Reviews with content warning for Rape - The Bell Jar

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The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

164 reviews

ankiaisreading's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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daniskara's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

I find half of the book to be rather boring and slow, as it just shows how Esther is merely existing— as if she's a mere observant to her own life, living on the sideline on her own life, as if she's a character of a story who only goes along with whatever the author decides her to do. I almost DNF-ed the book until I finally reached the second half of the book where Esther started to have a breakdown and realized that there might be something wrong with her.

This book was published in 1960s, hence for me it was very brave that the book mainly centered on the topic of mental illness. I love the way Sylvia Plath doesn't describe the Esther's mental illness in an insufferably romanticizing way. Instead, she chose to portray the illness as raw as it possibly is. No romanticizing, just pure portrayal on how Esther goes about her day while knowing that something was wrong with her, simply describing about how it distorts the way she views herself and her surrounding, also the way she's making decisions.

I do feel like a character-driven book that talks about depression will be hard to go through, especially at the beginning—because it is simply reality for those who are experiencing it. Throughout the book, it truly felt like I was watching the world through Esther's eyes and I can totally feel the way she battled with her illness—starting from the phase of being confused, denial, angry, scared, acceptance, down to her path of getting better. All I gotta say, I wish I could give Esther Greenwood a hug if I could.

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vonya45's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny inspiring reflective 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

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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nnw's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

This book is just so well crafted it's nearly impossible not to feel moved by it. Esther is not necessarily a pleasant character, but Plath's prose is poetic and insightful, sort of forcing you to feel a sort of kinship with her. There's definitely a reason this novel is so highly regarded.

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frdz's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-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

4.25

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abitofapoet's review against another edition

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dark sad

good writing style, really great imagery but many racist remarks and just so many detailed descriptions of self harm and suicide. very triggering.

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ldpaige's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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

3.75

What was once a 5 star read for me has dropped to a 3.75 for me.

I have various reasons as to why it has dropped so low, but a personal reason has been the improvement of my mental health. I realized this book was only so good to me because of the mental state I was in. I related to Esther in so many ways, which allowed for this book to resonate with me deeply. That, at the time, made it an automatic 5 star for me, along with Plath's vivid imagery and cascading language.

What's funny is the same things that turned me off from this book were the things that put me on to this book. The

suicidal ideation as well as the actual attempt

were WAY too vivid for me. Esther's self-image and depression is widely and deeply felt in The Bell Jar. You have to decide if this is something you want to indulge in or not. Just be warned for its deeply triggering content.

It's simply not "entertaining" to me anymore. It doesn't speak to me as it once did, so listening to this in its bare bones was captivating at times, boring at times, tedious at times, but just downright depressing the whole time. I knew this wasn't the happiest book ever written, but Goddamn.

Not to mention, the racial elements threw me off SO bad reading this book the second time around.

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