Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

868 reviews

4ndy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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: Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual assault

sharosuza's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Blood, Sexual assault, Self harm, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Rape, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Eating disorder

b00murded'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

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

katharinaamaliae's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-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

4.5

I was really looking forward to reading this book for a long time, so my expectations were high. Mostly, I wasn't disappointed. The writing was, of course, amazing and will always kind of stick with me, I think. Especially the fig tree analogy. That and a lot of other parts were just something I could relate to so much, and Sylvia Plath put it into words better than probably anybody else ever could. However, it still wasn't five stars for me, mostly because, even though I could relate to the main character, Esther, a lot she could also be insufferable and, of course, it were different times, but it's impossible for me to just overlook the racism and fat phobia in this book. 
I also want to add that it's really important to check trigger warnings before reading this and that it's definitely not an easy read, that can really impact your mental health.

I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart.
I am, I am, I am.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Suicide, Racism, Death, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Fatphobia

k8tpie's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

vnavarro's review against another edition

dark sad 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

godfrina's review against another edition

challenging dark tense 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

2.0

I sadly didn't enjoy this classic at all. I find Esther insufferable. The writing is truly poetic but I couldn't get into the story, I took what feels like an eternity to finish it. On top of that, there's uncomfortable streaks of rasicm and fat phobia all throughout, possibly as a product of its time, but it takes you out of the story reading it in this age. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Classism, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Racism

Minor: Fatphobia and Vomit

stilestastic's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Classism, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Medical content, Racism, Body shaming, Addiction, Homophobia, and Racial slurs

rheaaads's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-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

2.0

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Content Warnings

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

abbivaux's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Sexual assault, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Violence and Alcohol