This is a book that would likely be most effectively read in the manner in which it was composed, perhaps a page or two at a time, spread out over the course of several years. Reading approximately 700 pages all at once can be an overwhelming experience. Sylvia Plath was indeed a talented writer, a perceptive and intelligent woman. However, spending an extended period of time within the confines of her mind is not a comfortable experience, even for an observer. Of course, being aware of the ending in advance provides the reader with a certain advantage over Plath and imparts an unintended layer of irony to numerous entries. It also elicits an involuntary little shiver when encountering comments such as "I desire the things which will destroy me in the end."

This book, with its complex and often disturbing themes, requires a careful and measured approach to fully appreciate. It is not a work that can be easily digested in one sitting, but rather one that demands to be savored and contemplated over time.

The reader must be prepared to confront the darkness and turmoil that lies within Plath's words, and to grapple with the profound questions that she poses about life, death, and the human condition.

In conclusion, this book is a challenging but ultimately rewarding read, one that will stay with the reader long after the final page has been turned.

This was my year-long reading project, which I managed to successfully and satisfactorily complete.

I really like reading diaries, and there were many things I liked in these: how critical Plath is, how she searches for herself, how she wanders. Her notes are extremely mature, and her self-discipline simultaneously frightened me and aroused my admiration.

It so happened that at a certain time I was reading both the Diaries and "The Mystique of Femininity" simultaneously. It was amazing to find in the thoughts of the young Plath what Betty Friedan later wrote about on a scale of an entire generation of women like Plath.

The social pressure that Plath feels, how she tries to break free while simultaneously wanting to stay on the beaten paths for women, both in her and in me during reading, aroused frustration and a sense of injustice.

I recommend it to all fans of diaries, those interested in literature, the creative process, and the struggle with expectations.

I don't want to rate these newspapers. Reading them was a very important experience for me.

Each newspaper has its own unique characteristics and perspectives. Some provide in-depth analysis of current events, while others focus on entertainment and lifestyle.

By reading different newspapers, I was able to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the world around me.

I also learned how to evaluate the reliability and credibility of the information presented.

In addition, reading newspapers helped me improve my language skills and expand my vocabulary.

Overall, although I don't want to rate these newspapers, I am grateful for the opportunity to have read them and the valuable experience they have given me.

**The Journals of Sylvia Plath**

Sylvia Plath's journals are a remarkable and essential piece of literary history. From the age of eleven until her untimely death at thirty, she meticulously recorded her life. These journals are not just a simple account of her daily activities but a vivid and intense exploration of her inner thoughts, feelings, and the complex web of her daily existence.

The immediacy with which she writes gives the reader an intimate and raw look into the mind of a brilliant and troubled writer. They serve as a crucial source for understanding her early writing and provide a detailed portrait of the woman who would go on to produce some of the most extraordinary poems in the last seven months of her life, solidifying her reputation as one of the greatest poets of the twentieth century.
The translations and multiple editions of these journals, such as the ones with the contributions of Ted Hughes and the editorial work of Frances McCullough, have made them accessible to a wider audience. The Persian translations by Mahsa Malek Marzban have also introduced Plath's work to a new group of readers in Iran.
Plath's journals are more than just a diary; they are a treasure trove of her subconscious, a source of inspiration for her later works, and a window into the life and creative process of a literary giant.

These journals are a must-read for anyone interested in Sylvia Plath, modern literature, or the power of the written word to capture the essence of a human life.

Reading Plath is an experience that can be likened to playing a gamble. You are constantly on the edge of your seat, never quite sure what to expect from the next line. It could be the most profound and relatable Tumblr-esque line about the struggles and joys of being a woman in this complex world. It might touch on themes of identity, self-discovery, and the challenges faced by women in a patriarchal society. On the other hand, it could also be a completely uncalled for and unnecessarily racist observation. This unpredictability adds an element of excitement and danger to reading Plath's work. It forces you to grapple with her words, to question her intentions, and to decide for yourself whether her ideas are valid or not.

There were certain moments while reading this book that I simply had to put it down. The reason being that the feelings depicted within its pages are so incredibly vivid that one can't help but feel like an intruder. It's as if you are peeking into the most private and intimate corners of someone's life.

There are numerous quotes from her journal that describe in dark and detailed fashion the feelings that I am certain many women experience. These include the emotions felt when they are on their own for the very first time, when they are falling in love, when they have their hearts broken, when they are scared of failure, when they get married, and even when they find themselves alone.

This book truly has a profound impact. It makes you reflect on your own life and the various emotions that you have gone through or may yet experience. Loved this book with all my heart. It's a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the complex and often tumultuous world of a woman's emotions.

