Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

1764 reviews

callmeash'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

5.0

This book holds an incredibly special place in my heart. If you’ve never read anything by Plath, make sure you read this book. So much of what Esther was going through, I either went through myself or watched others close to me experience something similar. To me, this book felt like a warm hug, we are not alone in this world and we are all more alike than we seem. It’s incredible to me that this book came out so long ago and bravo to Plath for shedding light on such a topic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt and Suicide

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Sexual violence

aimeevictoriap's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Self harm

thewildeausten's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

kirbyii's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

bearbutch'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

3.25

Beautifully written and an insight into mental health and institutionalisation of the time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, and Racism

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

3.0

  "The Bell Jar" has been one of my most confusing reads as of this year. The entire time of reading I felt as if I were on an acid trip. It is a story about a girl by the name Esther who, unfortunately, finds herself falling into suicidal thoughts.

  Although, I cannot say that I hated this book, I also cannot state that it was one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Therefore, I will sperate my pros and cons into some bullet points.

  Pros:

• The main character had opinions that stemmed from her upbringing. They place very good questions upon the societal norm of women and men, and their roles.
• I noticed a line that, if my memory serves me correct, appears within the book "Cozy" by Isabel Gillies. The line in question:
  "There must be quite a few things a hot bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them."
  This isn't a big pro, but it did put a smile on my face.
• The comparisons within this book came out as very unique to me.

  Cons:

• It felt as if some of the actions that the main character took were completely illogical even when you compare it to her state of mind.
• Scene changes felt confusing at times. It'd take you a minute to realize that a new scene has set into place. This made me reread a lot of parts.
• Although the main character is placed in different places to get help the book does not illustrate her getting any legitimate help from anybody.

  Other notes:

• There's a contradiction between the beginning and end.
  Within the beginning of "The Bell Jar" Esther mentions that she cannot gain weight whenever eating food. She can eat as much as she wants, however near the end of the book she is shown to put on weight.

  That's all. Thanks for the read. A lot more can be analyzed and discussed about this book, but I doubt anybody will have the time to read all that, so if you did read all of this: you are magical.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

Minor: Death of parent and Blood

archiedh's review against another edition

dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Racism and Sexual assault

matcha_cat's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Medical content, and Vomit

Moderate: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Blood, and Sexual violence

Minor: Suicide, Death, Racism, and Racial slurs

katanai's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.75

i think the last quarter of this book really boosted my rating. honestly, there were several times i put this book down & considered placing it in DNF. the racist remarks were something that i was utterly unprepared for & they had no place in this book. it was just odd how racist & homophobic plath was. anyway, besides that, the first half of this book was quite boring, & i felt as if her descent into madness was a little out of nowhere. but then, sometimes, that's how madness happens, unfortunately. i did tear up at some points during her stay at the mental health institutions but i think i just got triggered due to personal connection to people who have been at institutes. also, the protagonist was just... unlikeable & not in a good way. i can see why it's a classic, but at the same time, i think it is a little overhyped. glad to just finally be done.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Suicide, Mental illness, Death, Self harm, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Sexual violence, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Vomit, Homophobia, and Classism

alishamegan's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

Interesting , could do without the racism though

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Blood, Homophobia, Racism, Suicide, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Medical trauma, and Sexism