Red Comet

 

When I got this book at the library I didn't know how long it was. When I saw it was over 900 pages I told myself that I would just flip through it. I was surprised. I got through the whole thing. It's an entertaining biography but very rich with detail. You practically feel like you are going through Sylvia Plath's daily life. One thing that I got from this book was that Sylvia Plath was very humble. She didn't know how good she was. Yes she was submitting to places like The New Yorker so she had some awareness of her talent. However to most people she just introduced herself as Mrs. Ted Hughes. It's sad reading Red Comet because one minute she's in love with him and walking on air. Then during the affair she's in pieces. Ted Hughes comes across as very indifferent to her feelings during the whole mess. This is the definitive Sylvia Plath biography. I don't think it is necessary to read another one. It also describes well how it was like to be a female writer in the 1950s and 1960s and the struggle of just getting your foot in the door. It also gives a thorough analysis of her poetry.

A Wolf for a spell

This was nominated as one of the best children's books last year at goodreads so I was curious. I found it to be enchanting. The witch Baba Yaga does a spell switching her body with a young wolf. An orphan girl named Nadya asks Baba Yaga (who is really the wolf) for help. I enjoyed the use of Russian folklore in this book. You don't need to learn about Baba Yaga beforehand to get this book. I find that people don't really talk about children's literature nowadays. Children's literature is just getting better. I love reading children's literature since it is so imaginative and avoids the trash that you often find in adult literature. 

Faces in the Water

 This was a biography about a woman's experiences in two mental institutions in New Zealand. This book makes Girl Interrupted and The Bell Jar look like heaven. The living conditions are horrible and the doctors only bother with the patients who are the most "sane." The main flaw I have with this book is that it's kind of detached. The author doesn't have any friends in these institutions. I would have liked to have made an emotional connection in the book other than the main character. On the other hand though if this writer didn't make any friends then that is simply her experience. The closest connection we meet is with a staff member who used to care but gave up along the way. She knows that this author judges her and responds aggressively towards her. The author's biography An Angel at my Table was later made into a movie by Jane Campion one I watched more than twenty years ago. This is apparently New Zealand's most famous writer.  

Klara and the sun

 

This was ok. I was hoping for more since I really liked Never Let me Go. Never Let me go was about clones and this followed a similar science fiction plot with a robot. It's about Klara, a robot and her devotion to the family she works for especially Josie their sick daughter. She sees the sun as a God like figure looking over her. There weren't any surprising turns in this story. This book just seemed kind of safe.

The Lost Traveller

 It's interesting how time can change your opinion of a book. When I first read this I didn't like it. I found it too anti religious. I'm not Catholic but I don't really like religion criticized. Then I read the first book of this trilogy Frost in May and now I know the character's dilemma more. Not only that the criticizing of religion wasn't as much as I remembered. The book is about a girl entering adulthood. She becomes a governess but then a tragedy happens. Uncertain about what to do next she accepts a proposal from a man she doesn't love. I like reading Virago books and learning about all of these forgotten female writers of the past. It's pretty neat.