Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - The Bell Jar

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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s_ketchum's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad 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? Yes

5.0

Plath is a brilliant & detailed writer. She eases the reader into the certain insanity that descends upon the protagonist. As someone who has struggled with mental health myself, I could relate to the protagonist in her explanation of numb thought. This will be a book I will come back to time & again.

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k_vira'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? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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samcsmith's review

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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donotswearbythemoon's review

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dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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emabled's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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? Yes

4.0

sylvia plath has an incredible grasp on imagery and metaphor. like, there were moments some of her similes were so out there and obscure, but the image in my mind was so vivid. esther is a very unreliable narrator, her own distrust projected onto everything she encounters. of course, this era of writing has its insensitive language and general ignorance for minority groups, so i think it's important to be mindful of that. but overall, this book was a great read. it only took me so long because university likes to suck up all my time.

there are parts of esther that reflect the ugly parts inside of a lot of people, those parts we refuse to acknowledge. there is also a false sense of anachronism i place on women from the before the 21st century where i conceive them as entirely sentimentally different from women today. this book proves me wrong. insufferable as esther was at times, her (sometimes) feminist perspectives, particularly on men, was relatable. her rawness of her mental illness was incredibly effective. her humanity was so important. esther depicts the kind of internal monologue that makes me think she externally seems like a man entirely different girl. in that, i see myself, and i'm sure many other readers do too. again, she's horribly rude and intolerable at times, but what an interesting character that makes!

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pleione's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious 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? Yes

3.75

i did really really like this book but if i had to summarize it i dont know if id be able to

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lemonpoppy's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny reflective sad 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

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