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challenging
dark
funny
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Xenophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia
Minor: Ableism, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Sexual harassment
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: Mental illness, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Medical trauma
Minor: Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia
dark
emotional
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:
Complicated
pretty descriptive language and mental health issues with a sprinkle of homophobia and racism. make sure to check tws before starting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Drug abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Vomit
dark
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
one of those books that is exactly what you imagine it to be based on what people tell you. loved how sylvia plath's writing style is almost like reading a form of poetry (which i guess makes sense since she did write some). also loved how the book really allows you to take a peak inside esther's mind by giving you complete access to everything she thinks about. did not love the racism and homophobia that popped in every once in a while.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism
dark
reflective
slow-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: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
though i liked the writing style and the type of storytelling, and could even relate to some of the struggles esther was facing, it was just very hard to see past all the woman on woman hate, racism, fatphobia and then even homophobia, that was expressed through esther's thoughts.
she was an extremely unlikable character, which didn't justify the way she was treated, but still made it hard for me to really enjoy the book.
she was an extremely unlikable character, which didn't justify the way she was treated, but still made it hard for me to really enjoy the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy
Moderate: Homophobia, Vomit, Medical content
Minor: Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt
Minor: Homophobia, Racism
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
February 11th, 1963: Sylvia Plath is found dead at her home in England, at the age of 30 years old. Shortly before her death, her sole novel (a semi-autobiographical story) was published. And it is indeed difficult, impossible even to read The Bell Jar and not think of Plath, of that woman. She haunts the narrative, she is the narrative in spite of her absence. All of Esther's musings are Plath's own. It's eerie. There's hardly any comfort even when Esther is freed from the bell jar; in fact, it makes you ponder. Did Plath knew that, unlike Esther, she would remain a prisoner of her own bell jar? Or did she try to maintain some illusion, as she found herself spiralling down?
A mere 294 pages, Plath's novel is all about thoughts and perceptions, never feelings. Well-educated, and sharp as a needle when the need to be comes, Esther's musings are crisp and precise, often using words that one rarely hears spoken or even read. Yet, when she finds herself trapped underneath her metaphorical bell jar, they slowly grow and become unclear, blurry, which I believe is a clever way to showcase the protagonist spiralling down into emptiness, to the point where she contemplates killing herself with a kind of ease that's unnerving.
With such praises, you'd think I would admit to liking this book. Well... we all have an unpopular opinion, right? A beloved book we dislike?
This is mine. And yes, I have an explanation as to why this does not work for me.
Plath's presence aside, there is something else that you have to address when talking this book. Because it is everywhere and inescapable, particularly with pages 197 to 199 as its apex:
The rampant racism and homophobia.
The Bell Jar was written in the second half of the 20th century, in the midst of the Civil Rights movement. The March on Washington took place in the same year as this book's publication. Among legitimate intellectual and/or progressive circles of the time, this manner of thinking is grotesquely out of line. It seems especially absurd in the face of Plath's dogged dedication to the Rights Of Women. Feminism is important, of course, but reading about how the greatest social issue in Plath's eyes (or the eyes of Plath's self-insert protagonist) was women being able to be writers and editors with as much ease as they could be secretaries (as opposed to the several editors and writers there were) is difficult to understand, or sympathize with. Employment can be a crucial issue for women, for tons of reasons, but you ought to wonder about the limits of Plath's feminism, and how it can even be used to harm men of color, as well as other women of color.
And not only is it racist, it's homophobic as hell. And as a half-white, half-arab lesbian, you can imagine I did not have a good time reading this. It's well written, sure, and that fig paragraph does perfectly express depression, but this is like one of those cheap candies: pretty wrapping, disgusting taste.
All in all, would I recommend it? Unfortunately no, if only because it has terribly aged, and the rampant racism and homophobia making it a book I was happy to read but would never want to read again, for obvious reasons.
This was, once again, borrowed from the BANQ (Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec) in an attempt not to support the author, in spite of her passing many years ago. And while I wish I could say it was a long time ago, I cannot.
My grandfather was born in May 1934, two years after Plath herself. He currently is residing in Lebanon, in his family's home, spending his time reading and taking walks. And it puts everything into perspective for me.
I hate the whiteness of the 'disaffected woman' genre. I hate what this book represents. And if you think I'm talking through my hat, I suggest you read "The unbearable whiteness of the 'disaffected young woman' genre" by Heven Haile, which explains my thoughts better than I ever hope to, or could. Google it: you'll thank me later.
A mere 294 pages, Plath's novel is all about thoughts and perceptions, never feelings. Well-educated, and sharp as a needle when the need to be comes, Esther's musings are crisp and precise, often using words that one rarely hears spoken or even read. Yet, when she finds herself trapped underneath her metaphorical bell jar, they slowly grow and become unclear, blurry, which I believe is a clever way to showcase the protagonist spiralling down into emptiness, to the point where she contemplates killing herself with a kind of ease that's unnerving.
With such praises, you'd think I would admit to liking this book. Well... we all have an unpopular opinion, right? A beloved book we dislike?
This is mine. And yes, I have an explanation as to why this does not work for me.
Plath's presence aside, there is something else that you have to address when talking this book. Because it is everywhere and inescapable, particularly with pages 197 to 199 as its apex:
The rampant racism and homophobia.
The Bell Jar was written in the second half of the 20th century, in the midst of the Civil Rights movement. The March on Washington took place in the same year as this book's publication. Among legitimate intellectual and/or progressive circles of the time, this manner of thinking is grotesquely out of line. It seems especially absurd in the face of Plath's dogged dedication to the Rights Of Women. Feminism is important, of course, but reading about how the greatest social issue in Plath's eyes (or the eyes of Plath's self-insert protagonist) was women being able to be writers and editors with as much ease as they could be secretaries (as opposed to the several editors and writers there were) is difficult to understand, or sympathize with. Employment can be a crucial issue for women, for tons of reasons, but you ought to wonder about the limits of Plath's feminism, and how it can even be used to harm men of color, as well as other women of color.
And not only is it racist, it's homophobic as hell. And as a half-white, half-arab lesbian, you can imagine I did not have a good time reading this. It's well written, sure, and that fig paragraph does perfectly express depression, but this is like one of those cheap candies: pretty wrapping, disgusting taste.
All in all, would I recommend it? Unfortunately no, if only because it has terribly aged, and the rampant racism and homophobia making it a book I was happy to read but would never want to read again, for obvious reasons.
This was, once again, borrowed from the BANQ (Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec) in an attempt not to support the author, in spite of her passing many years ago. And while I wish I could say it was a long time ago, I cannot.
My grandfather was born in May 1934, two years after Plath herself. He currently is residing in Lebanon, in his family's home, spending his time reading and taking walks. And it puts everything into perspective for me.
I hate the whiteness of the 'disaffected woman' genre. I hate what this book represents. And if you think I'm talking through my hat, I suggest you read "The unbearable whiteness of the 'disaffected young woman' genre" by Heven Haile, which explains my thoughts better than I ever hope to, or could. Google it: you'll thank me later.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt