The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
Written by Sylvia Plath
Narrated by Tanya Eby
4/5
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About this audiobook
A heavily abridged edition of Plath's diaries was published in 1982. This new unabridged edition reveals more fully the intensity of the poet's personal and literary struggles, and provides fresh insight into both her frequent desperation and the bravery with which she faced her demons. With its haunting, vibrant, and brutally honest prose, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath is a must-listen for all who have been moved and fascinated by Plath's life and work.
Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath was born in 1932 in Massachusetts. Her books include the poetry collections The Colossus, Crossing the Water, Winter Trees, Ariel, and Collected Poems, which won the Pulitzer Prize. A complete and uncut facsimile edition of Ariel was published in 2004 with her original selection and arrangement of poems. She was married to the poet Ted Hughes, with whom she had a daughter, Frieda, and a son, Nicholas. She died in London in 1963.
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Reviews for The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
388 ratings11 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Like many girls of my day, I was obsessed with Sylvia Plath back in my high school years-- I read everything I could get my hands on by her, as well as the Ted Hughes edit of her journals (in which her talented, scoundrel of a husband left out pretty much anything critical of himself.) I've long wanted to read the "unabridged version" which still seems to be missing a lot. Hughes burned Plath's final journal after his estranged wife's suicide... there are also big gaps in this book, which seems odd for such a meticulous note taker.Plath's journals are an interesting read-- she struggled so much with wanting and despairing of the conventional role for women of her time. She reminded me so much of Virginia Woolf-- I wondered how both of these ladies would have fared in a times where a woman's sexuality does not need to be repressed. I found the journals reminded me how brilliant Plath was, even as an 18-year-old college freshman. She write a lot about the process of writing in them, which drags a bit after a while, but overall, these journals were an interesting read.
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- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The complete journals of one of the more interesting authors of the twentieth century. Praised by no less than Joyce Carol Oates, I found that dipping into these journals was both entertaining and informative. They provide a sort of memoir for a life that had more pain in it than the author deserved.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5This should be titled “Diary of a Spoiled, Racist, Whiny Girl”.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Amazing insight into the life of Plath from her viewpoint.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As 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 innermost thoughts on a variety of subjects.
Plath was seldom vulgar in her journals. Neither does she seem anything other than honest.
What she writes on love is intricate and vulnerable, especially when dating, from 1950 to the moment when she meets Hughes and later marries him.
Their togetherness and love seems so strong, especially her devotion to him, which does sadly, not in the slightest, explain most of her poems (e.g. "The Jailor") in the unabridged version of "Ariel", her last batch of poems, previously abridged by Hughes.
This is genuinely a real experience and is recommendable to everybody. It is little wonder that Plath liked J.D. Salinger, adored Virginia Woolf and loved James Joyce. Read this and do yourself a favour.
I've cobbled up samples from the book here. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5At times I felt as if I would never finish though it only took approximately two weeks for me to read. It sat on my nightstand for nearly a year before I actually felt ready to tackle it. Lots of underlining and dog ears just reaffirming how difficult life is in general and how much harder to be true to your art.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I feel like an intruder reading this.
Incredibly vast and intricate, even her ordinary accounts of days are almost as eloquent and forceful as her poetry. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The terrible thing is, that I have lived with a lady like this: just when you decide that she is utterly impossible, she does something so kind that it takes your breath away.Sylvia seems to have been well aware of her faults and was, undoubtedly her own hardest critic. I can still appreciate how difficult the relationship must have been for Ted Hughes. Journals and diaries are difficult because, if one notes down one's thoughts almost without review, they can seem harsh to the reader who has time to reflect. Sylvia is, almost without exception, hard on the people she meets. Ted seems to be the only one to consistently get the benefit of the doubt and, even there, he is sometimes bemused by an air of disapproval for which he has no explanation. Oft times, it seems Sylvia doesn't either. It definitely was not a good idea for Sylvia to live with a successful poet. She believed that Ted's lead in the writing stakes would prevent competition but, it is apparent that Sylvia did take her rejections very personally. This is a book which asks more questions than it answers and I must soon try a biography of Sylvia to see whether someone else's perspective gives a better light on the lady's history, which is rarely mentioned in this book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I love her.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5beautifully written. i wish my diaries were so deep and philosophical....although on the other hand, maybe im glad they have their bright nonsensical moments.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I made this "biography" instead of autobiographical because it is edited by Ted Hughes in which he removed at will a large part of the journal. I would recommend reading the unabridged version, not this one unless you want to compare the two.