Reviews

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

lonelyasfranz's review against another edition

1.0

Fantastically boring and not engaging in the least. A quarter of the way in, I couldn’t force myself to go on. The introduction was more captivating, and it was dull in its own right (a glorified advertisement, as I’m afraid too many are). It would be more entertaining to stare at a rubber ducky floating in an algae-ridden fish tank, it’s so dreadful. It’s everything people complain about in The Catcher in the Rye, with none of its redeeming qualities. It makes me sick that this trashy mind-number was compared to A Confederacy of Dunces, an incredibly wonderful book (with the perfect introduction that actually doesn’t read like an infomercial or an overzealous grad student’s essay), to say the least. Go read that instead, unless you really want your soul to be drained from your body. I mean, it won’t really go anywhere; it would already have been in hell, suffering from this wailing garbage. The writing style is completely insufferable from the very first page. I’ve never wanted to bash my head into a mailbox (another more preferable activity to reading this thing) more. As some people find in The Catcher in the Rye, the protagonist is utterly devoid of personality outside of being privileged and pretentious, and whines far too much; the difference for me being, I didn’t mind Salinger’s. Holden Caulfield was tolerable, and even likable at times, while the voice in this is horribly, horribly, horribly annoying, like a little gnat flying into your nose, but worse, with no remotely redeeming bits. I could not possibly feel any less sympathy for the narrator. I’m surprised the copies of this haven’t collapsed under the weight of their pure, raw awfulness and created millions of black holes. Not to say anything about the thing’s overwhelming, absolutely unnecessary racism. Seriously, do yourself a favor and stay far, far away from this.

kayleyc's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

chsahit's review against another edition

4.0

I'm having a hard time writing a review for this, a bit at a loss for words. It was a very good book - about 300 pages of good points and a subtle but distinct sense of malaise. Maybe I'll revisit this review with some more coherent thoughts (unlikely), but here are some quotes that struck me

"wherever I sat -- on the deck of a ship or at a street cafe in Paris or Bangkok -- I would be sitting under the same glass bell jar, stewing in my own sour air"

"I could see day after day after day glaring ahead of me like a white, broad, infinitely desolate avenue. It seemed silly to wash one day when I would only have to wash again the next. It made me tired just to think of it. I wanted to do everything once and for all and be through with it."

unamckenna's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

justmaria's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Fatphobia, and Suicidal thoughts

louisadelphine's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

jilliand19's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

maddiegp's review against another edition

dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

maisonmarsiela's review against another edition

5.0

without a doubt the most realistic and heartbreaking portrayal of depression and suicidal ideation i’ve ever read (particularly given plath’s own struggles). the fig tree passage, in particular, was so incredibly relatable and i’m certain it will stick with me forever.

anpne's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0