Glasklokken - my bookrastinating

Epub

Danish language

Published June 29, 2016 by Gyldendal.

ISBN:: 978-87-02-15437-5
OCLC Number:: 940522404

(2 reviews)

I 1953 vinder den 19-årige Esther Greenwood en måneds praktikophold i New York på et modemagasin. Som del af en gruppe talentfulde unge kvinder bliver hun indlogeret på hotel og inviteret ind i New Yorks fashionable verden med modeshows og fester.

Esther vil gerne være digter og er en klartskuende og ret så nådesløs iagttager af det liv, der omgiver hende, men selv er hun mere og mere apatisk. Hjemkomsten til Boston, hvor Esther bor med sin mor, bliver et chok. Hun får afslag på det skrivekursus, hun har ansøgt om, og sommeren ligger skræmmende tom foran hende. Efter et mislykket selvmordsforsøg bliver hun indlagt på psykiatrisk hospital. En glasklokke har sænket sig over hende.

Glasklokken er både en satirisk skildring af det rum, 1950’ernes Amerika kunne tilbyde unge kvinder, og en insiderberetning om depression, skrevet med indlevelse og poetisk kraft. Glasklokken udkom første gang i 1963, og blot en …

I 1953 vinder den 19-årige Esther Greenwood en måneds praktikophold i New York på et modemagasin. Som del af en gruppe talentfulde unge kvinder bliver hun indlogeret på hotel og inviteret ind i New Yorks fashionable verden med modeshows og fester.

Esther vil gerne være digter og er en klartskuende og ret så nådesløs iagttager af det liv, der omgiver hende, men selv er hun mere og mere apatisk. Hjemkomsten til Boston, hvor Esther bor med sin mor, bliver et chok. Hun får afslag på det skrivekursus, hun har ansøgt om, og sommeren ligger skræmmende tom foran hende. Efter et mislykket selvmordsforsøg bliver hun indlagt på psykiatrisk hospital. En glasklokke har sænket sig over hende.

Glasklokken er både en satirisk skildring af det rum, 1950’ernes Amerika kunne tilbyde unge kvinder, og en insiderberetning om depression, skrevet med indlevelse og poetisk kraft. Glasklokken udkom første gang i 1963, og blot en måned efter udgivelsen begik forfatteren selvmord.

Source: www.gyldendal.dk/produkter/sylvia-plath/glasklokken-1600/andet-9788702154375

10 editions

isa reviewed The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

"Darkly Funny" is apt

4 stars

Content warning Mentions of depression and racism

Esther is an interesting but (in my eyes) unsympathetic character. She has a certain manipulative streak that unsettles me. But she makes up for it by being quite humorous at times, intentional or not. Sometimes I can't quite tell if she is self aware enough of herself.

Plath, however, is completely self aware. She inserts humour in unexpected places. She makes acute observations about the characters. She is a little cynical. It's evident that Plath is in a precocious place in her psyche. And she turns it into a beautiful work of art.

It would be remiss to praise Plath but not address her racism in this book. She continuously uses "Chinaman/woman" as descriptor and an insult. She writes a grotesque caricature of a Black man in one scene. It did not wholely take me out of the reading though, since it seems very in line with Esther's character, but it is something that should be taken note of since Esther is practically an avatar for Plath's own psyche.

As for how I felt about this book... I enjoyed it. There were a lot of moments where I inwardly cringed at Esther's behaviour. But I still found her character completely compelling. It was dark, yes. An accurate portrayal of depression, yes. And an interesting look into how mental health and women are treated in the 1950s. I feel like the end kind of went over my head and will need to read this again at one point.

Dɪɢɪᴛᴀʟɪs Pᴜʀᴘᴜʀᴇᴀ reviewed The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

A must of 20th century us literature

5 stars

This is prose writing at it's absolute best, and however distressing the content of the book may be , you can't fail to be impressed by the masterful use of English by this unbelievably gifted young woman. I went on to read Sylvia's journal, and at that point it became obvious that you can substitute the name Esther for Sylvia - they are one and the same. I've felt compelled to read much of the other prose and poetry she wrote in her tragically short life and can totally understand why she's regarded as one of the greatest writers of twentieth century literature.