I decided to read this for two main reasons. Firstly, Sylvia Plath intrigued me deeply. Her works and life story have always been a source of fascination for me. Secondly, I knew that reading her journals could potentially help me improve my own journal entries. I believed that by studying her writing style and the way she expressed her thoughts and emotions, I could learn a great deal and apply it to my own writing.

It is truly astonishing to think about the fact that she was so young when she wrote these journals. I often found myself having to remind myself of this, as her words seemed far beyond her years. She had an extremely mature perspective on life, which was quite remarkable. I would read only 20 or 30 pages at a time, as her writing was so full of intense introspection. I had to constantly go back and reread passages, reflecting on my own life and engaging in some serious soul-searching. It was an exhausting process, but at the same time, it was incredibly worthwhile.

The first half of this book is absolutely remarkable. It is hard to believe that it is just a journal. However, after she got married, I noticed a significant change in her tone. Her journaling seemed to be permanently altered. She seemed to diminish herself in comparison to the "great Ted Hughes". She refrained from "nagging" him, while he could freely do so to her, all because of his supposed "superior seat". In her eyes, he was always the better, bigger, and smarter one. It was quite disappointing to see that her feminist words from before were not put into action, and she became rather submissive, accepting too much of his behavior and betrayals. I understand the misogynistic era in which she lived, but after being so completely compelled by her words, I cannot deny that her submission bothered me.

The introspection that was so prominent in the first half of the book seemed to halt, and her diaries started to resemble a dull list of clipped everyday happenings and to-do lists. The student Sylvia was interesting, incredibly eloquent, and contemplative. She was alive and full of color, even during her worst depressions. However, the working, married Sylvia seemed washed out and colorless. But it was during this time that she wrote her most important masterpieces. So, I suppose she simply transplanted her magic from journaling to higher purposes.

This book was a long and tough read. It took me forever to finish, but it was more than worth it. Sylvia Plath was truly something else. Her words have the power to transcend journaling and touch the hearts and minds of readers.

Sylvia's words cut deep.

"This loneliness will blur and diminish, no doubt, when tomorrow I plunge again into classes, into the necessity of studying for exams. But now, that false purpose is lifted and I am spinning in a temporary vacuum. At home I rested and played, here, where I work, the routine is momentarily suspended and I am lost. There is no living being on earth at this moment except myself."

These words seem to describe a state of profound isolation and confusion. The idea that the false purpose of daily activities can be suddenly lifted, leaving one adrift in a vacuum, is both relatable and disturbing. It makes me wonder if we all experience these moments of disorientation, when the familiar patterns of our lives are disrupted and we are left to face our true selves. Sylvia's words serve as a reminder that even in the midst of a busy and seemingly purposeful life, there are times when we feel completely alone and lost.

I picked up this book with the intention of delving deep into the mind of Sylvia Plath. I was curious to understand what made her tick, to get a handle on both her thoughts and emotions. Additionally, as a lover of lyrical prose, I thought this book would be a perfect fit since I often struggle with anthologies.

The book did not disappoint. I was immediately drawn to Plath's vivid, colorful, and emotive prose. Her descriptions were filled with perfectly chosen details that brought her world to life. However, it wasn't all smooth sailing. The book was difficult to read at times due to the many gaps and missing pieces.

What made it even more challenging was that her last two journals were missing, and the entries preceding her suicide were absent. Her poems were also not included, and instead, she presented ideas for new novels and short stories. Since the journals were never meant for publication, they could be hard to follow at times.

Despite these drawbacks, I found the book to be a fascinating read. It allowed me to see Plath's life from her own perspective and to understand the events that led to her untimely death. I also found it interesting to note her thoughts and emotions as these events occurred, even though they were not always explicitly mentioned.

In conclusion, while this book is not a typical autobiography and requires some prior knowledge of Plath's life, it is still a valuable read for anyone interested in her work. The audiobook narration by Tanya Eby was excellent, and I would highly recommend it. However, the appendices could have been better organized, and I hope future editions address this issue.

I will not rate this book.

It is simply too arduous for me to complete reading. I have this distinct feeling as if I am intruding. I have a profound love for memoirs, yet this one does not conform to that genre. Instead, it is a compilation of raw feelings and thoughts.

One cannot help but wonder, would Sylvia Plath have elected to publish her diaries had she lived? And if so, would she have made alterations to them prior to publication?

These questions linger in my mind as I struggle to make sense of this work. It challenges the very definition of what we consider a memoir and forces us to grapple with the authenticity and privacy of our innermost selves.

Perhaps this is the intention of the author, to make us question and reflect on the nature of our own experiences and how we choose to present them to the world.

Nevertheless, for now, I remain unable to rate this book, as it has left me with more questions than answers.

Dear Silvia, hello.

I'm sorry. I want to apologize to you. Because the world was so cruel to you, because no one noticed you, because you always felt that you were an extra, because you felt that you were a problem, not a human being. Dear Silvia, I want to apologize to you for all the pain you endured.

