4,5 star. 
 [minor spoilers about the course of the book, but kind of the same spoilers that are on the back of the book too]. 
 I kinda dreaded starting this novel as the weather was so great outside when I picked up the book and I knew what I was getting into - The Bell Jar, a book about mental illness. However, I knew this would be an important read so I decided to get on with it. The first half of the book is easier to read than the second half . When she is in New York she's living a glamorous life. Although her mindset was not glamorous that time either, the scenery and her circumstances are and that makes it more accessible and can divert your attention away from her thoughts for a bit, a sense of escapism. 
 However, when she goes home, her surroundings aren't glamorous anymore and the reader has to focus on the grim reality of her thoughts and that's when her madness really sets in. 
 It can definitely be a difficult book to read if you have never experienced depression yourself. I may even imagine that it is impossible to finish because the descriptions of her depression and the way she feels and the actions she's willing to take to get rid of the feeling really are graphic. But the graphicness is surrounded by beautiful prose too. And if you have never had those feelings, it may give you a better understanding of depression. 
 Now this book was written in a time way before me, and of course I don't know how the circumstances for women were exactly, but I can imagine that books that dealt with depression from a female point of view were scarce - and still are. Mental illness is to this day still not understood by everyone. Depression is sometimes dismissed by people that say 'just go out of your room and do stuff'. Esther Greenwood actually makes a remark about this in the book by saying something along the lines of 'these people aren't really sick because they are out there playing tennis'. 
 There is also a beautiful passage where she says that it does not matter where she is , may it be on a luxury cruise or in Europe, she cannot escape 'the bell jar'. 
 Circumstances cannot always determine your mind , and I thought that was also great to take away. On the second page she says 'I was supposed to be having the time of my life'. She has all the circumstances that should lead to her having the time of her life, but she doesn't and I thought that was a powerful notion. 
 She also deals with gender roles, some of which still apply in 2017, although in a more figurative way than back then. (view spoiler)[i still thought it was empowering how she took matters in her own hands by losing her virginity outside of the confines of marriage after she ranted about how men can do as they please, but women are supposed to stay pure , and people's crazy obsession with 'purity' in general. (hide spoiler)] 
 All in all I thought it was a very gripping read and I could find myself in some of her thoughts - luckily not all. It is a grim read but definitely important for women (who (have) suffer(ed) depression) to read once in their lifetime.