Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

48 reviews

picnicatthehangingtree's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.75

Docking .25 stars for the racism and homophobia. Otherwise this is a near perfect book for me, I’ll be thinking about it for a long time. I think 25 was a really good age to read it at - that feeling of not knowing what the future holds and having to make your way forward despite all the uncertainty really hit for me. This is such an incredible portrait of life with depression, but with such a hopeful ending for a path moving forward whilst holding space for it as a part of you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Confinement, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Infidelity and Pregnancy

grey_writes_love's review

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

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

cturn's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

3.0

Characters- 8
Atmosphere- 6
Writing- 9
Plot- 8
Intrigue- 4
Logic- 7
Enjoyment- 6

CAWPILE score: 6.8

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Infidelity, Blood, and Pregnancy

Minor: Death of parent

philosophermyarse's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Sexual assault, Blood, Vomit, and Pregnancy

Minor: Forced institutionalization and Injury/Injury detail

sholtie's review against another edition

challenging dark funny fast-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

4.0

What can I say? This book walked so every other piece of media i love could run

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

gvstyris's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.0

To the person in the bell jar, blank and stopped as a dead baby, the world itself is the bad dream.

As perhaps one of the most iconic romans à clef of all time, and certainly of the last century, Esther Greenwood's trajectory in The Bell Jar is impossible to detach from Plath herself. This novel is most successful as a devastatingly blunt chronicle of depression, falling somewhat short in its wider social commentary.

Plath depicts Esther's loss of control throughout this novel, and her increasingly fragmented narrative structure and strong imagery were my personal highlights. I was impressed by how accessible The Bell Jar is, with much of Esther's feelings echoing my own experiences as a 21st century reader. Since publication, Plath's symbols of mental health (figs, the bell jar itself) have become iconic, and for good reason. She tackles Esther's depression with both sensitivity and honesty -- which is admirable for a novel written over 50 years ago.

I feel more iffy about the feminist commentary here. While Esther makes some astute observations regarding the undervaluation of female labour and pleasure, her perspective on feminism undeniably centers white middle-class women. This would be less of a problem if Esther didn't pause repeatedly to make unnecessary racist (and a few homophobic) remarks about the few people of colour she comes across. While I have no doubt that many people defend Plath by arguing that The Bell Jar is a product of its time, I think it's important to remember that this novel was written amidst the Civil Rights Movement. I've definitely come away from this reading with a more critical view of Sylvia Plath, and have a lot of research to do.

I'm ultimately glad to have read this one, and respect all Plath has done to improve mainstream understanding of mental health. Definitely not a light-hearted book, though, and is potentially quite triggering for anyone currently grappling with depression.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Death, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Pregnancy

Minor: Homophobia and Lesbophobia

allydoessomereading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

5.0

I think Sylvia plath knows my life exactly. I don't think I've ever read my own thoughts and feelings be explained so beautifully and precisely like Plath does. Her writing is so vibrant and poetic, even when she is discussing some very heavy topics. Its amazing that she was able to discuss the female experience so ruthlessly in the time that she did. Its insane that this book from years ago is the first ive read with passages that have made me feel so seen and understood in a way i havent felt before. I think this book found me at both the best and worst time, either way I know it's stuck with me for life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual harassment

Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

vonya45's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring reflective 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

A gorgeous story that is at once hard to listen to, incredibly validating and sometimes surprisingly funny. The way Plath writes with a blend of matter-of-factness and poetic imagery is a treat, made even better by Maggie Gyllenhaal's perfect reading of the audiobook. But the real heart of the novel is its depiction of depression and the image of the bell jar, suffocating its inhabitant while distorting the surrounding world. I'm sure plenty of us can see some hints of our own experiences in these descriptions. It feels like talking to someone who feels the same way, you do but they finally put the feeling into words you couldn't find. Even the non-linear structure, which can sometimes be distracting or confusing, aids the feeling of being lost in the murky grayness of a depressed person's mind, recalling memories at random and spiraling in on itself with no hold on reality. As such, it might be a really bad book choice for someone who is not doing well mentally, especially once you know how Sylvia's own life ended after the book's final warning that the bell jar may return. For me, it was a heavy read but with enough wit and humor and style to keep from getting pulled down. I'm very glad I finally read this masterpiece.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy

Minor: Death of parent

veliana's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content