A review by kamrynharned
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

challenging emotional sad 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

2.5

The Bell Jar is a great example of a book I had no fun reading but I can appreciate the beauty and relatability of the prose. It’s approachable and beautiful, and while she occasionally slips into a very metaphorical tangent, it actually illustrates her fragile and fractured state of mind. Watching someone slip and slide into a serious state of depression isn’t an enjoyable experience, and even though she eventually makes it out, the forward cheerfully notes that she didn’t make it until the age of 30 before she slipped too far and ended her own life. She swears she will never marry, and yet she gets married to someone whom mistreated her enough for her to run away. She swears she will never have children, and yet she has two children whom she leaves stranded in the wake of her suicide. It’s honestly just sad to me that so many loved this book because they could relate to it - it breaks my heart that so many suffer from mental illness they never receive true healing from.