Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Rough Magic: A Biography of Sylvia Plath by Paul Alexander ISBN: 0-306-81299-1 Publisher: DaCapo Press Pub. Date: 16 September, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (3 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: One-sided, but a good read
Comment: This is the only Sylvia Plath biography I've ever read, and while the book is thorough in its exposition it is very sympathetic to Plath and Plath's mother, Aurelia. I had the feeling it was presenting the side of the story that Plath's mother wanted told with not as much attention to the other side of the story.
The Plath in "Rough Magic" is an impulsive, attractive, manic-depressive individual who is unquestionably talented. However, I felt sorry for the people she left behind in her wake as she swooped through life - the boyfriends and few female friends who were picked up and discarded easily as Plath moved from one year to the next. Plath was beautiful, smart and driven - and, I think, had been indulged by family and friends to the point that she was probably pretty hard to live with. Frankly, I feel that a lot of Plath's problems were her own creation - especially her primary problem, her marriage to Ted Hughes. She met and decided to become involved with Hughes based on a strong physical attraction and not much else, and within 4 months after getting together they were married. Her own mentor warned her about how the first excitement of love doesn't last, but Plath refused to listen. Maybe if Plath had taken more time before marrying him to find out about his bizarre relationship with his sister Olwyn, his violent temper, his womanizing, and his odd personality quirks - his refusals to bathe, his obsession with the occult, etc. she could have avoided marrying him and ending up in a bad situation. It is not a great idea to marry someone you know little about other than that you have sexual chemistry. Same thing with deciding to have children - she was desperate to have children and had two in short order, meanwhile criticizing childless women, and yet seemed to despair when she realized the children were going to require a great deal of time and care.
The book gave me insight into Plath, but I certainly didn't feel sorry for her. In my opinion her own impulsiveness and childish behavior were the root causes of her problems, not anything else. She seemed to me to be one of those people who is obsessed with obtaining life milestones (published work, marriage, children) as quickly as possible and then feel burdened once they have what they want. Obviously she had some chemical imbalance problems and in today's world probably would have been medicated before she committed suicide, but she had kind of a hysterical personality aside from the manic depression.
The book is worth reading if you have any interest in Plath, but expect a lot of sympathy for the Plath family in lieu of balanced fact-reporting.
Rating: 4
Summary: Rough Magic
Comment: Paul Alexander's Rough Magic allows the reader to fully understand and enter the psyche of Sylvia Plath from her blissful childhood to her more tumultuous adult years. What I found was very nice about this biography was that it included Sylvia's poetry in a chronological order. It was so helpful to have her poetry included after just reading what her life was like at the immediate time that she wrote that certain piece. Also, by having her writing placed in a chronological order, I found that I could really pick up on how she developed her writing and honed her skills over time.
It is very apparent that the work gone into the making of this book was so thorough and in depth. Mr. Alexander did a fabulous job piecing Sylvia's life together in one book. It seems like every relationship Sylvia ever had has been accounted for and analyzied in this book.
I recommend this book to anyone who would like a deeper understanding of Sylvia Plath's life and her continuous descent into depression.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Compassionate & Complete View of a True Artist
Comment: Thank you, Paul Alexander, for a complete and compassionate view of the life of the poet, artist, mother, wife--and sunbather!--Sylvia Plath. You put her heart, mind, and poetry (and how she arrived at that poetry) first, chapter after chapter, so that the reader could feel so very close to Sylvia. I read this book with a collection of Sylvia's poetry at hand, which made the read feel especially all-inclusive, and thorough. You did such a wonderful job of pinpointing the days on which Sylvia wrote certain poems, so that it was a pleasure to follow along and read those particular poems at the 'right time'. Sylvia grew up in print--having published her first poem at eight then continuing to publish poems year by year, until (well, and after) her death.
I found so many of the details revealed in this biography fascinating (for instance, Ted's interest in the occult and hypnosis) and Sylvia's desires for "signs" when she was lost in her life. I appreciated that she felt she had received a sign from William Butler Yeats, given his own meanderings into the supernatural.
If not for this book, I would not have been touched by her life. Many thanks for the years you must have put into bringing the book--and Sylvia--into existence. I am thankful that she gave so much of herself to the world, and that you've shown us a great deal of that Self, that heady poet and that very brave woman Sylvia Plath.
 |
Title: The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath by Karen V. Kukil, Sylvia Plath ISBN: 0385720254 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 17 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
 |
Title: Collected Poems Reissue by Sylvia Plath ISBN: 0060909005 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 25 December, 1981 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
 |
Title: Her Husband: Hughes and Plath, a Marriage by Diane Middlebrook ISBN: 0670031879 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: 09 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
 |
Title: The Silent Woman : Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes by Janet Malcolm ISBN: 0679751408 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 28 March, 1995 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
 |
Title: Ariel : Perennial Classics Edition by Sylvia Plath ISBN: 0060931728 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 01 March, 1999 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
