The Bell Jar

De: Sylvia Plath

Narrado por: Maggie Gyllenhaal

Performed by Maggie Gyllenhaal

One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels

“A coming–of–age masterpiece.” —Boston Globe

"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

The Bell Jar is Sylvia Plath’s masterwork—an acclaimed and timeless novel about a young woman falling into the grip of mental illness and societal pressures.

The story chronicles the breakdown of Esther Greenwood, a bright, beautiful, enormously talented college student coming of age in 1950s America, as she navigates the pressures of society along with her own ambitions. While at a prestigious, competitively won position at a New York City magazine one summer, Esther finds herself struggling with the looming expectations of marriage, motherhood, and giving up on her dreams to achieve them. She becomes increasingly disillusioned and her mental health deteriorates, ultimately leading her to undergo harsh treatment and therapy.

"Funny, intense, enormously human" (Cosmopolitan), The Bell Jar is a poignant exploration into the darkest and most harrowing corners of the human psyche and remains an extraordinary accomplishment from one of the country's most luminous talents.

Incredible performance of a haunting story

This Audible performance must be one of the best ones out there. The story itself is dark, and her warped way of seeing the world through the "bell jar" is scarily relatable at times. The language and the descriptions she uses are beautiful, sometimes beautifully painful. And the performer, Maggie Gyllenhaal, is a true artist of the genre. She brings out things in this book that I would've never caught on a first read. She makes all the dark, sarcastic, sad, sublime and harrowing aspects of this book come to life. As somebody who has dealt with powerful and debilitating thoughts and perceptions, listening to this book was a profound experience for me.

Stunning

I haven't been to exactly these places in my head but I have been close enough , often enough, that some parts of this astounding work were almost too uncomfortable to listen to.

I expected the sort of florid and meandering poetry of too many of the explorations of "feelings". This is full of the tight prose and focused language of "mind". Even if all you are interested in is the English language you owe yourself this listen.

And if your interested in how the English language should be read out loud, Maggie Gyllenhaal may be one of its best exponents. She reads with rare clarity and inflection. If she doesn't love this book she certainly manages to act out enjoyment, turning the narration from a mechanical to an artistic activity.

It is beautiful, frightening and technically brilliant. You should listen to it now.

Great performance by Gyllenhaal

Have you listened to any of Maggie Gyllenhaal’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I've never listened to another performance, but I do know the actress. I bought this book because of her narration, which was fantastic.

Any additional comments?

The story is humorous as well as disturbing. This wasn't a kind of book I'd normally buy, but because of the narrator I was compelled to take a listen. I consider this book well worth my time and credit.

Outstanding

Maggie Gyllenhaal seems perfect for narrating this story and the story itself is outstanding. I loved the variety of characters Esther encounters and her observations and feelings of inequality regarding virginity, marriage, and childrearing. The book is more about looking through the lens of someone suffering from a major depressive episode than feminism though. Definitely one of my favorites.

A Bit Depressing

My teenage daughter was assigned this book for English class. I am surprised this would be given to high school students. The main character spends the majority of this book in a deep depression. The book is well written and the narration is believable, so these feelings began to invade my feelings and thoughts. I would not recommend this book for teenagers, but for adults who are not learning to cope with hormones, peer pressure, and personal responsibility.