The Bell Jar
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plathby Sylvia Plath
Shares rank 74 of 122 novels by recommenders
Recommended for its memorable passages, with one commenter calling a quote from it a favorite. No criticism appeared in the discussions.
Recommended for its memorable passages, with one commenter calling a quote from it a favorite. No criticism appeared in the discussions.
3 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Favorite memorable quotes
“One of my favorite quotes by Sylvia Plath from the Bell Jar.”
Comment from 8 Jun 2026 in “Making Peace with Your Unlived Dreams”
Other novels people recommend
The four most recommended other novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime and Punishmentby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 39 | 9 | 81% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Brothers Karamazovby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 28 | 8 | 78% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Infinite Jestby David Foster Wallace | 26 | 5 | 84% | 9 | 10 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| The Great Gatsbyby F. Scott Fitzgerald | 24 | 9 | 73% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Bell Jarby Sylvia PlathThis page | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
1 of the 3 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“One of my favorite quotes by Sylvia Plath from the Bell Jar.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.