mme_carton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Graphic: Pregnancy, Mental illness, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicide, Homophobia, Medical content, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Body shaming, and Injury/Injury detail
jneverland's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Racism, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Sexual content, Death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Alcohol, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, and Physical abuse
redvelvet_read_head's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Mental illness, Suicide, Vomit, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, and Religious bigotry
karol99's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I specifically had a moment of reflection where I had to jot down my thoughts on mirrors and it's role in the story (Plath, p. 168):
[Esther asked to see a mirror, and the nurse ignored her]
'Why can't I?'
'Because you better not.' The nurse shut the lid of the overnight case with a little snap.
'Why?'
'Because you don't look very pretty.'
I also had a discussion with my mum about it. All the different factors and layers that were held in such a short line: 'Because you don't look very pretty.'
I will leave at 4.75, and see how the book will further impact me - and if it does, now that I have finished it.
Graphic: Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Death
Moderate: Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Racism, Physical abuse, Blood, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Grief, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, Classism, Bullying, and Body shaming
martinadr's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Death, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Racism, and Body shaming
ceana's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Body shaming, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Homophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
mermaidsherbet's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Medical content, and Mental illness
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Vomit, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Lesbophobia, Gun violence, Alcohol, Racism, Racial slurs, and Religious bigotry
cranedphoenix's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
That being said it is actually a pretty good book I was afraid I'd find it boring as it's not the usual kind of book I read
Of course the book is old so some subject matters are quite dated in the aslyum and whatnot
But for what it's worth it's pretty good
Personally I have a few iffy feelings on the asylum parts so it's not a full 5 star read but it was really close
Spoiler
fully wasn't expecting Joan to die at all and I was very shocked and a little saddened at thatGraphic: Racial slurs, Ableism, Mental illness, and Racism
Moderate: Medical trauma, Self harm, Blood, Body shaming, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Vomit, Suicide, and Antisemitism
Minor: Religious bigotry
iksme's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Colonisation, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Self harm, Rape, Religious bigotry, Racism, and Racial slurs
If you have a trigger, it is almost certainly in this book. Read with cautionuselessreader's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
“And I knew that in spite of all the roses and kisses and restaurant dinners a man showered on a woman before he married her, what he secretly wanted when the wedding service ended was for her to flatten out underneath his feet like Mrs Willard’s kitchen matt.” (p.80)
“So I began to think maybe it was true that when you were married and had children it was like being brainwashed, and afterwards you went about numb as a slave in some private, totalitarian state.” (p.81)
“The trouble was, I hated the idea of serving men in any way.” (p.72)
“(…) it had never occurred to me before that I was only purely happy until I was nine years old.” (p.71)
“I saw the years of my life spaced along a road in the form of telephone poles, threaded together by wires. I counted one, two, three … nineteen telephone poles, and then the wires dangled into space, and try as I would, I couldn’t see a single pole beyond the nineteenth.” (p.118)
“(…) everything people did seemed to silly, because they only died in the end.” (p.124)
“(…) how I was so scared, as if I were being stuffed farther and farther into a black, airless sack with no way out.” (p.123)
- The book was actually quite funny, which I had bot expected it to be. I especially found it funny how she ridiculed other people, mainly men. Esther (the protagonist) really has nothing but contempt for them.
“My favourite tree was the Weeping Scholar Tree. I thought it must come from Japan. They understood things of the spirit in Japan.
They disembowelled themselves when anything went wrong.” (p.132)
“Lately I had considered going into the Catholic Church myself. I knew that Catholics thought killing yourself was an awful sin. But perhaps, if it was so, they might have a good way to persuade me out of it.” (p.158)
Now the things I didn't like:
- Racism/Ableism/Fatphobia. Plath very much was a product of her time and in this book she casually makes some racist, fatphobic and ableist remarks. There’s also one scene in which she described a black nurse, and she constantly refers to him as “the negro” and basically portrays him as a horrible person, set on harassing his patients. I think one must take into account the time she lived in, but obviously none of this is acceptable.
“I hated coming downstairs sweaty-handed and curious every Saturday night and having some senior introduce me to her aunt’s best friend’s son and finding some pale, mushroomy fellow with protruding ears or buck teeth or a bad leg. I didn’t think I deserved it. After all, I wasn’t crippled in any way, I just studied too hard, I didn’t know when to stop.” (p.54)
“I was so busy thinking how very fat he was and how unfortunate it must be for a man and especially a young man to be fat, because what woman could stand leaning over that big stomach to kiss him (…)” (p.60)
“’He’s from Peru.’
‘They’re squat,’ I said. They’re ugly as Aztecs.’” (p.99)
“The face in the mirror looked like a sick Indian.” (p.108) (with which she means to say that she looks awful)
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Blood, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Violence
Minor: Ableism, Racism, and Self harm