Review by kshippie - The Bell Jar

kshippie 's review for:

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

5.0

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I am shocked at how much I enjoyed this book. I switched between the audiobook version narrated by Maggie Gyllenhaal, and a physical copy of the book and enjoyed them both for different reasons! It's wild to me that this was written in the 1960s, at a time when the conversation around mental health looked so different. Plath writes with a brutal honesty that seems shocking for that time. A heavy read, but I am thankful that this work exists and helped lead the way for others. If this was a book written more recently I don't think I would give it 5⭐, but knowing it is from 1963, it is absolutely worthy of it!

Content Warnings