Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

349 reviews

haileyeh's review against another edition

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Sexual content, Misogyny, Vomit, Sexism, Lesbophobia, Medical content, and Fatphobia

lui037's review against another edition

sad tense 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

0.5

I can see why this book was necessary for the conversation on mental health but the racism not even 7 pages into the book and just the terrible protagonist. It’s a no from me, curious why certain folks relate and love this so much. (That is not to negate that some very real and relatable themes/experiences were expressed but I just disliked the way it was done and Esther’s calculatedness.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Death, Colonisation, Antisemitism, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

samcsmith's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Medical content, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Misogyny, Racism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Alcohol, Body shaming, Vomit, Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

emabled's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective 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

4.0

sylvia plath has an incredible grasp on imagery and metaphor. like, there were moments some of her similes were so out there and obscure, but the image in my mind was so vivid. esther is a very unreliable narrator, her own distrust projected onto everything she encounters. of course, this era of writing has its insensitive language and general ignorance for minority groups, so i think it's important to be mindful of that. but overall, this book was a great read. it only took me so long because university likes to suck up all my time.

there are parts of esther that reflect the ugly parts inside of a lot of people, those parts we refuse to acknowledge. there is also a false sense of anachronism i place on women from the before the 21st century where i conceive them as entirely sentimentally different from women today. this book proves me wrong. insufferable as esther was at times, her (sometimes) feminist perspectives, particularly on men, was relatable. her rawness of her mental illness was incredibly effective. her humanity was so important. esther depicts the kind of internal monologue that makes me think she externally seems like a man entirely different girl. in that, i see myself, and i'm sure many other readers do too. again, she's horribly rude and intolerable at times, but what an interesting character that makes!

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Blood, Sexual harassment, Gore, and Death

isabezza's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

5.0

It is astonishing that a novel about mental illness and the position of women in the 1950s spoke to me so deeply as a reader in 2023. Perhaps I should not have read this book as someone who has experienced suicide in the family and been admitted to hospital for mental illness, but ultimately I have never read a book which represents that experience so explicitly. I am grateful the systems have changed and the horrors Plath and others may have faced in the name of psychology are devastating to think of. Yet her writing described their society so eloquently that I could not put it down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Torture, Medical content, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Suicide, and Death

ella43688's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Death, Blood, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

aryaa_05's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

cecilialau_'s review against another edition

4.0

There are sort of two parts to this story. Not really what I thought it would be but fascinating nonetheless. I defo recommend checking the content warnings for any triggers as there are quite a lot that is discussed/showcased.
Esther is a deeply real/emotional/hurt/traumatised and interesting character who is more and more obviously going through dread and is disillusioned about life, but I found it very well-done how she herself goes through the motions of her state of mind. There are glimpses here and there but she seems shut off from herself.
A few things happen I would have liked more details about (mainly later on) but they don’t affect the rating/experience. And I also want to add that I admire the way that it is implied rather than spelled out how Esther gets to where she does mentally and emotionally (bc body and mind are connected) and how the change happens gradually and inconspicuously (which is quite realistic).
The book is very well-written apart from some stereotypical language use here and there.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Grief, Alcohol, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Death of parent, Body horror, Death, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Infidelity, Medical content, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

samugranjo's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

When I was younger I had a very hard time with depression, now almost 10 years later I still have intense depressive episodes with terrifying thoughts but it's much more manageable. This book has probably the best depiction of depression, suicidal thoughts and burnout that I have ever read. I have never felt so understood, and at the same time so glad about how many things that I would have related to in the past are no longer part of my everyday experience. On top of this, the fig analysis has been a guide and a help through the last years of my life, making me remind myself that not taking action in making decisions is also a choice itself with its own consequences.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Blood, and Mental illness

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death, and Sexual content

Minor: Alcohol, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Racial slurs, and Death of parent

There's descriptions of bad medical practices with mentally ill patients, including a detailed shock treatment session. There's also a reference to a lobotomy.

rooksauna's review against another edition

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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Death