makaylawarren's review
4.0
A chilling and beautiful comparison of the poets, Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath. Learning about the lives of both of these writers was both fascinating and agonizing.
Absolute wage of war on their minds. This book weaved together the stories of these two talented, brilliant women as they navigated their lives through their struggles of mental health, marriage, and motherhood.
“One of the great injustices of the legacies of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton is the infamy of their suicides. Sensationalized, romanticized, pathologized, these two women have become defined, and known, by the manner of their deaths. This is not to say their suicide are not important. Far from it. The problem has been that their lives get read backwards.”
Absolute wage of war on their minds. This book weaved together the stories of these two talented, brilliant women as they navigated their lives through their struggles of mental health, marriage, and motherhood.
“One of the great injustices of the legacies of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton is the infamy of their suicides. Sensationalized, romanticized, pathologized, these two women have become defined, and known, by the manner of their deaths. This is not to say their suicide are not important. Far from it. The problem has been that their lives get read backwards.”
ehk317's review
3.0
This dual biography of Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath was a very interesting read. It’s no secret that women writers were not taken seriously back when they were writing. This book details their struggles in the parallel and was less about their friendship than expected. Absolutely a great source of information for anyone interested in either of these two fascinating women.
linda48's review
4.0
Disclaimer: I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway.
Actually, the rating is 4 stars for students of the poets Sylvia Plath and/or Anne Sexton and 3 stars for general reading. Also 4 stars if you enjoy books about incredibly dysfunctional families.
Gail Crowther has presented an in-depth and very disturbing look at the lives of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, two poets who became casual friends but couldn't be more different. Sexton, the glamorous, dangerous woman, and Plath, the girl-next-door, bound by perfectionism woman. The tragedy of their suicides to their families and to the artistic world cannot be expressed by words. The damage done to their psyches by their families was more than they could bear and carried through into their art and their lives through their too-short adulthood.
It is apparent that both women were born too early, and the reader wonders how they would have fared had they been born in the late 1940s or 1950s. The restrictions on their lives by the societal expectations of women created tension in their personal and professional lives that added to the burdens of their troubled minds.
This is a sound scholarly work that adds to the knowledge of the lives of Plath and Sexton and how their lives intersected and ended.
Actually, the rating is 4 stars for students of the poets Sylvia Plath and/or Anne Sexton and 3 stars for general reading. Also 4 stars if you enjoy books about incredibly dysfunctional families.
Gail Crowther has presented an in-depth and very disturbing look at the lives of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, two poets who became casual friends but couldn't be more different. Sexton, the glamorous, dangerous woman, and Plath, the girl-next-door, bound by perfectionism woman. The tragedy of their suicides to their families and to the artistic world cannot be expressed by words. The damage done to their psyches by their families was more than they could bear and carried through into their art and their lives through their too-short adulthood.
It is apparent that both women were born too early, and the reader wonders how they would have fared had they been born in the late 1940s or 1950s. The restrictions on their lives by the societal expectations of women created tension in their personal and professional lives that added to the burdens of their troubled minds.
This is a sound scholarly work that adds to the knowledge of the lives of Plath and Sexton and how their lives intersected and ended.
heartsneedle's review
4.0
4/5
Mental Health, Sexuality, Abuse
“Young women are told they’ll “grow out” of reading Plath, that they lack any critical faculties, merely worship at the shrine of a suicide death goddess, and so on. They become objects of humor, no longer proper or serious readers, but rather devotees. Goths and emos who wear black with a death fixation”
Overall: Brutal and raw examination of Plath and Sexton as poets, women, and friends with undertones of jealousy and insecurity. Crowther brilliantly dissects the disturbing violence each defied and endured. A fascinating intersection of feminism and literature.
