Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

64 reviews

dreamlike153's review against another edition

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? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Racial slurs

the_reading_italian's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.25

I loved this book. You could see the slow descent into madness - and then the slow recovery. Although quite disturbing at times, this was an incredible story. Esther Greenwood finds her independence and once again takes control of herself and, instead of forgetting her troubles, takes accountability and makes a conscious decision to remember what has happened to her and the people around her. I think it really showed the amazing change she made in her life. My only complaint is that I believe the book could've been slightly longer - I think it deserved a better ending.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Terminal illness, Blood, and Medical trauma

rory_john14's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Body shaming, Chronic illness, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and War

goemonxiii's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense 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

2.75

While I can appreciate The Bell Jar for what it is and what it's done for the field of literature, feminism, and mental health... it's not for me (which is fine). I'm not particularly enthusiastic about this book, there were parts that were difficult to get through, and I doubt I'll read it again. It's not terrible, and there were in fact parts that I liked, and I do like being able to say that I've read The Bell Jar, but other than that there's not much here.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Racism and Death of parent

several graphic suicide attempts, severe mental illness, depression, medical complication involving birth control

kathfoxh's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Self harm

armadillopickleman's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Pregnancy

Minor: Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

nightisareader's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

clary0402's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Body shaming, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Forced institutionalization, and Blood

Minor: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Incest, Sexual content, Suicide, Grief, Abortion, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

grey_writes_love's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

3.25

I would not have finished this book if it was not assigned to me. I never had any reason to root for Esther, or even to like her, save that the alternative was her death. Also, the consistent racism was a huge turnoff.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Medical content, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child death, Incest, Violence, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

emeryreadsalot's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Grief, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Body horror, Blood, and Alcohol