Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

203 reviews

spacey_kate's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-paced
  • 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

5.0

Relatable & depressing & hopeful & feminist 
The room hovered around me with great gentleness, as if the chairs and the walls were withholding their weight out of sympathy for my sudden frailty. 

The trouble was, I hated the idea of serving men in any way. I wanted to dictate my own thrilling letters.

The bell jar hung, suspended, a few feet above my head. I was open to the circulating air.
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p2rteltytar's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

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kingcrookback's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective 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
I was...unprepared for but utterly unsurprised by the racism. Plath's description of Esther's mental illness, of being trapped under the bell jar, were very striking, though. I can't articulate why at the moment, but reading certain passages felt reminiscent of what it felt like to read Virginia Woolf's The Waves.

...what in the hell kind of vibes was I giving off in senior year of high school that made my yearbook adviser--who'd known me for four years at that point--recommended this book to me?
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tea_time's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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

3.75

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tmayfld's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The bell jar is a book that I think a lot of young adults/adults can relate to. Esther is a person who starts to crack under the pressures that we all face. What type of career do you want? When will you have children? And just more broadly where do you see yourself. She’s a high achiever who is trying to navigate all of these things and it was painfully relatable at times. 

She’s not a perfect character by any means but she continues to try her best to push through her anxieties. 
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miss_creant's review against another edition

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challenging 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

Sylvia Plath is one of my favorite writers and this book is a good book to read if you are ever feeling ennui. It has the same vibe as JD Salinger’s book - The Catcher In the Rye. This is a must read. 
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samitdhull's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense fast-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

4.25

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bookedandbusy's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

5.0

This book was incredibly written, Esther’s depression was so well written and the treatment she received from other people showed that depression and other mental illnesses weren’t fully understood back then, and that no one truly understood her struggles. I found a lot of her struggles to be relatable, and I felt like she was a very real character. 
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smitha_r's review against another edition

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This is a very relatable and well written book, don't get me wrong. But
her slow unravelling once she's rejected from her course after the internship finishes was not good for my own mental health unfortunately. I felt like I was slipping into depression and suicide ideation alongside her, so NOPE NOPE NOPE.
I will hopefully come back to this if/when I'm in a better mindspace. 
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elise_ngzy's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced
  • 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

5.0

This is actually my second read of this book, and it's surprising how different experiences can change the way you view a book. The first time I rated this only 3 stars (one year ago), now I wholeheartedly give it 5 stars. I loved it. I love the prose, the way she describes the world around her, and the way when her perception and inner life changes you can see it through that as well. I love all the small details.
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