A review by enteka
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

it's terribly relatable. the descriptions of the fig tree and racehorses. wagh. the sudden knowing that you will cry. babies. 

How could I write about life when I'd never had a love affair or a baby or seen anybody die? A girl I knew had just won a prize for a short story about her adventures among the pygmies in Africa. How could I compete with that sort of thing?

gosh. when she writes about it being silly to change and bathe and wash. gosh. the suicide attempts when she talked about the defencelessness of her wrists. the asking about how to become a nun. 

I wanted to tell her that if only something were wrong with my body it would be fine, I would rather have anything wrong with my body than something wrong with my head, but the idea seemed so involved and wearisome that I didn't say anything. 

for some reason, i really liked this line:

A dispassionate white sun shone at the summit of the sky. I wanted to hone myself on it till I grew saintly and thin and essential.