tsuntsundoku's review against another edition
This was a really interesting approach to a biography. Alas, I got tired of it after a while. I listened to the audiobook, where there were multiple narrators. But some voices I just didn’t like at all.
But overall, interesting. But not enduringly so.
But overall, interesting. But not enduringly so.
annebennett1957's review against another edition
4.0
A journey through the life, loves, passions, and sorrows of Sylvia Plath through poems by Hemphill, giving voice to many people in Plath's life. What a sad, driven woman but also what a genius.
(Catching up on old reviews from pre-blogging and pre-Goodreads days. Written on 7/23/21 but the book was read years ago. I'm working off my notes.)
(Catching up on old reviews from pre-blogging and pre-Goodreads days. Written on 7/23/21 but the book was read years ago. I'm working off my notes.)
kricketa's review against another edition
4.0
Beautifully done. Now I need to re-read all the Plath!
carstensena's review against another edition
5.0
Made me want to run out and read The Bell Jar yet again. Not to mention Birthday Letters! A wonderful, unique book.
sc104906's review against another edition
2.0
Stephanie Hemphill presents a creative new view of Slyvia Plath's life. The author creates poems to describe different aspects and events in Plath's life. It was interesting.
I never been a big Plath fan. This book was an interesting concept, but wasn't interesting to me personally.
I never been a big Plath fan. This book was an interesting concept, but wasn't interesting to me personally.
dawnoftheread's review against another edition
4.0
Lovely introduction to the mythology of Sylvia Plath.
leesuh's review against another edition
4.0
I’m not the biggest poetry fan in the world. I would go as far to say sometimes I loathe it. I like things that get to the point, and poetry tends to beat around the bush. I love to try and convince myself I like poetry, though. I often get books of poetry from the library, take a couple looks at them, and then turn them in again without reading more than a few poems.
I picked up this book of poetry because it’s about Sylvia Plath and her life. I’m a fan of Plath’s works (to an extent), but I love even more to read about her life, short as it may have been. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into with this particular collection.
I’ll say right now that this book pleasantly surprised me. It’s made up of a series of poems, in the point of view of various people from Plath’s life, that come together to document her entire life from beginning to bitter end. The poems themselves were nice to read. They weren’t trying too hard to be poetic, yet they were “pretty”, as many poems are… and got down to the nitty-gritties without too much fuss about trying to make things socially acceptable. It’s a challenge to be honest and unbiased when writing about someone’s life (even your own) and I really think Hemphill did it effortlessly.
Most of the poems were accompanied by footnotes with additional information, which I really loved. Also, I really enjoyed the multiple perspectives. I don’t think this book would have worked if it were from the perspective of just one or two people. There’s an array of people such as family, friends, doctors, et cetera. It really gave variety and a large scope of opinions.
While I have many good things to say about this book I do have one rather large bone to pick with the author and publisher. I’m absolutely confused by the genre of the book. Is it Fiction or Non-Fiction? It’s officially published as Non-Fiction because it’s about real events, but the author (in her letter to readers) says it’s Fiction. I’m torn as to what to label it, because while it is about real events, the author stood in as the people in Sylvia’s life. How can something be Non-Fiction when the words were never really said by the people in the story? Anyway, since it’s published as Non-Fiction I’ll label it as such.
Aside from the genre problem I’m very fond of this book. (Honestly, the genre doesn’t make that much of a difference.) It was interesting to read and presented Sylvia Plath’s life in such a way that gave the full story without a bunch of fluff. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes poetry, Sylvia Plath, or the Non-Fiction genre. I really think it’s worth the read no matter what you like, though. I hope to own this one in the future.
I picked up this book of poetry because it’s about Sylvia Plath and her life. I’m a fan of Plath’s works (to an extent), but I love even more to read about her life, short as it may have been. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into with this particular collection.
I’ll say right now that this book pleasantly surprised me. It’s made up of a series of poems, in the point of view of various people from Plath’s life, that come together to document her entire life from beginning to bitter end. The poems themselves were nice to read. They weren’t trying too hard to be poetic, yet they were “pretty”, as many poems are… and got down to the nitty-gritties without too much fuss about trying to make things socially acceptable. It’s a challenge to be honest and unbiased when writing about someone’s life (even your own) and I really think Hemphill did it effortlessly.
Most of the poems were accompanied by footnotes with additional information, which I really loved. Also, I really enjoyed the multiple perspectives. I don’t think this book would have worked if it were from the perspective of just one or two people. There’s an array of people such as family, friends, doctors, et cetera. It really gave variety and a large scope of opinions.
While I have many good things to say about this book I do have one rather large bone to pick with the author and publisher. I’m absolutely confused by the genre of the book. Is it Fiction or Non-Fiction? It’s officially published as Non-Fiction because it’s about real events, but the author (in her letter to readers) says it’s Fiction. I’m torn as to what to label it, because while it is about real events, the author stood in as the people in Sylvia’s life. How can something be Non-Fiction when the words were never really said by the people in the story? Anyway, since it’s published as Non-Fiction I’ll label it as such.
Aside from the genre problem I’m very fond of this book. (Honestly, the genre doesn’t make that much of a difference.) It was interesting to read and presented Sylvia Plath’s life in such a way that gave the full story without a bunch of fluff. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes poetry, Sylvia Plath, or the Non-Fiction genre. I really think it’s worth the read no matter what you like, though. I hope to own this one in the future.
fembloggingcat's review against another edition
The beginning portion of Hemphill's portrait of Sylvia Plath is quite captivating, especially for someone who knows little about her, but I think that charm is lost as you get deeper into the book (probably at the point where she graduates from postsecondary school). It becomes very banal, she is unsatisfied with the life she has picked from the fig tree, there's no introspection, no hope, and no plot. While there may not be something to be gained from suffering in life, this is a fiction book.
Perhaps contradicting my comment on fiction, I dislike how this book furthers the idea of Plath as a mythic femme fatale tragedienne. She is only ever biting the man's cheek, stunning her peers, or caught in the prison of her mind. Maybe it's a commentary on how we view others without quite knowing the full story that I just don't quite get.
Perhaps contradicting my comment on fiction, I dislike how this book furthers the idea of Plath as a mythic femme fatale tragedienne. She is only ever biting the man's cheek, stunning her peers, or caught in the prison of her mind. Maybe it's a commentary on how we view others without quite knowing the full story that I just don't quite get.
abigailbat's review against another edition
3.0
This is a collection of poems that explores the life of Sylvia Plath through the eyes of her friends and family. I really don't know anything about Sylvia Plath or about poetry, but I enjoyed getting a glimpse of Plath's life through Ms. Hemphill's poems. She includes extensive source notes (yay!) and notes with each poem to explain what event in Sylvia's life inspired that particular poem or to give other information about the truth contained in the poem.
jessalynn_librarian's review against another edition
4.0
I tend to be skeptical of novels-in-verse, or in this case, biography-in-verse, but I'm not sure why since I always end up enjoying them. Well, saying I enjoyed this would be a bit of a stretch, but it was a fascinating read and easy to get swept up in. I came out the other side feeling incredibly sane and healthy and happy, but thinking a bit about what makes people turn out the way they do and how writing intersects with life. There's a great section at the end on the author's process of writing the poems and researching Plath's life, and throughout the book footnotes give context for each poem and round out the portrait of the poet. This would be a great choice for fans of Plath, for young adults fascinated with darker writing and poetry, and for those of us who are interested in how a story like this can be pieced together.