Book Review: The Bell Jar

First posted on my Taylor Patterns website 2022-06-26

What a delightful book to find. No, not the content, though that was quite good too, I refer to the prose! Well written. Probably perfectly written.

     I had put off reading this book for years (don’t know why, it was just on a back burner) awaiting its time.

     I read the 1-star reviews which point out the racism in the novel. I suspect these readers/reviewers are from present day. “The Bell Jar” is written in first-person perspective, that of Esther Greenwood (and pulling, I learn elsewhere, from Plath’s life), and in 1st-person this narrator tells her story honestly- the good, the bad, the ugly. If racism is a piece the narrator’s identity, then out it will come. Racism does exist. Probably always will. I appreciate the story being told honestly. Many novels use racism to tell a story, from pop-novels like “A Time to Kill’ (Grisham) (I read once) to classics like “To Kill a Mockingbird” (Harper) (I read at least twice). Those two examples were written by southern writers, and I am sure knew the “can of worms” they were opening. I am not sure Plath knew. Hers is more like Andy Rooney portraying a Chinese man in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”. Sad, yes, but something from the time in which she lived. Most of her “sins” in this department were about looks (hers, others). Getting off subject a bit, but “looks” seems to be a concern at times (they were to Esther). I am reminded of a section from "Tennyson"  (currently reading), a book on the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson, in which J.B. Steane shares a reference to the Tennyson family- “Some of the Lincolnshire parishioners must have felt that the folk in the Rectory had an ungodly allowance of good looks.”

     The last novel I read which takes the reader along as the narrator descends into mental illness was “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” (Robert Pirsig). I read that at least 4 times over the years. Phaedrus’ story was also written in 1st person. How else can one tell such a story? Like Esther, he endured shock treatments, designed to change one’s personality it seems. Esther’s change is shown in her relationships with others, in particular Buddy Willard. Phaedrus’ strong (and “original”) personality began to re-emerge. Esther’s story ended before hers could. Will it? That is left to the reader to decide. But if we look at Plath’s life, we know the answer.

     I highly recommend “The Bell Jar”. Especially to would-be writers.