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4.64 AVERAGE
4.64 AVERAGE
A super in depth, well written and incredibly well researched biography.
challenging
informative
medium-paced
I really enjoyed this nuanced and dense look at Sylvia Plath's life. I particularly enjoyed the chronicling of her growth as an artist and as a person. It didn't pathologize her life or read her s*icide into every detail of her life and work. The author treats everyone's perspective (even controversial figures in the narrative of Plath's life like her mother Aurelia, Ted Hughes, and even Assia Wevill) fairly, using their own words whenever possible. This book is a rich account of Plaths life; the good, the bad, and the ugly, and I recommend this book to those looking to know more about Sylvia Plath the complex person and the complex poet.
P.S. the author does not shy away from confronting the realities of Sylvia Plath's depression and eventual death by s*icide, although it is not the ever-present framing of her biography. It's heavy reading, especially in the latter half, so proceed with caution.
P.S. the author does not shy away from confronting the realities of Sylvia Plath's depression and eventual death by s*icide, although it is not the ever-present framing of her biography. It's heavy reading, especially in the latter half, so proceed with caution.
Such an excellent and well-researched biography. Yes, it's long -- the audiobook was 45 hours -- but it didn't feel like it. I was so engrossed in Sylvia's fascinating and heartbreaking life. I know her art and her love to deeply now and I'm really glad I spent the time on it.
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
challenging
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
emotional
informative
medium-paced
This was a FEAT. Just incredibly meticulous and probably the most balanced biography I’ve read. Even when the author asserts their opinion there is evidence provided and it’s not stated as a fact.
What I pulled from this is we can never truly know a person. The portrait of Plath is pulled from letters, journals, poems, articles. Each moment is triangulated through whoever was present. We were provided a wealth of information about one single person and still we cannot grasp all they were. We can see through her own letters and journals that she withheld information in order to control how she was perceived. This might have been a product of the scrutiny of women in her time. I’m upset that as close as we got to knowing her as she was, we are still missing pieces of her via the journals and letters lost/destroyed. But even then, we would never fully know what is was like in her mind.
I have a great respect for Plath after reading this. She wrestled with the expectations of women, especially women poets. Truly a barrier breaker but a full human being. It’s clear she doubted herself and her place, constantly denigrating herself. It is tragic that she finally obtained posthumously the success that she so wanted during her life.
Just absolutely incredible writing. If you are so inclined to read 900 pages to get just a glimpse of a single yet consequential human, I highly recommend this.
What I pulled from this is we can never truly know a person. The portrait of Plath is pulled from letters, journals, poems, articles. Each moment is triangulated through whoever was present. We were provided a wealth of information about one single person and still we cannot grasp all they were. We can see through her own letters and journals that she withheld information in order to control how she was perceived. This might have been a product of the scrutiny of women in her time. I’m upset that as close as we got to knowing her as she was, we are still missing pieces of her via the journals and letters lost/destroyed. But even then, we would never fully know what is was like in her mind.
I have a great respect for Plath after reading this. She wrestled with the expectations of women, especially women poets. Truly a barrier breaker but a full human being. It’s clear she doubted herself and her place, constantly denigrating herself. It is tragic that she finally obtained posthumously the success that she so wanted during her life.
Just absolutely incredible writing. If you are so inclined to read 900 pages to get just a glimpse of a single yet consequential human, I highly recommend this.
This book is about as long as Plath's actual life.
informative
sad
medium-paced
Anything to evade the life not lived, the poem not written, the love not realized.
Red Comet
The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath
Heather Clark
•
I've always been fascinated by Sylvia Plath. I think that stems from the fact that we both grew up in Wellesley, MA. Her connection to Wellesley High School is legendary because it was there that the head of the English Department recognized her early talent. Years later, when
living in Saratoga Springs, NY, we were just steps from Yaddo, the artists community where Plath penned some of her earliest works - so I've always been curious to know more.
•
Red Comet is remarkable in scope. I cannot imagine the amount of time that went into researching this birth to death biography that reads more like a thriller than nonfiction. Clark's writing is descriptive and insightful, allowing us to get to know the real Plath via her letters and Clark's research.
•
What is revealed here is that Plath's life was a perfect storm. She was one of the greatest literary talents of the 20th century, but born in an era when she was absolutely expected to take a back seat to her husband's writing career. By all accounts she was a loving and doting mother but she struggled all her life with depression that went unchecked after the birth of her second child, while she was living in England far from the Dr who treated her as a young woman.
•
The tragedy feels so senseless. As I read and heard Plath's voice via her letters, writing about trying to be a good mother yet not lose her career and herself in the midst of childrearing - it's an issue that is still true for women today. I did not expect to find resonance on that level between these pages and yet it clearly played a huge role in her downward spiral.
•
Red Comet is a literary force in and of itself because Clark's writing is so strong and casts aside the rumors and speculations that have surrounded her. I'm so glad I took my time with this one and highly recommend it to anyone who also wants to understand one of our most lauded authors.
Red Comet
The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath
Heather Clark
•
I've always been fascinated by Sylvia Plath. I think that stems from the fact that we both grew up in Wellesley, MA. Her connection to Wellesley High School is legendary because it was there that the head of the English Department recognized her early talent. Years later, when
living in Saratoga Springs, NY, we were just steps from Yaddo, the artists community where Plath penned some of her earliest works - so I've always been curious to know more.
•
Red Comet is remarkable in scope. I cannot imagine the amount of time that went into researching this birth to death biography that reads more like a thriller than nonfiction. Clark's writing is descriptive and insightful, allowing us to get to know the real Plath via her letters and Clark's research.
•
What is revealed here is that Plath's life was a perfect storm. She was one of the greatest literary talents of the 20th century, but born in an era when she was absolutely expected to take a back seat to her husband's writing career. By all accounts she was a loving and doting mother but she struggled all her life with depression that went unchecked after the birth of her second child, while she was living in England far from the Dr who treated her as a young woman.
•
The tragedy feels so senseless. As I read and heard Plath's voice via her letters, writing about trying to be a good mother yet not lose her career and herself in the midst of childrearing - it's an issue that is still true for women today. I did not expect to find resonance on that level between these pages and yet it clearly played a huge role in her downward spiral.
•
Red Comet is a literary force in and of itself because Clark's writing is so strong and casts aside the rumors and speculations that have surrounded her. I'm so glad I took my time with this one and highly recommend it to anyone who also wants to understand one of our most lauded authors.
unglaublich kleinteilig recherchierte und aufwendigst erzählte Biographie
Excellent biography. My only critique is that there was a lot of literary criticism and so at the end it dragged just a bit. Very well balanced biography.