cook_memorial_public_library's review
3.0
Recommended by Jane.
Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Spain%2C%20parties%2C%20work%20winder__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold
Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Spain%2C%20parties%2C%20work%20winder__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold
lola425's review
4.0
This is the third Plath bio I've read this year, and it was by far my favorite. Winder concentrates on the Mademoiselle magazine summer, the events and experiences that led directly to the writing of The Bell Jar. Even if didn't feature Plath, the book would have been fascinating. Fashion, social mores, relationships between men and women are touched upon. It is interesting to see how post-war, pre-feminist society helped make (and in some cases unmake) a young woman of that era, particularly a young woman with talent and intelligence and a desire for more (all of which Sylvia was). As a reader you still had to deal with Plath's complexities and contradictions, but you saw her thourgh the eyes of the young women who spent that summer with her. And to be honest, it was nice not to have to think about Ted.
kegifford's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
2.5
A gossipy account of the summer that served as the basis for The Bell Jar. Pretty fluffy.
abigaillhuff's review
1.0
I didn't finish this book because of a few reasons.
1. The writing wasn't good. I felt like I was reading a college Essay where the writer was forced to do interviews and had no idea how to tie those into her research.
and
2. I felt like she was putting words and thoughts into Sylvia Plath's head. Yes she did have some journal issues to kind of keep things going but it just wasn't well done.
I think the concept could have been great but it was poorly executed.
1. The writing wasn't good. I felt like I was reading a college Essay where the writer was forced to do interviews and had no idea how to tie those into her research.
and
2. I felt like she was putting words and thoughts into Sylvia Plath's head. Yes she did have some journal issues to kind of keep things going but it just wasn't well done.
I think the concept could have been great but it was poorly executed.
luckypluto's review
5.0
Wow. I was completely mesmerized by this book. I saw it in a local bookstore and picked it up on a whim; what a fortuitous choice! I never knew that Sylvia Plath spent time as a guest editor at Mademoiselle in New York. As a New Yorker myself, I enjoyed reading about the city in the 1950s, but mostly I enjoyed reading about this pivotal time in Plath’s life. Winder’s biography was amazing; it covered only a small slice of Plath’s life, but did so in rich detail that really got to the heart of her breakdown. Pain, Parties, Work has inspired me to read more of Plath’s work, particularly her short fiction, which unfortunately, I think, does not get nearly as much attention as her poetry.
My only complaint about Pain, Parties, Work is in some stylistic choices; namely, many of the chapters are short, and it flits from topic to topic and anecdote to anecdote fairly quickly. There are many parts that I wish had gone into more detail. But I don’t think that style detracted much from the writing; I can safely say that I still loved the book as-is. Kudos to Winder for writing a great biography about one of the America's most interesting—and most misunderstood—writers. There is a tendency to romanticize the lives of “tortured artists” who died too young; Pain, Parties, Work did an excellent job of more realistically illustrating the life of one of literature’s most famous such writers.
My only complaint about Pain, Parties, Work is in some stylistic choices; namely, many of the chapters are short, and it flits from topic to topic and anecdote to anecdote fairly quickly. There are many parts that I wish had gone into more detail. But I don’t think that style detracted much from the writing; I can safely say that I still loved the book as-is. Kudos to Winder for writing a great biography about one of the America's most interesting—and most misunderstood—writers. There is a tendency to romanticize the lives of “tortured artists” who died too young; Pain, Parties, Work did an excellent job of more realistically illustrating the life of one of literature’s most famous such writers.
jasonvpurcell's review
4.0
A fascinating glimpse into one summer of Sylvia Plath's life, remembering her as the vivacious and bright young woman she was. The story of Sylvia Plath's work at the magazine Mademoiselle - which provided inspiration for The Bell Jar - this biography is told through memories of other guest editors, her mother, as well as source material from her journals.
An illuminating and inspiring, yet of course sad, view into a life of someone immensely talented, who wanted to truly see life.
An illuminating and inspiring, yet of course sad, view into a life of someone immensely talented, who wanted to truly see life.