Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

1097 reviews

fleuronterrobang'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It is important you understand that reading the Bell Jar was a heavy experience. Sylvia Plath is a brilliant writer and her visceral descriptions in this book kept me glued to the page through its most difficult scenes, but indeed these scenes were dark. You will feel uncomfortable, but it is meant to be uncomfortable; you will be confronted with the bleakness of depression and the unfairness of society towards women, and sometimes the unexpected show of Plath's wit. But I do think that it will have been worth it.

From a personal perspective -- I'm not even Esther's age yet. It feels silly of me to talk about myself here because whatever suffering I've ever gone through has never been as despairing as hers, but even then I felt like I could have felt and said the very things happening on paper. Will I too find myself feeling pulled apart by the expectations of others and lost in what exactly I want to do? Will I too find that I can't approach my life with whatever enthusiasm I once had? It certainly feels like that sometimes. The Bell Jar is a reminder that I am not alone. 

I'm honestly not sure what to rate this book (it's really my first time rating books) but I'll say I loved it. Overall, a great read. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Racism, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, and Sexual assault

dlknee's review against another edition

reflective sad medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness

marinaxanna's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective fast-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

4.0

idk i liked it but it aged poorly. it was interesting and profound at times but the problematic racist themes were a Big Yikes TM

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Medical content, Racism, Racial slurs, and Suicide

mockingjayx16's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual content

Minor: Ableism and Xenophobia

leonkoenig's review

dark reflective fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Racism and Homophobia

bearbutch's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.25

Beautifully written and an insight into mental health and institutionalisation of the time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, and Racism

archiedh's review against another edition

dark 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

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Racism and Sexual assault

matcha_cat's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Mental illness

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content

Minor: Death, Racism, Suicide, and Racial slurs

katanai's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.75

i think the last quarter of this book really boosted my rating. honestly, there were several times i put this book down & considered placing it in DNF. the racist remarks were something that i was utterly unprepared for & they had no place in this book. it was just odd how racist & homophobic plath was. anyway, besides that, the first half of this book was quite boring, & i felt as if her descent into madness was a little out of nowhere. but then, sometimes, that's how madness happens, unfortunately. i did tear up at some points during her stay at the mental health institutions but i think i just got triggered due to personal connection to people who have been at institutes. also, the protagonist was just... unlikeable & not in a good way. i can see why it's a classic, but at the same time, i think it is a little overhyped. glad to just finally be done.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Suicide, Mental illness, Death, Self harm, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Sexual violence, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Vomit, Homophobia, and Classism

alishamegan's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

3.5

Interesting , could do without the racism though

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Blood, Homophobia, Racism, Suicide, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Medical trauma, and Sexism