Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

865 reviews

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

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

satvrnreads's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

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

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

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

georgie_libby_m's review against another edition

dark funny 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Racism

jkandert2's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Suicide

wrennova123's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

I think that Sylvia Plath’s portrayal of the struggle with mental illness was beautifully done. Her writing is blunt, straightforward and hard-hitting, and thus the novel expresses sensitive topics very directly. 
I particularly loved the fig analogy and the symbol of the bell jar to represent the experience of mental illness. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

sjhonarvar's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.0

I really struggled with how to rate & review this—I’ve never had such complicated, heavy feelings about a book, honestly. I understand now why this is such a masterpiece, but I also understand why my friends begged me not to read it (lol sorry girls). I feel like I needed this, but it also kept me up at night & made me feel a lil crazy. The duality goes so crazy on this one, fr. Also, Sylvia—the racism is a big no from me (it really took away from my experience of the book). Final thought is that the fig tree will live rent-free in my mind for the rest of my days. Wowie wow wow.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Rape, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, and Self harm