Reviews with content warning for Suicide - The Bell Jar

Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

2213 reviews

valley's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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

- felt like it could be written just a few years ago (style, opinions etc) apart from the treatment of black people of course
- holy shit i related to way too many quotes
- i'm a changed woman (for better or for worse)
- idk how she does it but she changed my brain chemistry
- loved the style (just the opening sentence drew me in already)
- probably most accurate portrayal of mental illness i've read (i mean, yes modern books are more accurate on the medical side, but the descriptions were really good at conveying how it feels)
- that being said, MAJOR warning if you're struggling rn cause it details suicide attempts and suicidal ideation in a way that i had to put down the book from time to time. take care of yourself and don't put your mind in a bad place. you can still read the book when you're a little more stable/have a good way to deal with the negative emotions.

Content Warnings

sneakylinguine's review against another edition

3.5

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: Yes

Content Warnings

sinmchi's review against another edition

2.25

dark tense 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

without disregarding sylvia’s own troubles i truly expected more and kept hoping that at some point esther would’ve stopped hating anything and everyone + the plain rascism and homophobia towards the end mmmmm 👎🏼 although, she is smart with her metaphors and criticism of superficial people which i do give stars for 🏂

Content Warnings

kikoboo_'s review against another edition

4.0

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

It was either between this or 4.25 but I couldn't decide truly!!! Very much enjoyed it and for sure one of my favorite books at the moment, just got a little confused at the way things were put at times and the causes of certain events and quote on quote turning points. Not gonna lie this book may have left me in an eternal state of pondering and hopelessness but nonetheless its a real thought provoke once you get past couple bits.

Content Warnings

isabellareadss_'s review against another edition

3.75

dark emotional sad fast-paced

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

lextaypro's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

emessing's review against another edition

1.0

dark emotional reflective medium-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

i read this novel as it is touted as a must read feminist novel - and because a peer in a creative writing class used it as inspiration for their novella - and almost wish i hadn’t. the sprinkling of racism outweighed the confessional aspect of the work for me, and i had to force myself to finish the book. i am giving one star as i can appreciate that this book helped open the field to discuss what was considered socially unacceptable, that is all i found of value for this work. i can accept this a feminist novel, however, i myself equate to white feminism rather than a valuable intersectional feminist work.

Content Warnings

kennnedyexe's review against another edition

3.0

dark reflective sad 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

feminist and groundbreaking in the same way that the feminine mystique is feminist and groundbreaking.. only applicable to a certain demographic with exceptional privilege and perpetual victimhood

Content Warnings