Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

128 reviews

ankiaisreading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective relaxing sad tense 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

imagimental's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Ableism, Fatphobia, and Racism

Minor: Death of parent

mcasey364's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

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

4.25

Uniniated to The Bell Jar other than the Fig Tree passage, I spent the first act curious about why this was a celebrated work. The character is a selfish and judgmental brat, redeemable only by a vague youthful sense of mischief. At first, the writing felt disjointed, failing to capture the grand picture of the city and institutions young Esther worked in.

But as the story goes on, it of course begins to make sense. The foggy buoyancy from moment to moment becomes the most sensible way to show dissociation without telling. Plath conveys the story with a poetic flightiness where Esther often transfixes on an individual detail, either appreciating or (more often) getting annoyed by it. I found that very relatable.

Esther lives out severe depression much as I've seen it affect people I love. Plath's personal experience is evident. The Bell Jar doesn't indulge in dramatization or heroic combat against the darkness. This undying condition can be all-encompassing, and blandly distorting of cognition as it saps away hope and desire. At its strongest, the need to melt into the darkness (from death, self-destruction, or simply hiding) is a need as banal as hunger or sleep.

Esther/Sylvia in the depth of her depression does not try to tug at our heartstrings, she just tries to disappear (on the bad days) and cause some trouble or make some changes (on the good ones). In the abyss and on the slow climb back out, The Bell Jar is so readable that I finished it over the course of two weekdays.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming and Self harm

georgwithey's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt

itsbrianascall's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Sexual violence, Medical content, Grief, and Medical trauma

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, and Classism

burnedoutbookdragon's review against another edition

challenging dark tense 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

ellisbillis's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Body shaming, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

alyssams884's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-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: Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Racism, Sexism, and Blood

Minor: Homophobia, Sexual content, Vomit, Medical content, and Death of parent

_meganrose'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

4.0

The fig tree analogy is one of the most beautifully depicted things I have ever read.

Beautifully written and to know this was heavily inspired by her life is absolutely chilling - probably why she was able to paint such painful things so accurately.

Could have done without the blatant racism in this and the fatphobia. In many ways, this book was ahead of its time. But in those ways? It absolutely was not.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

moniquita_frita98's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail