The Bell Jar

By: Sylvia Plath

Narrated by: Maggie Gyllenhaal

Length: 7 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

The Bell Jar chronicles the crack-up of Esther Greenwood: brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful but slowly going under - maybe for the last time. Sylvia Plath masterfully draws the reader into Esther's breakdown with such intensity that Esther's insanity becomes completely real and even rational, as probable and accessible an experience as going to the movies. Such deep penetration into the dark and harrowing corners of the psyche is an extraordinary accomplishment and has made The Bell Jar a haunting American classic.

©1971 Harper & Row Publishers, Inc. Copyright renewed 1998 (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers

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.

Not as good as I remember

I wanted to reread classics, this depressed me though. maybe I waited too long, sad

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.

Maggie Gyllenhaal

Would you listen to The Bell Jar again? Why?

I could listen to Maggie's voice over and over again. Her voice is steady and melancholic.

What does Maggie Gyllenhaal bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Maggie made the character come to life she was calm and steady as the main character slowly drifted into insanity.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I didn't quite cry but definitely felt dark and melancholy.

slow start

it takes a while to get into, but once she has her breakdown itnecomes much more intriguing.

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.

What to say

There are so many things to say about this book, I do not know where to begin...The Times, The early influences, The need for more clarity in the life of Sylvia (prior to reading the book), & the questions that remain. It is written in a very expressive & visual manner. The reader is consistent & steady. I have filled in many details and interpretations from my understand of psychology and the time period. I feel the book would be best as a trilogy. One describing her life, from an observers point of view, begging to end. The Bell Jar as a second, from her perspective. Finally a psychological review. Oh, get rid of the music.

Classic read.

Interesting look into the world of mental illness. Interesting how things haven't changed much today.