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brambleberry_png 's review for:
The Bell Jar
by Sylvia Plath
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“To the person in the bell jar, blank and stopped as a dead baby, the world itself is a bad dream.”
I've put reading this one off for way too long. The first half is full of vivid decriptions, places, people, hotels. She really sucks you into this both beautiful and overwhelming feeling world full of faces. Esther feels like a bystander, a numb shell of someone she could have been, but a witty one.
You can really feel how lost Esther feels even at the beginning before she starts spiralling slowly and then faster and faster, the emotional disconnect and even moments of closeness between her and some of the people she meets.Even though I felt really disconnected from Esther's surroundings the ending and what happened to Joan really hit me, Esther's panic around the Electro-Shock-therapy/Insulin treatments etc. as well
"I was supposed to be having the time of my life" and the fig tree analogy are really resonated. Knowing it's a semi-autobiographic novel makes them weigh even heavier. .
Uhhh and well you also got dated language, some racist remarks(I mean kind of expected during this time, even looking at other similar works), possibly uncomfortable topics like attempts and ideation.
I haven't read any of Plath's poetry yet but I really want to in the future
I've put reading this one off for way too long. The first half is full of vivid decriptions, places, people, hotels. She really sucks you into this both beautiful and overwhelming feeling world full of faces. Esther feels like a bystander, a numb shell of someone she could have been, but a witty one.
You can really feel how lost Esther feels even at the beginning before she starts spiralling slowly and then faster and faster, the emotional disconnect and even moments of closeness between her and some of the people she meets.Even though I felt really disconnected from Esther's surroundings the ending and what happened to Joan really hit me, Esther's panic around the Electro-Shock-therapy/Insulin treatments etc. as well
"I was supposed to be having the time of my life" and the fig tree analogy are really resonated. Knowing it's a semi-autobiographic novel makes them weigh even heavier. .
Uhhh and well you also got dated language, some racist remarks(I mean kind of expected during this time, even looking at other similar works), possibly uncomfortable topics like attempts and ideation.
I haven't read any of Plath's poetry yet but I really want to in the future
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide