Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

670 reviews

samarareads's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective 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

2.0

While I can value a novel about the madding nature of the expectations and restrictions society places on women, my appreciation for The Bell Jar stops there. A lovely fig tree metaphor cannot make up for the derogatory characterisations that plague this book, especially given it was written in the middle of the civil rights movement. Perhaps I have simply read this novel too late to appreciate its significance because I cannot help but think of the many other writers who manage to explore mental distress, misogyny, suicide, and institutionalisation without succumbing to racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, and so on. I simply cannot see myself in a story that fails to see the humanity in me.
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honipoems's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

it was a nice read but I don’t know how all of a sudden it became so dark talking about suicide and madness. at the beginning I was quite understanding of Ssther behavior but then she just became selfish and mean. it was a weird but nice read, I want to know more about the author life because I’m speechless
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abbivaux's review against another edition

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emotional informative 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

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cvbazley's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-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

4.5

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e_milyking's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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? Yes

3.5

Headnoise and spiralling if it were a book
I enjoyed the concepts and analogies in this book, and I think it played out some key pessimistic viewpoints but in a depressive way. Main criticism is that you can tell this book was written in the 60’s 
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maiswoods's review against another edition

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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

4.0

A classic and definitely worth the read, although it is dark and heavy at times. 
I was surprised at how much I connected with Esther and some of her experiences, although I think many young women could relate to aspects of the story. 

A slight warning, it is ‘of its time’, so there are some sections in there that are an uncomfortable read around race.
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dreamlike153's review against another edition

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dark sad medium-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

3.25

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sophieparr's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.5

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isabellatl's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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iamjudgedredd's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-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

I know this was compulsory reading for many people at school, but I missed the boat on this one. I think it's very polarizing simply because it was compulsory. The book is an arresting window into mental health. You've never read a portrait of the complexity of mental well-being quite like this before. There were parts where I almost dropped the physical book it's so accurate. The Bell Jar contains a lot of truth, and whilst there's a lot of awful things and people in it, there's also a theme of hope, healing, freedom, and joy. I'm so glad I read this later in life, as a more mature reader. I feel like if I'd read this as a teen I too might have missed a lot of the depth and richness of it. Outstanding novel.
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