Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath by Heather Clark

12 reviews

maryclaire92's review against another edition

challenging informative slow-paced

5.0

Admittedly I did not know much about Plath, but one 45 hour-long audiobook later and I want to read all of her work. A very in depth, yet empathetic look at Sylvia Plath’s life and how a very of factors shaped her work and personal struggles. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness

Moderate: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, and Infidelity

Minor: Cancer, Abortion, and Antisemitism

xx_selenite's review

dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

5.0

I am truly speechless. I finished the book 40 minutes ago and needed those 40 minutes to process the monumental biography I just read. My thoughts are not fully organised yet, and I apologise for this.
- I believe Heather Clark knows Sylvia Plath better than Sylvia herself. There isn't one aspect of her life that wasn't talked about. This is the first time I feel familiar with a person through a biography.
- Related to the previous point, I cried, which is new for me upon reading biographies.
- Despite having studied The Bell Jar, I did not realise how autobiographical it was before reading this book. Even smaller, more trivial elements are rooted in Sylvia's real life. In the same way, some poems become much easier to interpret
- This book didn't feel tedious to read like some biographies are. It reads as easy as a novel, at the end of each chapter I just wanted to keep reading. 
I truly believe this is a book one must read if they've ever read anything by Sylvia Plath. It is necessary to understand her writings, and her life illustrates the psychiatry of her time, a system which failed to understand women's suffering and the impact of patriarchy on their psychology.
A genuine, major recommendation. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

desarroi's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Animal death

wiktoriapiet's review

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.5

Really thorough and detailed

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Misogyny, and Infidelity

itsinourhands's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Wow! Super in-depth. Appreciate neutral take on Plath’s life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Medical trauma, Chronic illness, and Mental illness

Moderate: Suicide attempt

aargot1's review

slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Chronic illness, Abandonment, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Infertility, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Body horror, Ableism, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Antisemitism, Classism, and Confinement

alrauna's review

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Abortion, Death of parent, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcoholism and Abortion

rishel's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness

Moderate: Infidelity

westonheartswords's review

adventurous challenging emotional informative slow-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Mental illness, Medical content, and Confinement

Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism

julied's review against another edition

challenging informative sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Antisemitism, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Car accident, and Child death