Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

A Campânula de Vidro by Sylvia Plath

59 reviews

cecilialau_'s review against another edition

3.75

There are sort of two parts to this story. Not really what I thought it would be but fascinating nonetheless. I defo recommend checking the content warnings for any triggers as there are quite a lot that is discussed/showcased.
Esther is a deeply real/emotional/hurt/traumatised and interesting character who is more and more obviously going through dread and is disillusioned about life, but I found it very well-done how she herself goes through the motions of her state of mind. There are glimpses here and there but she seems shut off from herself.
A few things happen I would have liked more details about (mainly later on) but they don’t affect the rating/experience. And I also want to add that I admire the way that it is implied rather than spelled out how Esther gets to where she does mentally and emotionally (bc body and mind are connected) and how the change happens gradually and inconspicuously (which is quite realistic).
The book is very well-written apart from some stereotypical language use here and there.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Body horror, Misogyny, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Eating disorder, Grief, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Racism

seasidefaye13's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Panic attacks/disorders

mblanke's review against another edition

dark funny sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Chronic illness, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Medical content, Racial slurs, and Death

Moderate: Sexual content, Body shaming, Sexual assault, and Alcohol

Minor: Vomit and Alcohol

aloy's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Violence, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Medical content, and Medical trauma

lakea's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Mental illness, Self harm, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Vomit, and Torture

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Medical content, Confinement, Racial slurs, Bullying, Fatphobia, Racism, Vomit, and Blood

anna_needsanap's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Mental illness, Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Alcoholism

jlebon's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

My copy of this book is absolutely full to the brim of underlined and highlighted passages, dog-eared pages and protruding tabs - which is undoubtedly a great barometer for how good a book is.

Sylvia Plath was a master with words and, in the novels best passages, you can tell (without prior knowledge) that she was first and foremost a poet and secondly a novelist. Her use of language is so evocative and makes you stop and reread her beautiful prose over and over again. I found myself savouring every letter printed in this book.

Narratively, this book is fundamentally very dark in places - morbid in the protagonist's (Esther's) approach to life. And yet this was strangely comforting for me in places. I would be lying if I didn't say there were points in the novel that I related to, with the book feeling as if you're contained within the character's head - much like a person contained within a bell jar you could say. Therefore it feels as if Plath is just sometimes writing what most people think but don't say. It is also nice to read about a protagonist who initially seems to all her life in order, before it slowly crumbling away before her.

A criticism could be levelled that the novel lacks depth within the plot, basically just focusing on the psychology of one individual. However, I do think this works perfectly in unifying the protagonist and reader - seeing what she sees and hearing what she thinks. 

I would love to reread this book again, at a less busy period, where I can dedicate time more regularly to devour this book once more. And who knows, maybe that will increase my already high valuation of this book even further.

Up there as an all-time favourite for me!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Self harm, Sexual assault, Vomit, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Child death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Suicide

Minor: Body horror

unabashedlynat's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Self harm, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Death

daisydays128's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Mental illness, Self harm, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Forced institutionalization, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

xseulgiii's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

As a young woman who held far too high expectations for myself on top of the expectations society put on me, I could feel my younger self relating to Esther. This is quite scary considering the mid-twentieth century setting of the novel. From the fig tree to the racehorse to the bell jar itself, I went through many of the same experiences and thought processes as Esther did and was lucky enough to survive. This was an amazing read, but not one I could have handled even three years ago.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Grief, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Death of parent