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Reviews
A Lover of Unreason. The Life of Assia Wevill. Ted Hughes' Doomed Love by Yehuda Koren, Eilat Negev
amycrea's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting, if you're fascinated by the Plath/Hughes story, but also unfortunately riddled with typos and, in many cases, statements presented as fact with no evidence to back them up. Or hearsay. Not the strongest biography I've ever read, although an intriguing topic.
threadybeeps's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
4.0
I've not read many biographies so I'm not really sure what the standard is but this was a very engrossing read. And the sigh that escaped me when I arrived at The End....ohhh I feel so sad. Keen to read the more recent materials about her......more of her writings, letters, etc./less of that malignant monster of a man whose name I won't even type out, please and thanks. (less)
andreahewitt's review against another edition
4.0
So, this was THE literary love triangle of the 60s, and the book was worth reading to find out more about Assia. Ted is not painted in a very favorable light in this book, and the whole time I am thinking, "good lord, woman, just leave him already!" If you are a Sylvia or Ted fan, you should read this book to find out more about the "other woman" in their lives.
soavezefiretto's review against another edition
4.0
One of the best biographies I have ever read. I found it especially refreshing that the authors don't hide (why should they?) their profound sympathy and compassion for Assia, and yet never sugarcoat her shortcomings and flaws, of which she had many. They don't sugarcoat Ted or Sylvia either, but they clearly do not adhere to the "Ted Hughes is a murderer" or "Sylvia Plath is a cold-hearted bitch" schools - also refreshing. More than her later life in England, I especially liked the account of Assia's teenage years in Israel in the 1940's: a combination of place and time of which I knew nothing before reading this book.
Highly recommended. In the end, these words spoken by Assia's father stuck with me the most: "I can't understand it. People were killed in Bergen Belsen, and here's a woman who kills herself because of her love for a man." There's so much in that sentence, and so much missing from it. It's almost the whole 20th century right there.
Highly recommended. In the end, these words spoken by Assia's father stuck with me the most: "I can't understand it. People were killed in Bergen Belsen, and here's a woman who kills herself because of her love for a man." There's so much in that sentence, and so much missing from it. It's almost the whole 20th century right there.
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