Mental Health, Sexuality, Abuse
“Young women are told they’ll “grow out” of reading Plath, that they lack any critical faculties, merely worship at the shrine of a suicide death goddess, and so on. They become objects of humor, no longer proper or serious readers, but rather devotees. Goths and emos who wear black with a death fixation”
Overall: Brutal and raw examination of Plath and Sexton as poets, women, and friends with undertones of jealousy and insecurity. Crowther brilliantly dissects the disturbing violence each defied and endured. A fascinating intersection of feminism and literature.
3thingsaboutthisbook's review
3.0
It's remarkable that how two women could be so different yet so similar. One was overly organized, somewhat enjoying motherhood, has stiff upper-lip, nearly intimidating while the other was bit messy, not the most loyal, enjoying good life and detesting motherhood. These two women, Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath, defined what feminism means for generations to come.
This book is a good non-fiction. It doesn't bore you with pointless details or it doesn't go on and on about one topic. It has a great balance of providing factual data to let you form your own conclusions and having a comparative narrative. It hits that sweet spot!
I did not know much about Anne Sexton's work but I was familiar with Sylvia Plath's work and story. I wouldn't have thinking about putting these very two women together, but with this book I was able to see how these opposites ended up on the same side fighting the same fight. If you are interested in bite size biographies and contemporary characters, I would recommend this book
This book is a good non-fiction. It doesn't bore you with pointless details or it doesn't go on and on about one topic. It has a great balance of providing factual data to let you form your own conclusions and having a comparative narrative. It hits that sweet spot!
I did not know much about Anne Sexton's work but I was familiar with Sylvia Plath's work and story. I wouldn't have thinking about putting these very two women together, but with this book I was able to see how these opposites ended up on the same side fighting the same fight. If you are interested in bite size biographies and contemporary characters, I would recommend this book
momma_nilsen's review
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley for a digital copy of this novel for my honest review
Am I really an English teacher if I don't really like Sylvia Plath? Am I really an English teacher if I've never read or even really knew who Anne Sexton was? Yikes.
To be fair I'm not a real English teacher...just a fake one. Since I can teach Social Studies I guess I can teach English is my school's rationale. I adore books and reading and literature, but my English skills usually end about there. When it comes to poetry...I am about as dense as they come. If it isn't spoon fed to me, I probably have no idea what the poet is trying to say.
I don't know what prompted me to request/read this non-fiction novel on two women I really don't know or perhaps even care about? Maybe that in itself is what drove me to be curious and explore this topic more. Unfortunately, my curiosity was not enough for me to connect with this novel.
Knowing my background on these two ladies may help you make a decision on whether to explore this book or not. I'll start off with what I actually really liked:
(1) The words and quotes from Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton. My favorite part were the words themselves from the authors...this book is actually driving me to read both of them in more detail and to even give [b:The Bell Jar|6514|The Bell Jar|Sylvia Plath|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554582218l/6514._SY75_.jpg|1385044] another shot. I feel like in my older-age, I have developed more of an appreciation for certain texts. Was I an A-typical college girl who attempted to adore Sylvia Plath? Yes. Did it work? No. Maybe now is the time.
(2) Feminism. I appreciated the conversations about why these two females are so revered and their overall impact on female literature. Also, the author included tidbits on roadblocks females still face in the publishing industry which I found super insightful and intriguing!
What I didn't like:
*In general, the readability of this book is allllllllll over the place. Yes, this is a non-fiction novel, but on one page you could be reading a paragraph on Sylvia, then Anne, then back to Sylvia. There were giant info-dumps and just so much time jumping and author jumping. When I reflect on my reading experience on this novel, the content and the women themselves drove me to finish the novel and hear their stories, but the disjointed, unorganized writing prevented me from truly enjoying it.
I hate to say it because I did enjoy quite a bit of the information the author compiled, but when it is presented and written in such a way, it can detract from the general flow and enjoyability of the work. I appreciate the research and quotes the Gail Crowther included and I thank her for this review copy.
Am I really an English teacher if I don't really like Sylvia Plath? Am I really an English teacher if I've never read or even really knew who Anne Sexton was? Yikes.
