Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

1769 reviews

kingcrookback's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-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

I was...unprepared for but utterly unsurprised by the racism. Plath's description of Esther's mental illness, of being trapped under the bell jar, were very striking, though. I can't articulate why at the moment, but reading certain passages felt reminiscent of what it felt like to read Virginia Woolf's The Waves.

...what in the hell kind of vibes was I giving off in senior year of high school that made my yearbook adviser--who'd known me for four years at that point--recommended this book to me?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Homophobia, Sexual content, Vomit, and Death of parent

quinn24's review against another edition

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racism, and Suicide

elysianemily's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Mental illness, Blood, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicide

Minor: Racial slurs, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

25bea's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.25

i loved sylvia paths writing style and how esther slowly descends into madness but didn’t quite understand a lot of the things which were going on in the book - this could be due to me rushing this book so i’ll reread in a couple years.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Minor: Racism

loonaglow's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

i’ve been wanting to read this a while because everyone always hyped it up to me yet it didn’t live up to the hype :(

i’m personally not a fan of racism in older books, especially the terminology esther used at times. 

the writing was absolutely beautiful and extremely relatable at times especially if you’ve struggled with mental illness of any kind. however, the plot fell extremely flat to me and i was never really fully immersed into the characters “world”.   

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

krmreads2024's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

y_mouse's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness

Minor: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

fantasmagorius's review against another edition

dark reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Medical content

astrobri's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

The bell jar… Esther is so relatable to anyone that has depression. Each piece of this book resonated so strongly with me. It portrays mental illness in such a raw real way. Also the way trauma is stored in the body and how it leaks out in many different ways. I loved this book so much and it’s one of my favorite books. Due to the time of this book it has racism and fat phobia which is the main turn off of this book. I think it’s possible to love a book while at the same time holding it accountable. Other than that it is a perfect book for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, and Suicide attempt

juliagulia167's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide