Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

57 reviews

mirandyli's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

This book is the whitest "I'm not like the other girls" story I've ever read. A country girl comes to the big city on a scholarship and realizes she doesn't fit in. She has always succeeded academically and begins to spiral once she is no longer succeeding.

I thought I would relate more to a book about depression, but I should have expected a super white story. There's casual racist phrases spattered throughout the book (“I looked as yellow as a Chinaman"). The author laments how difficult her life is as a (white) woman compared to a man. She says she doesn't see people as Black or white, but as those who fucked and those who didn't... what?! And don't even get me started on the racist comments about the Black hospital attendant. 

Other wtf parts: the narrator falling out of love with Buddy because he became fat after getting tuberculosis (yikes). Or becoming depressed because she volunteered to pass out flowers at a hospital and threw out the dead flowers (one of the weirder moments of the book).

The book, which is about depression, depressed me by how mediocre and white it was.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, and Racism

jneverland's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Sexual content, Death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Alcohol, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

soswiin's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

this would’ve been the it girl book if it was published 60 years later.
way more graphic than i expected but it was so hard to put down. officially hooked on plath’s style even though the 1960s internally misogynistic white girl feminism shone through too often. but then again, the bell jar was in fact written by a white girl in the 1960s

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Self harm, Sexual violence, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt

bennoyb's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, and Sexual content

jamie1717's review

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Suicide, Blood, and Sexual content

Moderate: Death

Minor: Racism

carlota00's review against another edition

dark emotional funny inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Drug abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Racial slurs, and Suicide

isabelsb's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Blood, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Suicide and Vomit

hallenoelle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I have always been deeply interested in the idea of the “mad woman” and how has society treats women with mental illnesses throughout history. The Bell Jar is a raw, disturbing, and realistic depiction of what so many women went through and why. The turn from the fun and youthful vibe at the beginning to the gut-wrenching plot twist had me captivated. I could not give this book 5 stars, however, because of the incomplete romance(ish) with Buddy Willard and because of how problematic this book is today. Not really a spoiler but warning anyway for the next sentence!

I hate when a character hates another character and we never find out why and that is exactly the case with Buddy and Esther

. This book has countless moments of racism that really took me out of the story and made me super uncomfortable. And lastly, please do not read this book unless you are POSITIVE you can handle it. It is full of triggers for those who have struggled with mental illness, grief, SA, EDs, and suicidal thoughts. Please read with caution - but if you are interested in women’s history and feminist literature I would recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Medical trauma, Rape, Grief, Confinement, Eating disorder, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Racism, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexism

risisreading's review against another edition

dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Mental illness, Racism, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Drug abuse, Death, Drug use, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

megbriers's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

 pretty descriptive language and mental health issues with a sprinkle of homophobia and racism. make sure to check tws before starting.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Mental illness

Moderate: Drug abuse, Racism, Homophobia, and Vomit