Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

520 reviews

neomellow's review against another edition

3.5

dark emotional reflective 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

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extremely depressing 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Alcohol

emilybr's review against another edition

4.5

dark reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt

Moderate: Racism, Blood

dixiecarroll's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

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Stunning. Visceral. Relatable. I loved every second of this. If you told me it was published in 2023 I would believe you - it feels so now and so contemporary for 1963. I cannot recommend this enough (obviously there are a ton of triggers, but that shouldn’t be a surprise)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt

dakotahreads's review against another edition

4.0

dark reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault

avonleegrace's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark funny reflective sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood

callie_1031's review against another edition

4.0

dark reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Suicide attempt

thequietgeek's review against another edition

2.0

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense

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This is a very good book but I discovered a new trigger while reading, which is probably why I wouldn’t read it again

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

nemrac23's review against another edition

2.5

challenging dark emotional reflective tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Violence, Blood

Minor: Homophobia, Racism, Antisemitism

flapjackzs_'s review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Suicide attempt

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Suicide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Abortion, Death of parent, Alcohol

vonya45's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring 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

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A gorgeous story that is at once hard to listen to, incredibly validating and sometimes surprisingly funny. The way Plath writes with a blend of matter-of-factness and poetic imagery is a treat, made even better by Maggie Gyllenhaal's perfect reading of the audiobook. But the real heart of the novel is its depiction of depression and the image of the bell jar, suffocating its inhabitant while distorting the surrounding world. I'm sure plenty of us can see some hints of our own experiences in these descriptions. It feels like talking to someone who feels the same way, you do but they finally put the feeling into words you couldn't find. Even the non-linear structure, which can sometimes be distracting or confusing, aids the feeling of being lost in the murky grayness of a depressed person's mind, recalling memories at random and spiraling in on itself with no hold on reality. As such, it might be a really bad book choice for someone who is not doing well mentally, especially once you know how Sylvia's own life ended after the book's final warning that the bell jar may return. For me, it was a heavy read but with enough wit and humor and style to keep from getting pulled down. I'm very glad I finally read this masterpiece.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy

Minor: Death of parent