Reviews with content warning for Vomit - La campana de cristal

I’ll divide this review into two sections: one that I’m clear on, and the second that confuses the hell out of me.
Section one:
What I absolutely adored about this book is the stream of consciousness writing style. It was neatly tied together and everything found its end nicely. The vocabulary was a bit meh but I guess it works. The book was quite... American? I don’t know honestly, I’m too Asian for it probably so, reading things like “...he was trying to prove he could be aesthetic...” had me cringe just a little bit. But that’s on me haha. The characters were realistic, the events as well, without any... poetic layer. Yeah, let’s call it that.
Oh and the lovely analogies! I did wish they were explained a bit more but it’s fine, I guess, since the tone of the book was not complimentary to huge descriptions that creep up your body and gently sink themselves into your skin.

Section two:
Now this part is about Esther herself and do I like her character or not? The answer WAS a big fat no but then she sorta grew on me but I still dislike her. Why? There I’m a bit lost; not completely though. The girl was racist and hateful. My friend pointed out that being hateful is a depression thing which lead to an odd question where even now I’m wondering if her racism and hate is justified by her mental condition but I’m choosing to not ponder over it for too long.

Overall, the book is a tiny bit overhyped but it has its charms.
One thing though, I do not know what kind of readers I would recommend this to because for some it would be triggering, for some unrelatable, and I’m a tiny bit concerned for those who do find it relatable (minus the cracks that let in the light of hope)
What I will say is that if you pick up the book, make sure you learn from her, not the methods to succumb but the methods to survive in the bell jar.

Content Warnings

matcha_cat's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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? It's complicated

3.75

Content Warnings

katanai's review against another edition

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dark sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.75

i think the last quarter of this book really boosted my rating. honestly, there were several times i put this book down & considered placing it in DNF. the racist remarks were something that i was utterly unprepared for & they had no place in this book. it was just odd how racist & homophobic plath was. anyway, besides that, the first half of this book was quite boring, & i felt as if her descent into madness was a little out of nowhere. but then, sometimes, that's how madness happens, unfortunately. i did tear up at some points during her stay at the mental health institutions but i think i just got triggered due to personal connection to people who have been at institutes. also, the protagonist was just... unlikeable & not in a good way. i can see why it's a classic, but at the same time, i think it is a little overhyped. glad to just finally be done.

Content Warnings