Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

410 reviews

mirrorofneptune's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

4.0

Obligatory “do NOT read this if you’re feeling depressed.” This book is the classic depiction of a downward spiral, and for good reason. Not only was the psychological nuance well-down, but I also liked and cared about the narrator. Some social indictments here to sink your teeth into as well.  

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Suicide

armadillopickleman's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Pregnancy

Minor: Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

mikitiale's review against another edition

dark reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No

3.5

I understand this was groundbreaking at the time. Plath's personal experiences with mental health, American psychiatry, misogyny, gender roles and expectations in her time inform her writings in horrifying ways. It is somewhat comforting to see the progress that has been made since the 1950's but also depressing to see how much more progress needs to happen.

My only issue with this text is that the transitions between scenes feels choppy and I often found myself double checking to see if I had missed a page.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, and Blood

Moderate: Sexism and Sexual content

euannn900's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

I never found myself fully engaged with this book. I don't think I am the intended audience, but I never found myself caught up in the plot. The writing is undeniably gorgeous and poignant and in the second half the book does become more interesting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Rape, Suicide, and Blood

mysafe_place's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense 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

2.5

Considering this book is partially based on Plaths own life it would feel wrong to bash this book in any way. Though I have to say that it was less than I expected. The first hundred pages were simply a dull retelling of Esther's daily life and just when we started to get a more profound view into her emotions and current mental state it switched to the most mundane occurrence again. I definitely enjoyed a great part of the book, yet it was not as philosophical (if I may say so) as I expected it to be. Good alliterations and some allusions, but rhetorically placed in a questionable way. Still a good book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Blood, and Cultural appropriation

eva_vva's review against another edition

challenging 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: Ableism, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Body shaming, Drug use, Infertility, Racial slurs, and Abandonment

nightisareader's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I’ll divide this review into two sections: one that I’m clear on, and the second that confuses the hell out of me.
Section one:
What I absolutely adored about this book is the stream of consciousness writing style. It was neatly tied together and everything found its end nicely. The vocabulary was a bit meh but I guess it works. The book was quite... American? I don’t know honestly, I’m too Asian  for it probably so, reading things like “...he was trying to prove he could be aesthetic...” had me cringe just a little bit. But that’s on me haha. The characters were realistic, the events as well, without any... poetic layer. Yeah, let’s call it that.
Oh and the lovely analogies! I did wish they were explained a bit more but it’s fine, I guess, since the tone of the book was not complimentary to huge descriptions that creep up your body and gently sink themselves into your skin. 

Section two:
Now this part is about Esther herself and do I like her character or not? The answer WAS a big fat no but then she sorta grew on me but I still dislike her. Why? There I’m a bit lost; not completely though. The girl was racist and hateful. My friend pointed out that being hateful is a depression thing which lead to an odd question where even now I’m wondering if her racism and hate is justified by her mental condition but I’m choosing to not ponder over it for too long.

Overall, the book is a tiny bit overhyped but it has its charms.
One thing though, I do not know what kind of readers I would recommend this to because for some it would be triggering, for some unrelatable, and I’m a tiny bit concerned for those who do find it relatable (minus the cracks that let in the light of hope)
What I will say is that if you pick up the book, make sure you learn from her, not the methods to succumb but the methods to survive in the bell jar.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

lil_2102's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

clary0402's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

2.75

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Body shaming, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Forced institutionalization, and Blood

Minor: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Incest, Sexual content, Suicide, Grief, Abortion, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

vikart's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

 To be completely honest, I’m not really sure what I should write about the plot of The Bell Jar. At often times I found myself confused at why or what was happening, but she does begin with being an intern for a fashion magazine. 

I’ve had this book settle down into my brain for a long time before I wrote this current review, but despite that I’m unsure of what I can say about it. It is very odd, and it obviously comes from somebody who’s thoughts just jump from one place to another. I have heard many people say that this book is partially based on the author herself, and if that’s the case I cannot imagine how her thoughts varied from day-to-day, or even hour-to-hour, in such a drastic way. 

I did find it an intriguing read. Just very odd. I believe a lot can be discussed upon this piece of literature, but I cannot figure out for the life of me why it’s named The Bell Jar. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

Minor: Blood and Death of parent