Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'

The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath

21 reviews

starsbythepocketful's review against another edition

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2.0

i only read this so i’d never have to read anything by sylvia plath again in my life
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maferbriz's review

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dark 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

2.5

Why is no one talking about the blatant racism in this?? I thought I was being unreasonable being disgusted by the descriptions of people from different races because no one mentioned it in any of their 5 star reviews of this “masterpiece”. 
This was an almost dnf for me, saved only by my own curiosity of knowing where this character would end up and if it would follow the same author’s demise.
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maybe_perhaps's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-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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_lara_'s review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-paced

4.0

This is an upsetting book, and one that makes you reflect on your own perception of mental health. How should a person with mental health struggles act? And what does the way you interpret Esther’s own journey with her mental health struggles say about you? 

In terms of the writing, I thought that the story unfolded rather quickly at times. Certain events (the diamond guy at the party) never get mentioned again. And it wasn’t as introspective of a piece as I thought. Rather, it dealt with the perception of mental health, both as it concerns the main character and people in her life. 
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buffy87's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-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

2.0

Damn, why did nobody tell me how fucking racist/Orientalist this book is? It is a great text for postcolonial analysis...you will find something in almost every chapter. There was a stretch in the middle that didn't have palpable racism and that was the only section I thought was okay. Nice to read without being assaulted.

If you read this from a Marxist lens, you'll see it full of classism and very quickly realize that your main character is privileged. 
It also has your run of the mill sexism and homophobia. 

All of the above made the reading experience so utterly unejoyable and triggering. 
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anemonemona's review against another edition

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dark 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
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laikkamac's review against another edition

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Almost from the very beginning, something about this book made my skin crawl. It was unsettling and I overall got a bad feeling from it. Then I came across the first racist (and completely unnecessary) comment about “yellow skin like a China man” and I basically couldn’t continue much after that. Based on other comments/reviews, apparently the book is full of homophobic, racist and antisemitic parts. I just don’t have the patience and refuse to slog through something like that.  And no, I don’t care that it was written awhile ago… in the 1960’s. Where all of those things were at the forefront of political and social conversation and movement. I also get the feeling as though her views are actually ironically misogynistic. Sylvia Plath is one of those people that I get a really bad vibe from (that doesn’t happen often for me) and I won’t go near any of her work again most likely. It’s unfortunate that she’s considered to be such a feminist because I really don’t think this probably does any justice to actual feminism. 
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siannn's review against another edition

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

1.0

Anti-Semitic mess. Not a book to be adored, it gets its lone star for the unfortunate realsism of suicidal thoughts. 
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pun1sher's review against another edition

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reflective tense slow-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? N/A

3.5

I definitely expected something darker and ended up being just slightly disappointed because of that. But then again I guess this book is dark for people who haven't struggled with mental illness and suicidal thoughts. For me it was just relatable 
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lyserature's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

3.0

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