A review by ldpaige
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

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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