Reviews with content warning for Fatphobia - The Bell Jar

Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

164 reviews

star_lost_fairy's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-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

2.75

It reads very easily but I did't get the intention behind the book, to me it felt very empty. Had it been more of a social commentary I think I wiuld have liked it more but it was cery supwrficial on a lot topics so I don't know what to think about it. For me it's not a memorable book.

Also there is a very long list of trigger warning, I put all the ones I remembered in my post.

Content Warnings

hannahcstocks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective 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

4.0

Content Warnings

diedaahh's review

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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

1.0

Picked up this book for 3 reasons and 3 reasons alone, ranked from most to least important

1. the fig tree analogy
2. I was told we were following a journalist MC (relatable)
3. I'm trying to read more classics

Jesus Christ did I hate this.
Esther is an absolute asshole all the way throughout. I was warned for problematic language, but her dedication to insulting every other character was something else. Being stuck in her head was incredibly unpleasant for me. And that's not because I don't like reading from a villain/unlikable POV. As long as the story makes me understand WHY a character turned out this way, I like a good villain POV.
I simply felt like Esther's bitterness towards literally everyone wasn't warranted whatsoever.
White women claiming this is feminist literature or even admitting that they relate to Esther terrify me and will be avoided at all costs.

Also fun fact: this was the second physical book I bought since getting an e-reader (the other one being: her body and other parties) and I HATED both books. I think the universe is trying to tell me something.

Almost put me in a reading slump, should've DNF'ed, Beya Rabaï why did u lead me astray with your gorgeous cover design.

Content Warnings

litliz's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

lucakocsis's review against another edition

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dark funny fast-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

0.75

I did not know what to expect before reading this book but I was surprised to say the least. I do not see how it is an esteemed piece of literature nor do I see the value in reading it for any demographic. Sylvia Plath's thoughts are only interesting out of context (if ever) and I can hardly believe her works are considered feminist literature. She has no respect for anyone (women included) and would have not cared about the rights and fate of any marginalized group. This book was moreso an insight to a narcissistic person's mind who provokes no emotions or sympathy from the reader. And becau e there's so many 5 star reviews I'd like to pull some of my "favourite" quotes from the book:

Then my ears went funny, and I noticed a big, smudgy-eyed Chinese woman staring idiotically into my face. It was only me, of course.

I'm not sure why it is, but I love food more than just about anything else. No matter how much I eat, I never put on weight.

Avocados are my favourite fruit.

I hate technicolour. Everybody in a technicolour movie seems to feel obliged to wear a lurid new costume in each new scene and to stand around like a clothes-horse with a lot of very green trees or very yellow wheat or very blue ocean rolling away for miles and miles in every direction.

I was so busy thinking how very fat he was and how unfortunate it must be for a man and especially a young man to be fat, because what woman could stand leaning over that big stomach to kiss him, that it didn't immediately realize what this student had said to me was an insult.

'Well what do you say?'
' I said Gladys was free, white and twenty-one.'

I thought the TB (tuberculosis) might just be a punishment for living the kind of double life Buddy lived and feeling so superior to people.

He could almost have been an American, he was so tan and had such good teeth, but I could tell straight away that he wasn't.

I'd always spoil what I did so nobody would ask me to do it again.

She was a fat, middle-aged woman with dyed red hair and suspiciously thick lips and rat-coloured skin

But everything concave about Buddy had suddenly turned convex. A pot belly swelled under the thight white nylon shirt and his cheeks were round and ruddy as marzipan fruit. Even his laugh sounded plump.

'He's from Peru.'
'They're squat,' I said. 'They're ugly as aztecs.'

The face in the mirror looked like a sick Indian.

My grey suitcase rode on the rack over my head, empty except for The Thirty Best Short Stories of the Year, a white plastic sunglasses case and two dozen avocado pears, a parting present from Doreen.

I peered at him from the corner of my eye. He didn't look a day over sixteen.
'Do you know how old I am?' I said accusingly. The sailor grinned at me. 'Nope, and I don't care either.' It occurred to me that this sailor was really remarkably handsome. He looked Nordic and virginal.

Once, on a hot summer night, I had spent an hour kissing a hairy, ape-shaped law student form Yale because I felt sorry for him, he was so ugly.

His name was Cal, which I thought must be short for something, but I couldn't think what it would be short for, unless it was California.

Then I rode from the table, passing round to the side where the nurse couldn't see me below the waist, and behind the negro, who was clearing the dirty plates. I drew my foot back and gave him a sharp, hard kick on the calf of the leg.

Content Warnings

emilyjamison14's review against another edition

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dark reflective 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? It's complicated

3.75

This book started off really strong for me - the prose is descriptive in a very beautiful way and I found myself thinking multiple times that we have these same issues she is describing today. It is undoubtedly a great source of how mental illness was treated in the 1950s, especially since this is a first hand account and you can see the firsthand effects of that treatment. I did find myself losing interest in the last half of the book but overall was worth the read. I would definitely recommend the audiobook narrated by Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Content Warnings

margarita__'s review against another edition

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3.5

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katharinaamaliae's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad slow-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? Yes

4.5

I was really looking forward to reading this book for a long time, so my expectations were high. Mostly, I wasn't disappointed. The writing was, of course, amazing and will always kind of stick with me, I think. Especially the fig tree analogy. That and a lot of other parts were just something I could relate to so much, and Sylvia Plath put it into words better than probably anybody else ever could. However, it still wasn't five stars for me, mostly because, even though I could relate to the main character, Esther, a lot she could also be insufferable and, of course, it were different times, but it's impossible for me to just overlook the racism and fat phobia in this book.
I also want to add that it's really important to check trigger warnings before reading this and that it's definitely not an easy read, that can really impact your mental health.

I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart.
I am, I am, I am.

Content Warnings

godfrina's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense slow-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

2.0

I sadly didn't enjoy this classic at all. I find Esther insufferable. The writing is truly poetic but I couldn't get into the story, I took what feels like an eternity to finish it. On top of that, there's uncomfortable streaks of rasicm and fat phobia all throughout, possibly as a product of its time, but it takes you out of the story reading it in this age.

Content Warnings

kaitlynbarrett's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

2.0

Content Warnings

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