To be fair I'm not a real English teacher...just a fake one. Since I can teach Social Studies I guess I can teach English is my school's rationale. I adore books and reading and literature, but my English skills usually end about there. When it comes to poetry...I am about as dense as they come. If it isn't spoon fed to me, I probably have no idea what the poet is trying to say.
I don't know what prompted me to request/read this non-fiction novel on two women I really don't know or perhaps even care about? Maybe that in itself is what drove me to be curious and explore this topic more. Unfortunately, my curiosity was not enough for me to connect with this novel.
Knowing my background on these two ladies may help you make a decision on whether to explore this book or not. I'll start off with what I actually really liked:
(1) The words and quotes from Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton. My favorite part were the words themselves from the authors...this book is actually driving me to read both of them in more detail and to even give [b:The Bell Jar|6514|The Bell Jar|Sylvia Plath|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554582218l/6514._SY75_.jpg|1385044] another shot. I feel like in my older-age, I have developed more of an appreciation for certain texts. Was I an A-typical college girl who attempted to adore Sylvia Plath? Yes. Did it work? No. Maybe now is the time.
(2) Feminism. I appreciated the conversations about why these two females are so revered and their overall impact on female literature. Also, the author included tidbits on roadblocks females still face in the publishing industry which I found super insightful and intriguing!
What I didn't like:
*In general, the readability of this book is allllllllll over the place. Yes, this is a non-fiction novel, but on one page you could be reading a paragraph on Sylvia, then Anne, then back to Sylvia. There were giant info-dumps and just so much time jumping and author jumping. When I reflect on my reading experience on this novel, the content and the women themselves drove me to finish the novel and hear their stories, but the disjointed, unorganized writing prevented me from truly enjoying it.
I hate to say it because I did enjoy quite a bit of the information the author compiled, but when it is presented and written in such a way, it can detract from the general flow and enjoyability of the work. I appreciate the research and quotes the Gail Crowther included and I thank her for this review copy.
angelajzhu's review against another edition
4.0
A fascinating read! As other reviewers have mentioned, it feels like there's some speculation by the author about the relationship between Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, but overall, the book felt well-researched, thorough, and empathetically written.
Plath is one of my favorite authors and while I'd always heard that [b:The Bell Jar|6514|The Bell Jar|Sylvia Plath|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554582218l/6514._SY75_.jpg|1385044] was inspired by her own experiences and real life, I didn't realize to what extent. Learning about her life and the challenges of her relationship with Ted Hughes really brought the tragedy of Plath's death and suicide to focus… she had clearly done everything for herself that she could to carry on in a very difficult situation.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review!
Plath is one of my favorite authors and while I'd always heard that [b:The Bell Jar|6514|The Bell Jar|Sylvia Plath|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554582218l/6514._SY75_.jpg|1385044] was inspired by her own experiences and real life, I didn't realize to what extent. Learning about her life and the challenges of her relationship with Ted Hughes really brought the tragedy of Plath's death and suicide to focus… she had clearly done everything for herself that she could to carry on in a very difficult situation.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review!
ellevh's review
Diving into this again... once more on speaking terms with Miss Plath, but she is put ON NOTICE! no more treating her mother, father, childhood friends, or exes in this manner! (still referring to the last bio I read of her...)
lol. tbf, just remembered she died at like 30, still just a kid, really. She wanted so much from life. It's all so damn sad. I still recommend that other bio (and probably this one too, once I finish it)--it was fantastic!
lol. tbf, just remembered she died at like 30, still just a kid, really. She wanted so much from life. It's all so damn sad. I still recommend that other bio (and probably this one too, once I finish it)--it was fantastic!
elle_breen's review
5.0
One of the best Plath biographies I have read. Crowther never disappoints. I’m going to start an Anne Sexton adventure now because of this book. I’m very excited. Highly recommend to any Plath fanatics!