First U.S. Publication
A major literary event--the complete, uncensored journals of Sylvia Plath, published in their entirety for the first ... read full description
A major literary event--the complete, uncensored journals of Sylvia Plath, published in their entirety for the first ... read full description
reviews
May 09, 2011
Y. Jacintho
rated it: 
The truth is it is very difficult for critics to separate her personal life from her work. It is an injustice; but sadly, her biography has had an adverse effect on how she is read. Because of her suicide at the age of 30, many critics have labeled her either immature or hysterical-- while other critics have taken it upon themselves to defend the integrity of her poetry (its voice and vision), sometimes at personal cost to their own respectability in the world of academia.
In general More...
In general More...
2 comments
like
(8 people liked it)
Jan 16, 2012
Venus
rated it: 
برگشتهام خانه. موهایم را شانه زدهام. لباس خواب به تن کردهام و منتظرم خوابم ببرد. امشب میهمانی رونمایی بود. کتابم چاپ شد، بالاخره. مدتها بود منتظر فرارسیدن چنین شبی بودم. حالا آن شب فرا رسیده، تمام شده و منتظرم خوابم ببرد. سرخوردهام؟ نمیدانم. انتظار داشتم منتقد دیلی تلگراف برایم هورا بکشد؟ نمیدانم. تنها این را میدانم که اتفاقها در ذهن من پررنگتر و شفافتر و هیجانانگیزترند. در زندگی واقعی اما همهچیز دو پرده ماتتر است، معمولیتر. اتفاق، میافتد و تو با خودت فکر میکنی ارزش اینهمه تب و
More...
0 comments
like
(4 people liked it)
Aug 10, 2007
brook
rated it:
it is a chilling experience to read this. if you keep a journal of your own you probably understand how odd it is to imagine people around the world curling up with it/them. i am a self-admitted voyeur so i couldn't resist this glimpse into her mind.
as always, ted had a say in what we (and more importantly, her children) would know of her:
"I destroyed [the last of her journals] because I did not want her children to have read it (in those days I regarded forgetfu More...
as always, ted had a say in what we (and more importantly, her children) would know of her:
"I destroyed [the last of her journals] because I did not want her children to have read it (in those days I regarded forgetfu More...
0 comments
like
(4 people liked it)
Nov 18, 2011
Gary
rated it:
This is the book that introduced me to Sylvia Plath. Her poetry and 'The Bell Jar' would follow. I came to appreciate her love for just writing. She can make the most mundane interesting. To truly have a complete picture of Sylvia Plath, 'The Journals' are integral. One of my great thrills was to visit Smith College, and meet Karen Kukil and actually pick up and read the actual journals. In the Mortimer rare book room, I was also able to see the drafts of her poems written on the pink Smith Coll
More...
0 comments
like
(4 people liked it)
Oct 12, 2007
PryncessBelle
rated it:
There were moments reading this book that I had to put it down because the feelings are so vivid you feel like an intruder.
There are quotes from her journal that decribe in dark detail the feelings that I am sure many women feel as they are on their own for the first time, falling in love, broken hearted, scared of failure, married, alone...
Loved this book.
There are quotes from her journal that decribe in dark detail the feelings that I am sure many women feel as they are on their own for the first time, falling in love, broken hearted, scared of failure, married, alone...
Loved this book.
0 comments
like
(4 people liked it)
Jun 03, 2008
Kate
rated it: 
The depth of this woman never ceases to amaze me. I spent three months meticulously combing through her journal entries for a paper I was working on in graduate school. Though I've always been a huge fan of Plath (me and every other woman under thirty), I probably never would have picked up this book if it weren't for this paper. I'm very grateful that I did.
Jan 27, 2008
Veronica
rated it:
"The most terrifying realization is that so many millions in the world would like to be in my place."
0 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Apr 01, 2009
Catherine
rated it:
It's astounding how much I relate to Sylvia in these journals. I think all feminine beings need to read this. Her entries are honest and raw: revealing her sensitivities, obsessions, routines, insecurities...
More intimate than any of her poetry books, Plath's journals offer greater insight into both her personal and literary struggles.
This book is of great value to me: and I'm sure I will continue referring to it for many years.
More intimate than any of her poetry books, Plath's journals offer greater insight into both her personal and literary struggles.
This book is of great value to me: and I'm sure I will continue referring to it for many years.
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Jan 07, 2009
I share a slightly less articulate piece of Plath's soul.
0 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Sep 04, 2009
Well, I'm not sure I can say I READ this entire book. More like thoroughly skimmed. There were parts I read with great intensity. I decided that if I ever wrote a big research paper, I would do it on people like Sylvia Plath, creative geniuses that were also depressive, creative, artistic, demented, and dealing with their own demons that they didn't know how to exercise. Dustin and I watched a documentary this week about songwriter Daniel Johnston. They started comparing him to other manic
More...
Dec 17, 2009
Jen
rated it:
Just a note, this is the abridged version Ted Hughes published before his death, and does not include all of her journals. Despite his claim to have destroyed the rest, there is now available a full version of her journals with the parts that Hughes excised restored. If you want the full story (I hear some of the restored material is critical of Hughes), find the newer version rather than this (though it could be interesting to read both as a comparison).
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Apr 13, 2010
Maeve
rated it:
Truly my favourite of the published private correspondence of Sylvia Plath. These journal entries bring the life the career aspirations, romantic entanglements and general day-to-day life occurrences or arguably the greatest poet of the 20th Century. Plath writes densely, descriptively and passionately. This collection is a perfect companion for those who are interested in the personal life of Sylvia Plath, her formative years and the motivations and influences that affected her literary work.
More...
Aug 30, 2011
Christina
rated it:
A real pot-boiler! Certainly, this is a dense collection insofar as it is highly evocative of a time, a place, a woman in crisis -- her emotions, thoughts, conflicts roar off the page into a reader's heart. Anyone curious about Sylvia Plath as not only a poet, but a woman of the 50s, and perhaps as a feminist icon or a psychological study will be sorely mistaken not to delve into this collection. Plath was a phenomenal woman of the past mid-century, and such a loss to the literary world. Her jou
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Dec 29, 2008
Lightreads
rated it:
This just in: Sylvia Plath's journals? kind of a downer.
Also disorganized, vast, incredibly rich. I enjoyed the early college years the most, when she's all casually fantastic writing and cycling ecstasy and alienation. The later stuff is heavier with self-consciousness and deeply frustrating relationships with men. She's one of those people that I would be friends with and love dearly, but every year or so I would lose it and snap "oh just fucking deal with it," at her.
More...
Also disorganized, vast, incredibly rich. I enjoyed the early college years the most, when she's all casually fantastic writing and cycling ecstasy and alienation. The later stuff is heavier with self-consciousness and deeply frustrating relationships with men. She's one of those people that I would be friends with and love dearly, but every year or so I would lose it and snap "oh just fucking deal with it," at her.
More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Jul 08, 2009
Susan
rated it:
This is a book that would probably be best read the way it was written, a page or two at a time over a period of years. Roughly 700 pages at one gulp can be an overdose. Plath is a good writer and a perceptive and intelligent woman, but living inside her head for very long isn't comfortable even for an observer. Knowing the ending in advance, of course, gives the reader an edge on Plath and adds an unintended layer of irony to many entries and an involuntary little shiver to comments like "
More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Jan 16, 2012
Roberta
rated it:
La scrittura è un rito religioso: è un ordine, una riforma, una rieducazione al riamore per gli altri e per il mondo come sono e come potrebbero essere. Una creazione che non svanisce come una giornata alla macchina da scrivere o in cattedra. La scrittura resta: va sola per il mondo. Tutti la leggono, vi reagiscono come si reagisce a una persona, a una filosofia, a una religione, a un fiore: può piacergli o meno. Può aiutarli o meno. La scrittura prova delle emozioni per dare intensità alla vita
More...
Oct 15, 2011
Alison
rated it:
Gripping in so many ways. The obvious: she was brilliant. The shit I didn't expect: to relate so strongly. Sometimes I read a passage thinking "When did I find a time machine and go back to 1951 to mess with history?" because surely those words/feelings/observations/hopes/terrors were plucked straight out of my own noggin. A bit worrisome. (Given her fate)
"When sick (both physically, as symptoms slowed, and mentally, as I was trying to escape from something) I wanted to More...
"When sick (both physically, as symptoms slowed, and mentally, as I was trying to escape from something) I wanted to More...
Jan 16, 2012
Maryam
rated it:
ترس از اين كه تمامي حاشيه ها،شكل ها و رنگ هاي دنياي واقعي كه آن ها را با رنج و زحمت فراوان بازسازي كرده بودي، با عشقي حقيقي، در يك لحظه ي شك به تدريج رو به افول بگذارد و ناگهان محو شود
.
.
چقدر پله هاي مدور واقع در برج مارپيچ ما را به جايي كه بوديم برگردانده است
.
.
يك روز وقتي بين تخم مرغ درست كردن و شير دادن به بچه و آماده كردن شام براي دوستان همسرم گير كرده ام، برگسون يا كافكا، يا جويس را برمي دارم و به بزرگي افكاري كه نمي توانم به آن ها برسم حسرت مي خورم
. More...
.
.
چقدر پله هاي مدور واقع در برج مارپيچ ما را به جايي كه بوديم برگردانده است
.
.
يك روز وقتي بين تخم مرغ درست كردن و شير دادن به بچه و آماده كردن شام براي دوستان همسرم گير كرده ام، برگسون يا كافكا، يا جويس را برمي دارم و به بزرگي افكاري كه نمي توانم به آن ها برسم حسرت مي خورم
. More...
Oct 15, 2010
Sarah
rated it:
This is a book I picked up for the Gilmore Girls challenge and, had it not been for that, I doubt I would have finished. Not because it wasn't enjoyable, but because it was *so* long and dense. I'm not quite sure what the best approach to take is when it comes to reading unabridged journals of prolific authors, but I don't recommend trying to sit down and read it cover to cover.
That being said, it was profoundly interesting in that voyeuristic kind of way. Her journals take us throu More...
That being said, it was profoundly interesting in that voyeuristic kind of way. Her journals take us throu More...
Jul 26, 2010
Lily
rated it:
The book certainly made an impact upon me and has made me want to read more about Plath. The journals follow her college years through to the birth of her children.
Plath appears extremely critical of her work and others. She constantly strives for perfection in her work and gives the impression that she thought more about the act of writing than actually did. This of course is not so.
The latter part of the journal appears more rambling, incoherent in parts and possibly give More...
Plath appears extremely critical of her work and others. She constantly strives for perfection in her work and gives the impression that she thought more about the act of writing than actually did. This of course is not so.
The latter part of the journal appears more rambling, incoherent in parts and possibly give More...
Jun 19, 2010
Niklas
rated it:
As journals go, this is a very open one; even so, this version, erupted slightly before Ted Hughes' death in 1998, does not contain much after 1961, which is sad. Even if Hughes destroyed those journals, this book is a genuine treasury.
These journals contain what Plath wrote from 1950 to 1962. As such, it contains notes on her growing up; dating, life, death, school-work, her future, travelling, and very notably her success as a poet, her mood-swings and what struck me the most, her More...
These journals contain what Plath wrote from 1950 to 1962. As such, it contains notes on her growing up; dating, life, death, school-work, her future, travelling, and very notably her success as a poet, her mood-swings and what struck me the most, her More...
Nov 29, 2010
Caroline
rated it:
So this is a conundrum. It feels very strange to assign a star rating to someone else's personal, private journal. The thing is, Sylvia Plath's journals are fascinating, yet frustrating, because we know that two other journals once existed and that one (the last journal she ever kept) was destroyed and the other lost in some other fashion. So you feel that you get to know her and understand her and get inside her head and her process and her dreams - and then you're missing these huge chunks of
More...
Sep 15, 2008
ArEzO....
rated it:
سيلويا پلات در سحرگاه ِ يازدهم فوريه ي 1963 در هاي خانه را بست، شير گاز آشپزخانه را باز كرد و خودش را كشت. پيش از اين بار ها خودكشي كرده بود و يك بار هم در تيمارستان تحت ِ درمان ِ شوك الكتريكي قرار گرفته بود
واين كتاب كه خاطراتش بيشتر مي تون گفت:
مجموعه اي شگفت آور از احساسات واقعي يك نويسنده، شاعر و يك زن است. كلمات در كنار هم به وجود حمله مي برند و خواننده خود را اسير كلمات مي يابد. راه فراري نيست. پيش مي روي و عذاب مي كشي. خودت سيلويا مي شوي و تمام رنج ها، دلتنگي ها، خوشي ها، درد ها More...
واين كتاب كه خاطراتش بيشتر مي تون گفت:
مجموعه اي شگفت آور از احساسات واقعي يك نويسنده، شاعر و يك زن است. كلمات در كنار هم به وجود حمله مي برند و خواننده خود را اسير كلمات مي يابد. راه فراري نيست. پيش مي روي و عذاب مي كشي. خودت سيلويا مي شوي و تمام رنج ها، دلتنگي ها، خوشي ها، درد ها More...
Feb 12, 2011
Anja
rated it:
Most interesting as novel journal about one life which was as gift of God's...
This is book which I am reading as support and best guide for life and love..
Why Sylvia made such choice in her life..? That was her decision.. as pure moment of free will! But pain, suffering and doubled personality as eroticism and thanatos MAYBE was another reason of her departing with world..
I will read this book always..,this is something like book for ever..
This is book which I am reading as support and best guide for life and love..
Why Sylvia made such choice in her life..? That was her decision.. as pure moment of free will! But pain, suffering and doubled personality as eroticism and thanatos MAYBE was another reason of her departing with world..
I will read this book always..,this is something like book for ever..
Jan 22, 2012
Artemisia
rated it:
Fammi essere forte, forte di sonno e di intelligenza e forte di ossa e fibra; fammi imparare, attraverso questa disperazione, a distribuirmi: a sapere dove e a chi dare: a riempire i brevi momenti e le chiacchiere casuali di quell’infuso speciale di devozione e amore che sono le nostre epifanie. A non essere amara.
Risparmiamelo il finale, quel finale acido citrico aspro che scorre nelle vene delle donne in gamba e sole.
Risparmiamelo il finale, quel finale acido citrico aspro che scorre nelle vene delle donne in gamba e sole.
Dec 23, 2007
Heather
rated it:
Plath's journals are amazing-- a voyeuristic glimpse into a poet we always feel we want to know better. As for the unabridged version, however, I almost felt as if these journal were TOO unabridged. The original publication of the journals is just as thorough, yet we gloss over some of the names and seemingly less important details covered in the unabridged. The youngest adult years (18-20) are interesting to read about, mostly because it's that same teen angst most of us can relate to. What
More...
Jan 01, 2012
Cristina
rated it:
Reading this... changed the way I think. I know and understand that Plath has been over-romanticized since her tragic death, but these journals are the undeniable evidence of her poetic genius. Plath found beauty in everything, and her descriptions of internal and external experiences are absolutely stunning.
I highly recommend this to anyone interested in Plath, poetry, mental illness, women writers, etc.
I highly recommend this to anyone interested in Plath, poetry, mental illness, women writers, etc.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Apr 08, 2011
Jessica
rated it:
Unfortunately, knowing a lot about Plath's life before I read these journals, it made me look at them differently. I wish I was a little more naive when I read them. However, the journals are poetically stunning and beautifully worded. The details are perfect. The journal entries from her and Ted's honeymoon and vacations together really pull everything together as well; the sketches made the reader look at Sylvia Plath's artistically creative side. This is the type of book someone can read part
More...
Sep 20, 2007
Grace
rated it:
For those who read The Bell Jar or Sylvia Plath's poetry, this was a particularly interesting book because it was a restatement of a lot of the images that she uses in her writing. One example - the recognition of Lazarus in herself, as she occasionally references it in her journals and it probably led to "Lady Lazarus", one of my favorite Plath poems of all time. You learn bits and pieces of her personal life, like her crushes, but her journals focus mainly on her phases of depressi
More...
Mar 23, 2009
Jennifer
rated it:
Sylvia Plath is amazing. She's one of two writers who, when I read their journals, sat there and thought how very closely their thoughts echoed my own (although she's FAR more eloquent about it). (The other writer is Anais Nin.) I have felt a kinship with her for a long time, which is disturbing considering her slow descent into depression, resulting in suicide...something I have never considered and cannot imagine.
