Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

2210 reviews

laurafranchesca_'s review against another edition

3.5

challenging 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: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

haileymarielle's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark emotional funny reflective 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

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With wild imagery and a topsheet of humor trailing through this story, I was thrown into the bell jar examined by Miss Greenwood-Plath in all of it's distorted glass glory. Would read over and over and over and over again!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

besotted's review against another edition

4.75

dark reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Suicide attempt

Moderate: Fatphobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Lesbophobia, Classism

Minor: Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Infidelity, Misogyny, Torture, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Sexual harassment

lani_poo's review against another edition

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too slow-paced for me, I feel like maybe I'd appreciate more aspects of the book at a different point in my life so I'll get back to it another time 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault

Moderate: Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt

Minor: Racial slurs

asphodelrose7's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Lesbophobia

questionablereads's review against another edition

2.75

dark emotional 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

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I get that this is a Classic but I would also like to add for me this is Classic White Feminism, where depression and mania are highlighted in a time where men are dominant in the medical field, adding an unnecessary sense of unease for Esther - who tries to check out early, has zero will to live, but that racism of hers is alive and well. 

I get that this book was written in 1963, and I don’t diminish the vulnerability and power The Bell Jar held (and still does) when speaking on societal pressures of being a young woman, and its correlation to depression. 

In the same way, I can not dismiss that this book has a lot of gross racist moments. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Suicide, Suicide attempt

Minor: Sexual content

rainieday's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad 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: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt

Moderate: Self harm

Minor: Sexual harassment

djosephine's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

lnwenzel's review against another edition

3.75

dark tense 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

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Very beautiful and captivating writing. Plath’s writing style is gorgeous, I could visualize easily as I read. I could visualize Esther’s ‘Amazon’ hotel in NYC, the Boston suburbs, the asylums as I read. 

For Esther, I sympathize with her. Being clinically depressed/suicidal in the mid 1900’s must have been an incredibly difficult journey to navigate, since mental health was not a focus at that time. However, if you are struggling with any depressed thoughts then this book is definitely not for you- a lot of triggers were presented in this book. 

Again, I know it was the mid 1900s when this book came out, but the racism was rampant in this book and made me uncomfortable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Vomit, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Sexual harassment

oboegirl19's review against another edition

4.5

dark reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Suicide attempt, Alcohol