Book: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.
Synopsis: Esther Greenwood is brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under—maybe for the last time. In her acclaimed and enduring masterwork, Sylvia Plath brilliantly draws the reader into Esther’s breakdown with such intensity that her insanity becomes palpably real, even rational—as accessible an experience as going to the movies. A deep penetration into the darkest and most harrowing corners of the human psyche, The Bell Jar is an extraordinary accomplishment and a haunting American classic.
The Rules:
- Grab a book, any book.
- Turn to page 56 or 56% in you E-Reader. (If you have to improvise, that’s okay.)
- Find any sentence, (or few, just don’t spoil it)
- Post it.
- Add your URL post below in the Linky. (Add the post URL, not your blog URL.)
The 56:
Now, lying on my back in bed, I imagined Buddy saying, “Do you know what a poem is, Esther?”
“No, what?” I would say.
“A piece of dust.”
Then just as he was smiling and starting to look proud, I would say, “So are the cadavers you cut up. So are the people you think you’re curing. They’re dust as dust as dust. I reckon a good poem lasts a whole lot longer than a hundred of those people put together.”
*The Friday 56 is a Weekly Meme hosted by Freda’s Voice.
I love Sylvia Plath. I can’t believe that my 3rd grader came home this week reciting a poem by her! She is studying poems and metaphors in her advanced language arts class, and she told me this riddle (which is the first part of one of Plath’s poems), and asked if I could figure out the title of the poem from the riddle: “I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions. Whatever I see I swallow immediately. I am not cruel, only truthful.” It took me quite a while to figure it out, LOL.
That’s one of my facourite quotes from The Bell Jar! Great choice 😄
I haven’t read her work, but am familiar with the name. Don’t think I would read this type of book, too heavy for me. Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend.
sherry @ fundinmental Friday Memes
Great choice for you 56 this week. I’m intrigued by her response.
My Friday 56 from Deadly Silence
Ooooh, that quote is so so great! I haven’t read this book yet, but have been super interested in picking it up at some point–you just helped to cement this desire more fully in my head, so thanks for that!
Here’s my Friday 56, if you’re interested! No worries if you’re not, though! Either way, happy book-ing to you in the future, and happy Friday!
I remember loving this book, which I read in college. I have it now, on Pippa, waiting for a chance to reread it. Thanks for reminding me about this book. Here’s mine: “STEALING JASON WILDE”
I have this on my Kindle. I need to read it though! Happy weekend!
I love this book
Wow. I haven’t thought about this book since undergrad. Great 56.
A real classic!
Check out my Friday Linkups.
This is one of my favorite books of all time. And the one I recognize myself in.
I loved that part in the book. Buddy was the worst, lmao