And in the end, dear Silvia, I couldn't. I had to let go because the situation was very familiar and influential to me. I had to let go. My heart didn't want to. I wanted to be with you until the end, but I couldn't. Forgive me, dear Silvia.

But without me, in the depths of my heart, in the depths of my soul, in the depths of my being, I understood your feelings. I understood what you endured and what a confused mind but a great soul you had. The greatness in you showed that the people around you were small, that they couldn't understand you, couldn't discover your existence and show you your true self.

Dear Silvia, if people want to see my heart, I will lie and cry for you and tell you that the pain is over. Now you can be at peace.

"December 2022"

It is an established fact that the circumstances surrounding Sylvia Plath's death are what ultimately catapulted her to literary stardom. During her lifetime, she published relatively little and was largely confined to the realms of poetic circles, unknown to the wider public. Additionally, her intense interest in psychoanalysis, combined with a tumultuous relationship with her husband, the would-be Poet Laureate Ted Hughes, has made her a subject of great intrigue.

However, I find it rather disturbing how she is predominantly seen through the lens of her tragedy. Her person seems to be interchangeable with a sense of macabre victimhood. I have a deep love for Plath, but it is her life that truly draws me in, not her death.

My admiration for Plath and her body of work is often accompanied by a sense of unease. This is because her life and works have been so obscured by the often-mythologized struggle with mental illness and her eventual suicide. Reading her works time and again has led me to see her as a kindred spirit. I believe that I can commune with her and that she understands me, although I am just one among millions of women who feel the same way. Isn't this the mark of a truly superior writer?

In her journals, Plath comes across as vivacious, multidimensional, and intensely human. She passionately records her life and observations,生怕 they slip away. She constantly urges herself to write more, do more, and be more. Her obsession with living, with creativity and success, is what makes her such an irresistible figure.

The journal entries included in this volume date back as early as July 1950, when Plath was an eighteen-year-old on the verge of starting college. These entries reveal a refined style and outlook that seems far ahead of her time. On the surface, she was an all-American girl, but she craved both independence and sexual freedom. In an age when success for women was defined as being wives and mothers, she had ambitious aspirations. Although often preoccupied with dating and husband-hunting, she was calculating in romance, aware of the precarious position of women in the 1950s. Unable to envision herself in the traditional role of a domestic servant, she desired equality. She negotiated her femininity in relation to the "masculinity" of her aspirations and often mentioned her envy for the ease of male living.

Her conception of her own femininity and wholeness underwent a subtle shift in later years, after her affair with Richard Sassoon and her marriage to Ted Hughes. However, she continued to assert her talents while balancing her role as a wife. Plath's adoration for Hughes is palpable in much of her writing in the later half. Perhaps it was because she finally had the kind of companionship she craved that her entries in this period shifted from being exercises in expression to being mostly concerned with description. Even so, there remained a loneliness within her that she could not share, one that she often attributed to her inability to fully tap into her talents.

In these later entries, we see Plath pushing herself to write and publish. She earnestly describes the cycle of rejections and acceptances and what it is like to earn a living through writing. She gives a sense of her competitiveness with contemporaries like Adrienne Rich and Anne Sexton, and, not least, her experiences with therapy and coming face-to-face with her personal issues and familial demons. There is also a sense of Plath boxing herself into her role as a wife and internalizing a sense of lack, often seeking to synthesize the creative energy of the womb with that emanating from her pen.

It is difficult to read these journals in one sitting. As private documentation of the poet's life, they evoke a sense of guilt and voyeurism in the reader. At the same time, Plath's writing here is not always raw but artistic and coolly analytical. It often veers into the territory of writing practice, where she records details and observations to enliven future efforts at composition. Often, these journals read like a variation of the confessional poetry she became best known for, blurring the line between the poet and the person in some places while reasserting it in others.

Of course, as with all journals, Plath's can only be read through the gaps between them. It is true that people most often write journal entries as a form of cathartic release when they are upset, and Plath herself acknowledges this. Therefore, seeing her entries as a completely accurate portrayal of her temperament would be rather misleading.

An additional problem is presented by the fact that crucial moments in her life, such as the birth of her children, her separation from Hughes, and her final days, are often missing from the journals. This is because Plath simply did not keep a journal during some periods, such as during her senior year of college. Moreover, at least two of her journals have gone missing or been destroyed by Hughes. Given the control he exerted over Plath's work after her death, it is not entirely unfounded to suspect Hughes of tampering even with those journals that he released for publication.

Nevertheless, "The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath" is indeed a valuable volume for those who have been moved and fascinated by the legend of Plath. While it does not provide a complete picture of her mind, it allows readers a glimpse into the brilliant talents and meticulous sensibilities of one of the most dynamic and acclaimed literary figures of the 20th century.