Reviews with content warning for Sexism - The Bell Jar

Even though this is a great book, it was very challenging for me and it took me very long to get through it.
It is beautifully written and in my opinion is an amazing example of the concept „show don’t tell“. We know exactly what is going on with Esther’s psyche just from the way she acts and thinks and also (what I found the most fascinating) through the writing style. The pace changes along with her mental state so the reader feels as confused and dazy as Esther does.

It is really heartbreaking that not soon after the novel was released Sylvia took her own life, it made the entire book feel very emotional for me since you get the feeling that it is almost as if she wanted everyone to know what she was going through before she ended it all.

Content Warnings

hallenoelle's review against another edition

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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!

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ellen_nicholson's review against another edition

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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

5.0

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jaiden_grey's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective 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

4.25

If I didn’t relate to the main character as much and didn’t think my future is any way tied with how she lives her life, I might’ve given this book a lower rating. I feel like Esther didn’t change as much in this book as I would have liked her to. I didn’t really feel a solid direction in terms of the plot, which is fine but I think the book would have benefited from something like that.

Content Warnings