A review by persephonora
Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath by Heather Clark

5.0

Truly stunning. Clark's pacing is incredible, I couldn't put it down (and it's a heavy book). Red Comet is such a comprehensive biography, as Clark had access to materials that previous biographers have not. Sylvia Plath has had a mythology around her since her death, and Clark dispels the reductive or romanticized narratives around her, painting a balanced portrait of an ambitious, prescient, and at times contradictory artist. She challenges the label "confessional," highlighting Plath's exploration of political and cultural themes through a focus on personal and domestic experiences. I was struck by Clark's ability to thread literary analysis of Plath's works (as well as larger literary movements, through her account of Plath's life) while avoiding the narrative that Plath could only write autobiographically. I highly recommend this book. It is illuminating and never dull.