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dark
emotional
sad
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Self harm
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-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
An incredible depiction of mental illness. Just as the mental health journey is prone to do, The Bell Jar leaves readers with a feeling of emptiness and loss just as Esther Greenwood begins her progress towards recovery.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Sylvia Plath's only novel, it is truly one of its kind. From exploring complex internal emotions to discussing feminism and societal structure, this classic is still relevant today. The story is parallel to Sylvia's own life, an autobiography with the protagonist named Esther. Most of the novel is spent remembering past events and internal monologue, the gradual transition of Esther's inner state of mind from a academically bright scholarship girl to the girl who could not stop thinking about killing herself is truly the most raw and subtle way anyone has been able to capture mental illness, especially in women. Esther's thoughts about various societal topics ranging from femininity, sex, depression, men etc. were very well explored through events that had occurred in her life.
Here are some of my favorite quotes:
Here are some of my favorite quotes:
“I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.”
“The silence depressed me. It wasn't the silence of silence. It was my own silence.”
“But when it came right down to it, the skin of my wrist looked so white and defensless that I couldn't do it. It was as if what I wanted to kill wasn't in that skin or the thin blue pulse that jumped under my thumb, but somewhere else, deeper, more secret, and a whole lot harder to get.”
“The floor seemed wonderfully solid. It was comforting to know I had fallen and could fall no farther.”
and many more.....
I really liked this book, I read this book exactly at the time I needed it most. And I think this has become one of my favorite books of all time, I loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt
dark
reflective
medium-paced
she’s so real
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Sexual assault
dark
emotional
reflective
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
Obligatory “do NOT read this if you’re feeling depressed.” This book is the classic depiction of a downward spiral, and for good reason. Not only was the psychological nuance well-down, but I also liked and cared about the narrator. Some social indictments here to sink your teeth into as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Suicide
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy
Minor: Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Homophobia, Pregnancy
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I never found myself fully engaged with this book. I don't think I am the intended audience, but I never found myself caught up in the plot. The writing is undeniably gorgeous and poignant and in the second half the book does become more interesting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Rape, Suicide, Blood
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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:
N/A
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt