Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

87 reviews

hannahjuliano'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
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Racism, and Panic attacks/disorders

_rowan_'s review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Medical content, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Suicide, Death, Fatphobia, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Eating disorder, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Gore

lucymoosie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense slow-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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Mental illness, Grief, Suicide, Self harm, Death, Suicide attempt, and Panic attacks/disorders

marthapasa's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Sexual content, Racial slurs, and Medical content

Minor: Homophobia and Grief

hallenoelle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.0

I have always been deeply interested in the idea of the “mad woman” and how has society treats women with mental illnesses throughout history. The Bell Jar is a raw, disturbing, and realistic depiction of what so many women went through and why. The turn from the fun and youthful vibe at the beginning to the gut-wrenching plot twist had me captivated. I could not give this book 5 stars, however, because of the incomplete romance(ish) with Buddy Willard and because of how problematic this book is today. Not really a spoiler but warning anyway for the next sentence!

I hate when a character hates another character and we never find out why and that is exactly the case with Buddy and Esther

. This book has countless moments of racism that really took me out of the story and made me super uncomfortable. And lastly, please do not read this book unless you are POSITIVE you can handle it. It is full of triggers for those who have struggled with mental illness, grief, SA, EDs, and suicidal thoughts. Please read with caution - but if you are interested in women’s history and feminist literature I would recommend!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Medical trauma, Rape, Grief, Confinement, Eating disorder, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Racism, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexism

nidhimoney's review against another edition

challenging dark funny lighthearted reflective 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

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

gracevc_04's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Racism, and Suicide attempt

j4mes's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Blood, Sexual violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcohol, Misogyny, Cursing, Self harm, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Death, Gore, Grief, Terminal illness, and Sexism

Minor: Body shaming, Racism, and Suicide

s_snape_hbp's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective slow-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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

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

dahaejoo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicide, Sexism, and Suicide attempt