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syellico's review
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.5
I read this as a buddy read, and it is a daunting book at 45 hours on audio but I do want to say how well the audio was done. I don’t think I would have stuck with this in print. The writing of a biography this long must have been daunting but it was well researched and the way Clark weaved everything together was impressive. I do plan to read The Bell Jar at some point when I am a little further away from this reading experience. As far as her poetry I feel like I have read a lot through this book and there was so much analysis that I may or may not read some at some point. I will certainly have a different view of those readings now that I have all of this knowledge.
I have a lot of thoughts about this book, but there’s so much content that it’s practically impossible to summarize them. This book was educational, enlightening, sad, disheartening, uplifting - there are just so many emotions that you go through while reading this book (which speaks to the feat that Clark has accomplished here).
Starting out, I knew nothing about Sylvia Plath and I have never read any of her work. This was chosen as a random pick for our buddy read and I am so glad that I read it and learned about the genius that Sylvia was.
I have a lot of thoughts about this book, but there’s so much content that it’s practically impossible to summarize them. This book was educational, enlightening, sad, disheartening, uplifting - there are just so many emotions that you go through while reading this book (which speaks to the feat that Clark has accomplished here).
Starting out, I knew nothing about Sylvia Plath and I have never read any of her work. This was chosen as a random pick for our buddy read and I am so glad that I read it and learned about the genius that Sylvia was.
casparb's review
Devastating but humane and entirely essential it's the best biography I've ever read. So comprehensive & wonderfully eager to read 'through' the poetry I've a smart crop of fresh annotations in my collected. A small aside to say poor Nick who seems to have been neglected amid the favouritism that poured onto Frieda you deserved better dear.
It's the best portrait of a poet I've encountered too it's especially striking how entirely disciplined SP was & more so than just about any poet of the 20thc that comes to mind she never let herself slack. Her precision is well-known it is hypereminent but I think it's telling that probably eight or nine times Clark is forced to say x poem marks a major turning point in her poetic development, nothing would be the same hereafter.
It's an emotionally exhausting work it's charitable in perhaps unexpected ways I do find Red Comet a monumental work of scholarship beyond all reason of what biography has done.
What is so real as the cry of a child?
It's the best portrait of a poet I've encountered too it's especially striking how entirely disciplined SP was & more so than just about any poet of the 20thc that comes to mind she never let herself slack. Her precision is well-known it is hypereminent but I think it's telling that probably eight or nine times Clark is forced to say x poem marks a major turning point in her poetic development, nothing would be the same hereafter.
It's an emotionally exhausting work it's charitable in perhaps unexpected ways I do find Red Comet a monumental work of scholarship beyond all reason of what biography has done.
What is so real as the cry of a child?
kelciilou's review against another edition
Actually really well written & highly rec. I just don't care enough about Sylvia Plath to dedicate this much time on her life.
leasockzoe's review against another edition
5.0
This book was stunning, breathtaking, dazzling, brilliant, marvelous, devastating, gorgeous, ravishing, remarkable, sensational, smashing, spectacular, striking, and just so damn good. (Thank you thersarus.com for those adjectives) Heather Clark is a true biographical master.
What I appreciated most about the book was Clark's respect for Plath & her story. I never got the sense that Clark had an obvious opinion about Plath that was guiding the book, there was no motive to shape her into the hysterical, mentally ill woman that she is so often portrayed as. Clark told the facts & that was it. She used interviews, Plath's personal journals, books, & other resources to craft this beautiful memoir about a woman that has made so many people, including myself, feel seen.
For being a 1000+ page book, I never wished for the ending to come. Actually, when it did end, I was sad. I felt like I had lost a friend. Clark tells the story of Plath's life in a way that feels like you are living it with her - even through all the heartache, happiness, and struggles. The pictures of her life in the book only add to this experience.
If you are Plath lover like I am, I can't recommend this book enough. And, if you are a person that only views her as the hysteric, mentally ill woman poet, then I urge you to read it even more. It made me appreciate her & the Bell Jar so much more. This experience made me happy, enraged, & broke my heart. I already have a fig tattoo from the Bell Jar, but this book made me want to get another dedicated to Plath. I will never stop talking about this book.
What I appreciated most about the book was Clark's respect for Plath & her story. I never got the sense that Clark had an obvious opinion about Plath that was guiding the book, there was no motive to shape her into the hysterical, mentally ill woman that she is so often portrayed as. Clark told the facts & that was it. She used interviews, Plath's personal journals, books, & other resources to craft this beautiful memoir about a woman that has made so many people, including myself, feel seen.
For being a 1000+ page book, I never wished for the ending to come. Actually, when it did end, I was sad. I felt like I had lost a friend. Clark tells the story of Plath's life in a way that feels like you are living it with her - even through all the heartache, happiness, and struggles. The pictures of her life in the book only add to this experience.
If you are Plath lover like I am, I can't recommend this book enough. And, if you are a person that only views her as the hysteric, mentally ill woman poet, then I urge you to read it even more. It made me appreciate her & the Bell Jar so much more. This experience made me happy, enraged, & broke my heart. I already have a fig tattoo from the Bell Jar, but this book made me want to get another dedicated to Plath. I will never stop talking about this book.