Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

473 reviews

teslis's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional reflective 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

---

I got this book a long time ago from my cousin who had read it. When she gave it to me, she was a bit hesitant because of the books language and everything that happens in it. I get that it might not be the best book for a 14/15 year old. But I think it depends on the person. I’m 21 one now and read it and it was fine. There were times when it had to pause and think, because I would see other people in the book. I read it at the same time I had a psychology class so it was interesting.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail

gandalf_a's review against another edition

4.75

dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content

Minor: Sexual content, Death of parent, Alcohol

katiefurms's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

This was incredibly raw and emotional and exhausting and disheartening and beautiful. i really loved it 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail

komiification's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional funny reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Whilst starting off as a seemingly meandering, disjointed story, The Bell Jar demonstrates how seemingly random events can have such a defining, negative toll on one's mental health.

Whilst I at first felt that the story was disjointed from Esther's time in New York to her eventual mental decline at home, looking back and understanding Sylvia Plath's own struggles with mental health, which would lead to her suicide, demonstrates how there is not one singular turning point for a person, but the piling on of events. Esther struggles with

her negative relationships with men, her insecurities with being a virgin, her resentment of being a mother or having to tie herself to one man, her unexplained father's death and her strained relationship with her mother,and so-forth

. It leads the novel to be more of an episodic-style tale: each chapter could be it's own story, but the whole picture deconstructs Esther and, of course, Plath herself.

It's unfortunate the novel is held back by it's rather dated portrayals of Black people, and the more consistent racist caricatures of contrasting Esther's bad appearance to Asian nationals. You can argue that Plath was 'of her time', but it's reasonably understandable why these depictions would make the average reader, particularly readers of colour, uncomfortable.

However, if you can acknowledge these depictions and decide to continue reading, you will see a very interesting slow-burn demonstration of a woman's mental decline. 

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Death, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcohol

chainsawheartbooks's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

“I would be sitting under the same glass bell jar, stewing in my own sour air.”

I’ve been meaning to read this for a while, and I think reading it now, whilst I’m going through my own journey with anxiety and depression, has been strangely therapeutic and almost healing in a way. 

Given it was written in the 60s, some of the wording that’s used and the attitudes that are portrayed are of course wrong now, but with that in mind I can see how this has become a classic! 

To write about these experiences and emotions, showcasing how dark and isolating the struggles can be, and what it was like to go through them during that time; it must have been so tough for her to find the words, and I hope that it helped her, even just a bit. 

It is an incredible read and Plath was one hell of a writer! I hope she knows just how important this novel is to so many people, and how crucial it has been in aiding the discussion of mental health to this day.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

enika's review against another edition

3.0

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail

lauryn_2's review against another edition

4.25

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail

elysianemily's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Mental illness, Blood, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide

Minor: Racial slurs, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis

astrobri's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

The bell jar… Esther is so relatable to anyone that has depression. Each piece of this book resonated so strongly with me. It portrays mental illness in such a raw real way. Also the way trauma is stored in the body and how it leaks out in many different ways. I loved this book so much and it’s one of my favorite books. Due to the time of this book it has racism and fat phobia which is the main turn off of this book. I think it’s possible to love a book while at the same time holding it accountable. Other than that it is a perfect book for me. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt

lillelow's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark funny informative mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail