Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

La campana de cristal by Sylvia Plath

183 reviews

cafelatte235's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

4.5

This isn't a book I would usually read. I feel really moved by this book and it was an unforgettable read. It somehow feels like I'm sitting here and I've been punched in the gut. It's poetic, emotional, dark, sad, and so much more. I don't even know how to sum up what I'm feeling right now..... But go read this book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Sexual assault

ravenstag6's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, and Grief

Minor: Racism, Sexual content, and Abandonment

crystal689's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Vomit, and Pregnancy

jarku's review against another edition

dark reflective fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

I am long past high school, but Plath's prose took me straight back. From the limited first-person perspective dealing Esther Greenwood's deeds and thoughts in explicit, untangled sentences to the smattering of antiquated racial slurs, The Bell Jar felt easy as I read it. In the aftermath, I'm trying to account for what I missed. Like early on, I decided Esther's interest in Doreen was purely platonic, and then I missed the actual gay bits. Or, more troublingly, I didn't discern any moments of relief in Esther's depression, the difference between the bell jar aloft or smothering.

So perhaps this is my failing as a 21st-century reader--I don't expect Elizabethan literature to reveal all its cleverness to me effortlessly, after all. But given the hindsight to frame ECT's effect as a kind of lobotomy-lite (alleviating malcontent by dulling the whole mind, or just torturing patients into pretending they were cured), and the difficult task of untangling Esther/Plath's idiopathic depression from everyday womens' oppression (of course our heroine should feel Not Good Enough against the impossible social standard), The Bell Jar didn't grip me as much as I was hoping.

That said, Obviously this book is Important. Plath does give voice to some feelings we tend to be too shy to admit. I'm just writing this note to help myself remember that this book didn't satisfy my craving for Oh My God This Book Speaks To My Depression like Idlewild, for example.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Racial slurs and Death of parent

Minor: Lesbophobia

graceliza's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Homophobia and Racism

leesbookshelf'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? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

plath’s descriptions are breathtaking. we really get to know esther on such a deep level, which unfortunately also reflects plath’s own experiences

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Ableism, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism

my_weird_bookish_heart's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

distortedhades's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: Sexism

seana02's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Sexual violence, and Grief

Minor: Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia

mikitiale's review against another edition

dark reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No

3.5

I understand this was groundbreaking at the time. Plath's personal experiences with mental health, American psychiatry, misogyny, gender roles and expectations in her time inform her writings in horrifying ways. It is somewhat comforting to see the progress that has been made since the 1950's but also depressing to see how much more progress needs to happen.

My only issue with this text is that the transitions between scenes feels choppy and I often found myself double checking to see if I had missed a page.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, and Blood

Moderate: Sexism and Sexual content