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deerrgirl's review against another edition
2.0
DNF. I thought I would enjoy this one more, but it wasn't gripping my attention. It's a lot of personal thought. Maybe I'll try again in the future.
feliciaguestwrites's review
4.0
I've always been intrigued by Sylvia Plath - both in her writing and her life - so when the opportunity to review Your Story, My Story came through my inbox, I didn't hesitate to accept.
This novel takes on a different approach than many other Plath stories, in that it is told through the fictionalized perspective of her husband, Ted Hughes. In a way, it gives him the opportunity to state his side of the story, to defend himself. From their initial meeting to the years following Sylvia's untimely death, Connie Palmen pieces together a comprehensive timeline of events, gathered from both Ted and Sylvia's writings over the years.
While I knew a lot about Sylvia going into this, I admittedly was pretty uneducated when it came to Ted Hughes' life, so I went in fairly blind. But I think Connie Palmen did a great job of creating a unique and distinctive voice for Ted, which mimicked the style of his writing (at least from what I gathered from my limited research!).
Although literary fiction isn't typically my cup of tea, I actually really enjoyed the writing style of this novel. At times, I found the pace a little slow, but the prose was beautiful and I found it quite accessible as someone who mostly reads fantasy and YA fiction (haha).
Overall, this was a beautiful story with an intriguing concept. I think it'd be most enjoyed by Plath/Hughes fans, but non-fans could follow along and enjoy it all the same.
Thank you to Over the River Public Relations for providing me with a physical copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This novel takes on a different approach than many other Plath stories, in that it is told through the fictionalized perspective of her husband, Ted Hughes. In a way, it gives him the opportunity to state his side of the story, to defend himself. From their initial meeting to the years following Sylvia's untimely death, Connie Palmen pieces together a comprehensive timeline of events, gathered from both Ted and Sylvia's writings over the years.
While I knew a lot about Sylvia going into this, I admittedly was pretty uneducated when it came to Ted Hughes' life, so I went in fairly blind. But I think Connie Palmen did a great job of creating a unique and distinctive voice for Ted, which mimicked the style of his writing (at least from what I gathered from my limited research!).
Although literary fiction isn't typically my cup of tea, I actually really enjoyed the writing style of this novel. At times, I found the pace a little slow, but the prose was beautiful and I found it quite accessible as someone who mostly reads fantasy and YA fiction (haha).
Overall, this was a beautiful story with an intriguing concept. I think it'd be most enjoyed by Plath/Hughes fans, but non-fans could follow along and enjoy it all the same.
Thank you to Over the River Public Relations for providing me with a physical copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
mandarinkata's review against another edition
3.0
Не, че беше лоша, дори напротив, превода е чудесен, но самата история разказвана уж от мъжа на Плат, но написана от друг автор, ми се стори доста протяжна. Единственото хубаво на тая книга, е че сега искам да опозная творчеството на Силвия Плат.
lynxthepuss's review
dark
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
deerrgirl's review against another edition
2.0
DNF. I thought I would enjoy this one more, but it wasn't gripping my attention. It's a lot of personal thought. Maybe I'll try again in the future.
rosandebie's review against another edition
4.0
This book was not really my cup of tea, but I was surprised to find that, after the initial "getting used to"-phase, this book was relatively "easy" to read. Palmen gives Hughes a voice, and with his voice unfolds the complicated relationship between him, Plath, and their shared and personal demons. I think previous knowledge of Hughes, Plath, and their work, might be useful to understand the book better, but it is definitely not necessary.
jcschildbach's review against another edition
4.0
The writing here is exceptional. And let me mention that when I started reading this I had completely forgotten what the premise was, and since the narrator kept referring only to "my bride" and other similar "titles", I was pretty deep in before I actually realized who the book was about (weirdly enough, I thought 'wow, that's odd that the narrator's bride is writing a book with the same title as Sylvia Plath's book'...ahem/duh). I was really torn here, though, because as brilliant as the writing was and as compelling as the story was, I didn't really LIKE any of the characters. The narrator was constantly bemoaning how he had been wronged by history and his wife's fans, while freely admitting he had 'betrayed' his wife, while also portraying his wife as a troubled, somewhat paranoid, 'difficult' person who was perpetually in conflicted interactions with other people, and who most of his friends and family couldn't stand. I highlighted a number of quotes in the book, because they had that sense of 'universal truths' or brilliant observations. But in the end, I guess it's something like really admiring an author's work and finding out that they are kind of terrible (that said, I am not at all familiar with the works of Plath's husband, and only familiar with Plath's work and history in a very surface way). For the quality of the writing and imaginative sense of the (perhaps truly terrible) characters, though, I think this is something that all readers will connect with on some level.