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A review by _inge
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
I had high expectations going into this, but those ultimately fell flat. The Bell Jar is written beautifully, some metaphors especially were really well done. I also understand now how impactful this book must’ve been on release - even now, the descriptions of self-harm and suicide attempts are shocking, and I imagine this character going against men would have been a lot to take in back then too. But the reading experience for me unfortunately wasn’t what I’d hoped it would be.
There’s a lot of characters who are introduced briefly, and this book keeps shifting back from different segments in the past to the present. Often the protagonist thinks about something else whilst she’s having a conversation with another person, for instance. She’d trail off into her thoughts for a couple pages, and those thoughts then spark new memories so she trails off further. When she does end up back in the present it often takes you by surprise. You only have chapters to go off, no further indications about the story are being given. I often didn’t know if a particular event even mattered in the present either, sometimes a thought seemed more like an interesting anecdote the main character was remembering.
This is also probably the most racist classic I’ve ever read. A black man speaks English in a caricature way, and his face is described as being like molasses. Every Chinese person in this is yellow. Chapter 10 starts with the main character describing her face as that of a ‘sick Indian’. A woman from Slovakia is a stereotype and only appears for (what is implied to be) sex, and an Italian woman mimics the main character’s mum and can’t be trusted either. Every non American, non white character is a stereotype or seen as less worthy. Obviously this was written in a different time, but that’s something to consider before reading.
There’s a lot of characters who are introduced briefly, and this book keeps shifting back from different segments in the past to the present. Often the protagonist thinks about something else whilst she’s having a conversation with another person, for instance. She’d trail off into her thoughts for a couple pages, and those thoughts then spark new memories so she trails off further. When she does end up back in the present it often takes you by surprise. You only have chapters to go off, no further indications about the story are being given. I often didn’t know if a particular event even mattered in the present either, sometimes a thought seemed more like an interesting anecdote the main character was remembering.
This is also probably the most racist classic I’ve ever read. A black man speaks English in a caricature way, and his face is described as being like molasses. Every Chinese person in this is yellow. Chapter 10 starts with the main character describing her face as that of a ‘sick Indian’. A woman from Slovakia is a stereotype and only appears for (what is implied to be) sex, and an Italian woman mimics the main character’s mum and can’t be trusted either. Every non American, non white character is a stereotype or seen as less worthy. Obviously this was written in a different time, but that’s something to consider before reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Racism, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Moderate: Medical trauma, Medical content, Mental illness, Fatphobia, and Death
Minor: Torture, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Vomit, Sexual content, Misogyny, Incest, and Eating disorder