Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

929 reviews

lynix's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Suicide attempt

cliterarystudies's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Blood

ellie811's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

grey_writes_love's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

3.25

I would not have finished this book if it was not assigned to me. I never had any reason to root for Esther, or even to like her, save that the alternative was her death. Also, the consistent racism was a huge turnoff.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Medical content, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child death, Incest, Violence, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

_riannalouise's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

satvrnreads's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

booksandmoe's review against another edition

4.0

This is a complicated rating for me as in one hand I was not fully invested in the plot and didn’t really care about any of the characters, but in the other hand it was fascinating to read of Esther’s descent into depression and eventually being institutionalised. 

It’s beautifully written, and some passages are among the most moving I’ve ever read, however it’s also a novel of its time and has some very misogynistic, racist and homophobic rhetoric. 

Additionally, there are some graphic references to SA, suicidal thoughts and acts of suicide , if you are sensitive to any of those topics I would approach this one with caution. 

All in all I can see why this is a modern classic and is definitely a great novel to analyse and dissect 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

caitlin17's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

joe_lan08's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Self harm