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208 ratings, 3.85 average rating, 17 reviews
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published
January 12th 1983
by Ballantine Books
binding
Mass Market Paperback
isbn
0345335929
(isbn13: 9780345335920)
description
No other major contemporary American writer has inspired such intense curiosity about her life as Sylvia Plath. Now the intimate and eloquent personal...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 298)
Read in January, 1999
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).
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Read in November, 1997
"The most terrifying realization is that so many millions in the world would like to be in my place."
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone, but especially those who write creatively
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
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Read in November, 2006
recommends it for:
all college girls
my mom told me "to read something happy" while i was stuck alone during thanksgiving break, and i chose this. it doesn't make you cry, because you never feel sorry for her. it does suck you into plath's dark world of unrelenting meloncholly, though. these journals are not only (obviously) intimate, but they're beautiful. they show plath's growing spite and vengence while simultaneously reflecting her pride and delicasy in proveing her self-riteousness and sanity.
I wish i could ha...more
I wish i could ha...more
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Read in December, 2007
The sad thing - well, no, the great thing is I don't think I will ever finish this book. It's my rainy day, melancholy, feeling totally uninspired as an writer, want to crawl into the floor boards and sleep until things get better book. And, comforting enough, there hasn't been that many of those times recently (well, except the feeling completely and utterly a failure as a writer, but what can one do?)
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Read in April, 2008
A- Really fascinating. My main complaint is the ommission of a lot of sections, and she also stopped writing towards the end of her life (so I missed a lot that way) but really interesting, gave me a lot of insight into her poetry now that I know even more about her life (plus hope as a writer--she was rejected mad times!).
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A great insight into the poet. While one can guess at the nature of a poet's psyche based on their work, these journals provide so much more. But you almost feel like you're invading her privacy- her poetry provided so much already. I only can wonder at what was contained in the journal entries Ted Hughes destroyed.
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Reading her journals nearly made ME insane. Keeping up with her train of thought, which is both beyond genious and like following Alice through Wonderland, nearly sent me over the edge. If you're stable, then I say go for it, because she really was an incredibly brilliant woman.
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Who let's you call her a poor lady!?
in a wider look don't let yourself easily call poets,
"oooh...such a poor creature.."
at least read a journal of them!
in a wider look don't let yourself easily call poets,
"oooh...such a poor creature.."
at least read a journal of them!
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4 comments
Read in May, 2007
The book was kind of hard to read because it was so choppy but her life was most definitely interesting!
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is a great read to see the struggles and the infinite circle of self-prisonment.
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Read in January, 2005
Its sick I know but I love reading the journals of amazing people!
Read in April, 2006
One of the most interesting women of all time.
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Read in June, 1999
Don't stick your head in the oven.
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currently-reading (on 12 people's shelves)
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