Blog this item

The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

By Sylvia Plath

(12)

| Paperback | 9780385720250

Like The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath?
Join aNobii to see if your friends read it, and discover similar books!

Book Description

First U.S. Publication

A major literary event--the complete, uncensored journals of Sylvia Plath, published in their entirety for the first time.

Sylvia Plath's journals were originally published in 1982 in a heavily abridged version authorized by Plath's husband, Ted Hughes. This new Continue

Critics

The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

is not the first collection of her journals to make it into print. In 1982, Plath's widower Ted Hughes and Frances McCollough edited an abbreviated version of the journals that drew much hostility from fans and critics alike. Apparently, Hughes excis ... (read full critics)

austinchronicle published on Sun, 5 Sep 2010

2 Reviews

2 people find this helpful

Most diaries are gibberish, sylvia's absolutely an exception.
(but it is apparently too thick so i just scanned interesting passage to read)

Is this helpful?

fruit said on Feb 9, 2008 | Add your feedback

A genuinely moving, thorough, earnest small collection of gigantic words

As 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 ... (continue)

As 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.

Is this helpful?

Niklas Pivic said on Jun 19, 2010 | Add your feedback