Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

49 reviews

ambdocksey22's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Cursing, Sexism, Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Vomit, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Dysphoria, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, and Panic attacks/disorders

amradio's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I will fully admit I asked for this book because it's the book Heather Chandler reads in Heathers
That being said it is actually a pretty good book I was afraid I'd find it boring as it's not the usual kind of book I read
Of course the book is old so some subject matters are quite dated in the aslyum and whatnot
But for what it's worth it's pretty good
Personally I have a few iffy feelings on the asylum parts so it's not a full 5 star read but it was really close

fully wasn't expecting Joan to die at all and I was very shocked and a little saddened at that

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Ableism, Mental illness, and Racism

Moderate: Medical trauma, Self harm, Blood, Body shaming, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Vomit, Suicide, and Antisemitism

Minor: Religious bigotry

hermamora's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Ableism, Forced institutionalization, and Sexism

Moderate: Body shaming, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual harassment

fatkidatheartreads's review against another edition

dark emotional

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"I felt dull and flat and full of shattered visions."

The way a nervous breakdown is described and how when you are sad and depressed, all you seem to think about is sad and depressing things. It's very scary how much I relate to this character but I digress. 
 Okay, the bell jar, let's talk about this semi autobiographical piece of literature written by Sylvia Plath a month before she took her own life.

The bell jar follows 19 year old Esther Greenwood who is an intern in a Fashion house in New York City. From the very beginning we can tell that she is troubled. Sylvia begins the book talking about an electrocution & the main character's fascination with it. 
Esther struggles with dissociation from reality , heteronormativity especially in terms of relationships with men and marriage and her morbid fascination with death and dying. The first half of the book sets her on a downward spiral which only worsens after she moves back home. She feels stuck after her internship and doesn't know what path she should be taking for her future(that fig metaphor was brilliant). 
At home, her struggle with depression, suicide attempts and institutionalization is well documented. As you can tell, this is a very eerie piece of literature.
The title is a reference to her feeling of being stuck in a kind of bell jar (remember the enchanted rose in Beauty and the beast) and being left there to stew in her misery and hopelessness. Sylvia's use of symbolism to explain the character's state of mind was so well done. It's so sad that she only got to write one novel before losing her battle to mental health. She succumbed to her own bell jar. It is clear that she was a brilliant poet and novelist . Her works will continue to live on through her art.

TW: ableism, fatphobia, racism, depression and suicide.

Also, the writing was quite accessible which isn't always the case with classics. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Fatphobia and Ableism

Minor: Racism

nefie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring lighthearted sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

first time reading: 3.75 
second time reading: 4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Rape, Ableism, Blood, Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Eating disorder, Medical content, and Medical trauma

libraryfairy's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I’ve been meaning to read this book for a while, especially since it seems to be one of those books everyone knows or has read before. However, I didn’t know what to expect going into this, and I was surprised in many ways. Firstly, some thoughts and topics in this book make me feel seen as someone who has dealt with depression all my life. Secondly, the amount of racism in this book is astounding. It’s like it’s second nature for the author to use racial stereotypes and slurs with such ease that it’s sickening Overall, it’s a very good read, but I can’t ignore the blatant racism it has. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Sexual violence

Minor: Sexism, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, and Ableism

sexyslutsyndrome's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Antisemitism, Blood, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, and Mental illness

snartyhasgottheskills's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

3.0

. so- this book is incredibly relatable, sad and the emotional nature of the book makes you empathise with the main character, which sucks because sylvia plath uses racist remarks throughout and sometimes disregards the priveledges given to her/the main character due to disadvantages she faces within sexism, homophobia and ableism. The beginning of the novel is basically a recount of plath’s life and written in a lighter tone even when exploring dark themes, the rest of the novel however is written within an incredibly dark headspace and kind of glorifies suicide and other harmful ideas which may be harmful to some readers and isn’t really explained anywhere on blurbs or covers which isn’t needed but i think is necessary 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

literally all the tw tbh

e123's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Fatphobia and Ableism

bugcollector's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

tbh at the beginning the mc seemed shallow, and with constant racist (and other bad tase) comments, i found it hard to relate to her.
it happens so many times throughout the book, that you can't just let it pass and move forward right away imo.

at about page 140 i started to get what people like about this book. 
the author does have a way with describing depression, and numbness. that part i found the most heart wrenching

to sum up, if you get skip the insufferable mc at the start, i think you find good soup 👌🥣, though i still finished it feeling like something was missing and i can't put my finger on it
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Toxic friendship and Toxic relationship

Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Racism, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Homophobia, and Racial slurs