Reviews tagging 'Eating disorder'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

65 reviews

_inge's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

I had high expectations going into this, but those ultimately fell flat. The Bell Jar is written beautifully, some metaphors especially were really well done. I also understand now how impactful this book must’ve been on release - even now, the descriptions of self-harm and suicide attempts are shocking, and I imagine this character going against men would have been a lot to take in back then too. But the reading experience for me unfortunately wasn’t what I’d hoped it would be. 

There’s a lot of characters who are introduced briefly, and this book keeps shifting back from different segments in the past to the present. Often the protagonist thinks about something else whilst she’s having a conversation with another person, for instance. She’d trail off into her thoughts for a couple pages, and those thoughts then spark new memories so she trails off further. When she does end up back in the present it often takes you by surprise. You only have chapters to go off, no further indications about the story are being given. I often didn’t know if a particular event even mattered in the present either, sometimes a thought seemed more like an interesting anecdote the main character was remembering. 

This is also probably the most racist classic I’ve ever read. A black man speaks English in a caricature way, and his face is described as being like molasses. Every Chinese person in this is yellow. Chapter 10 starts with the main character describing her face as that of a ‘sick Indian’. A woman from Slovakia is a stereotype and only appears for (what is implied to be) sex, and an Italian woman mimics the main character’s mum and can’t be trusted either. Every non American, non white character is a stereotype or seen as less worthy. Obviously this was written in a different time, but that’s something to consider before reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Death, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Eating disorder, Incest, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Vomit, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

laraperry's review against another edition

dark funny reflective fast-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

5.0

Plath’s voice through the character of Esther is relatable, painful, beautiful and candid. A must read for anyone. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Eating disorder, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Death of parent and Alcohol

madeline4's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Eating disorder

bridget_t's review against another edition

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Body horror, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Death, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, and Vomit

nefie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring lighthearted sad tense 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

first time reading: 3.75 
second time reading: 4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, Rape, Forced institutionalization, and Blood

Minor: Eating disorder, Medical content, and Medical trauma

aimee_ls's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Drug use, Eating disorder, Racism, and Suicide attempt

g_monaghan's review against another edition

3.0

Incredibly depressing and problematic, the metaphor of the fig tree has ruined me forever, (also unsure of the current location of this book)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

Moderate: Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Misogyny

bugcollector's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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

tbh at the beginning the mc seemed shallow, and with constant racist (and other bad tase) comments, i found it hard to relate to her.
it happens so many times throughout the book, that you can't just let it pass and move forward right away imo.

at about page 140 i started to get what people like about this book. 
the author does have a way with describing depression, and numbness. that part i found the most heart wrenching

to sum up, if you get skip the insufferable mc at the start, i think you find good soup 👌🥣, though i still finished it feeling like something was missing and i can't put my finger on it
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship

Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Gaslighting

tuesday_forever's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Fatphobia and Racism

Minor: Ableism, Cursing, and Eating disorder

jurig'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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis