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4.64 AVERAGE
4.64 AVERAGE
Everyone ignore that I've been reading this book on and off for over a year...it was SPECTACULAR and I was savoring it!
Heather Clark chronicles the brilliant yet short life of Sylvia Plath in such honest and complex detail from childhood to the moments before her suicide in 1963. I am floored by the level of research this book required. I learned so much about Plath's life, her immense talent, her struggles, and who she was as a person; which is who we all are as people--complicated with conflicting attitudes and aspirations. Clark so adeptly captures this duality in us all. Clark would expert a letter to Aurelia, Sylvia's mother, where Plath talks about how happy she is in London against an event that occurred that day that showed the exact opposite. Or how Plath would say different things to different people in her circle about her attitude toward her relationship with Ted Hughes. And this is exactly what a life is, complicated. Then there is the masterful way Clark dissects Plath's poems, which for someone who is no poetry scholar, was fascinating.
Again, the research! The vivid picture Clark paints using letters, diary entries, calendars, weather, financial information, photographs, poems, interviews was just so thorough. We know so much about this mythic woman, and also there is still so much missing from the archive that one can never know about another person.
Simply no notes, this may be one of my top ten favorite books of all time for its subject and the incredible way it is written.
Heather Clark chronicles the brilliant yet short life of Sylvia Plath in such honest and complex detail from childhood to the moments before her suicide in 1963. I am floored by the level of research this book required. I learned so much about Plath's life, her immense talent, her struggles, and who she was as a person; which is who we all are as people--complicated with conflicting attitudes and aspirations. Clark so adeptly captures this duality in us all. Clark would expert a letter to Aurelia, Sylvia's mother, where Plath talks about how happy she is in London against an event that occurred that day that showed the exact opposite. Or how Plath would say different things to different people in her circle about her attitude toward her relationship with Ted Hughes. And this is exactly what a life is, complicated. Then there is the masterful way Clark dissects Plath's poems, which for someone who is no poetry scholar, was fascinating.
Again, the research! The vivid picture Clark paints using letters, diary entries, calendars, weather, financial information, photographs, poems, interviews was just so thorough. We know so much about this mythic woman, and also there is still so much missing from the archive that one can never know about another person.
Simply no notes, this may be one of my top ten favorite books of all time for its subject and the incredible way it is written.
Every other piece I have read on Plath focused on the tragedy, not the works she created. I have been a fan of Plath for years, hungrily reading anything I could find. This book is a well researched masterpiece that plays homage to the beautiful mind and life of Plath.
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
NYT Notable Books 2021: 27/100
Maybe I should start this review out by acknowledging that I'm not a fan of Plath, and wasn't before reading this either. I read <i> The Bell Jar </i> a few years ago and thought it was decent, but not the incredible, life-changing work that people make it out to be. This biography made me feel vindicated for thinking that Plath is overrated and far from a feminist icon.
Obviously, a great deal of this biography comes from Plath's letters and diaries, and obviously you'll be more candid in those than in other places, but man does Plath seem impossible to be around. Nothing is ever good enough for her, and no one is ever good enough for her. Beyond that, she's incredibly cruel. For a feminist author, she spent a great deal of time hating other women and insulting them in her work: spinsters, women who've had abortions, infertile women. She's also awful to and about everyone she loved. Maybe if you love Plath this is a great read, but to me it was an overly-long account of a cruel and miserable woman who thought she was much better than she actually was. She had a hard life, with severe mental illness and people who betrayed her, but at times it's hard to sympathize with her while reading this, and over 45 hours of listening it can get really draining.
Maybe I should start this review out by acknowledging that I'm not a fan of Plath, and wasn't before reading this either. I read <i> The Bell Jar </i> a few years ago and thought it was decent, but not the incredible, life-changing work that people make it out to be. This biography made me feel vindicated for thinking that Plath is overrated and far from a feminist icon.
Obviously, a great deal of this biography comes from Plath's letters and diaries, and obviously you'll be more candid in those than in other places, but man does Plath seem impossible to be around. Nothing is ever good enough for her, and no one is ever good enough for her. Beyond that, she's incredibly cruel. For a feminist author, she spent a great deal of time hating other women and insulting them in her work: spinsters, women who've had abortions, infertile women. She's also awful to and about everyone she loved. Maybe if you love Plath this is a great read, but to me it was an overly-long account of a cruel and miserable woman who thought she was much better than she actually was. She had a hard life, with severe mental illness and people who betrayed her, but at times it's hard to sympathize with her while reading this, and over 45 hours of listening it can get really draining.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy
Minor: Sexual assault, Death of parent
This was an exceptional book; very well written, thorough, and riveting.
If you want A LOT of detail about Sylvia Plath, this is for you. It's wonderfully researched and written, but I don't need every detail: what was eaten at various meals, how her dorm was decorated, etc. (I am not kidding.) If you want it ALL, this is for you.
This deserves all the stars and then some more. It's a doorstop at 1100+ pages, but reading this book was all-consuming and lit my brain on fire. So good. So much context for Sylvia Plath and her contemporaries which, I didn't realize I needed until I read it.
I have read every book by and about Plath. This is an excellent biography. The poetry is eloquently described and interpreted, and Clark really puts Plath into context. By then end you have a full understanding of her work, her importance, and the (many) things working against her. The last chapter, describing Plath's final days and the fact that one of her babies may have been awake to watch her prepare to die, is absolutely brutal.
Stunning. The only bio of Sylvia Plath that is so comprehensive and honest. Absolute must read for Plath scholars. I’m just sorry I read such a long book on my iPad and will buy a hard copy the next time I am stateside.