Reviews with content warning for Blood - The Bell Jar

Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

520 reviews

oz2021's review against another edition

4.25

dark emotional 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

Content Warnings

venice_the_vampire's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional 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

i really appreciated and related to the idea of always being the perfect student but not being considered useful or smart in any way outside of that and having no idea what to when when you get out of school. i also found the insight onto how being a mentally ill woman in my grand & great-grandmothers time was, especially considering my own family history. it may not be my favorite book, but i still appreciate it for what it is.

Content Warnings

burnedoutbookdragon's review against another edition

2.0

challenging dark tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

extru's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I lost the track of the pages I was reading. I felt like I read 5, but I actually read 15. Loved the way narrator descripes things.

Content Warnings

haleiyoung's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful reflective 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

I can't say more good things about this book. It was truly one of the best books I have read in a while. I love the way the story was told between flashbacks of specific moments in her life that corresponded to what was happening presently, to how she described her daily life and feelings. It was bleak, realistic, and so enthralling to read. And since I want to be a therapist one day, this book gave some first account insight to what I could look like to someone struggling and the kind of impression I want to give off to make them comfortable, as well as the kinds of things they are going through themselves in the most vulnerable light. Sylvia Plath has a great ability to make the most mundane things interesting to read about, and I loved reading every second of the book.
I will say reading the parts about her attempted suicides and suicidal ideations made me deeply uncomfortable, but I think that's when I knew it was an important read. It was ugly to read, it was horrible at times to read, but that's what made it so great because this was like reading a real person's diary. These were Esther's deepest thoughts and it is a book that has made me think a lot since reading it. I would recommend it to anyone who wasn't triggered by the material.

Content Warnings

alyssams884's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional slow-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

Content Warnings

_meganrose's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional 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

The fig tree analogy is one of the most beautifully depicted things I have ever read.

Beautifully written and to know this was heavily inspired by her life is absolutely chilling - probably why she was able to paint such painful things so accurately.

Could have done without the blatant racism in this and the fatphobia. In many ways, this book was ahead of its time. But in those ways? It absolutely was not.

Content Warnings