Reviews with content warning for Self harm - The Bell Jar

Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

1172 reviews

renreads2much's review against another edition

3.0

dark sad 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

I’m not going to say much since my copy of the book is annotated, but I don’t know. The book wasn’t as good or satisfying as I thought/expected it to be. But I have a feeling that this is going to be another My Year Of Rest And Relaxation situation where I’ll like it the more I read it.

Content Warnings

magdalenahai'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

Nuoren naisen masennuskertomus. Luin tämän jonkinlaisena klassikkohaasteena, koska en ollut aiemmin lukenut mitään Sylvia Plathilta. Synkkä ja kaunistelematon kertomus, jossa ollaan pitkälti itsetuhoisen päähenkilön pään sisällä. Se, että tiesi kirjailijan tehneen lopulta itsemurhan, toi kirjan lukemiseen lisäkerroksen, joka jollain tavalla myös vaikeutti tarinan lukemista puhtaasti tekstinä.

Content Warnings

emabled's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective 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

sylvia plath has an incredible grasp on imagery and metaphor. like, there were moments some of her similes were so out there and obscure, but the image in my mind was so vivid. esther is a very unreliable narrator, her own distrust projected onto everything she encounters. of course, this era of writing has its insensitive language and general ignorance for minority groups, so i think it's important to be mindful of that. but overall, this book was a great read. it only took me so long because university likes to suck up all my time.

there are parts of esther that reflect the ugly parts inside of a lot of people, those parts we refuse to acknowledge. there is also a false sense of anachronism i place on women from the before the 21st century where i conceive them as entirely sentimentally different from women today. this book proves me wrong. insufferable as esther was at times, her (sometimes) feminist perspectives, particularly on men, was relatable. her rawness of her mental illness was incredibly effective. her humanity was so important. esther depicts the kind of internal monologue that makes me think she externally seems like a man entirely different girl. in that, i see myself, and i'm sure many other readers do too. again, she's horribly rude and intolerable at times, but what an interesting character that makes!

Content Warnings

uraveragelizard's review against another edition

4.0

re-read

wow shocker, reading the bell jar made me feel depressed!

Obviously a masterpiece. very raw and honest. plenty of beautiful prose, very interesting writing choices and structure, rich and lots of space for thought provoking analysis. relatable passages and well captures a journey with mental illness.
lots of casual racism. very hard to read the middle part when she’s struggling the most.
felt pretty myopic to me. but that’s how it be when you’re in that place so

Content Warnings

vonnibel's review against another edition

4.5

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

the fig tree….me too sylvia….

Content Warnings

isabezza's review against another edition

5.0

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

It is astonishing that a novel about mental illness and the position of women in the 1950s spoke to me so deeply as a reader in 2023. Perhaps I should not have read this book as someone who has experienced suicide in the family and been admitted to hospital for mental illness, but ultimately I have never read a book which represents that experience so explicitly. I am grateful the systems have changed and the horrors Plath and others may have faced in the name of psychology are devastating to think of. Yet her writing described their society so eloquently that I could not put it down.

Content Warnings