached to protagonist. It will be wrong to say that “The Bell Jar” is a story, it is much too close to reality for that. Sylvia Plath herself swims in and out of the story, using Esther as her alias. The book is not just about Esther’s downward spiral, but it also showcases her wit and humour. I found it a rare and extremely personal tale, that sadly did not end well. I found myself thinking about the author a lot during the book, and wondering “why?”, and because of that I gave the book a 5 star.