Kate Moses

A beautiful narrative with saccades of memory interwoven with a tragic subject: the final months of Sylvia Plath. Almost poetic in style, Moses creates convincing fictional dialogue; and links Plath's life events with mythologies and the culture of the era. There is a tug-of-war of empathy for both Plath and Hughes; as Hughes is portrayed with a humanly character in contrast to the stereotype created by feminists. The deep spiritual union between art and life is left with the reader on show more conclusion of this work.
Worth re-reading if only for the vocabulary. show less

I gave this book the rare compliment of reading it twice -- once when it first came out, back in 2003. I have a frustrating relationship with Plath, to whom I'd like to give, alternately, a long hug and a hard slap. Apparently that's the way Ted felt about her, too.

As a child of a mother who made many attempts at suicide, and who finally died by accident when she was about Plath's age (when I was 2 1/2 and my sister was 5 1/2), I have always been struck by the extraordinary self-centeredness show more of young parents who choose suicide. I imagine Plath's children, who are older than me by about a decade, have searched all their lives for the answers to why they were not --worthy enough? --compelling enough? --loved enough? --to have a mother who chose to stay, to live, if only for them. Kate Moses has helped to shed some light on these terrible questions, and for that, I thank her. show less

An introspective look at Sylvia Plath's mindset in the years leading up to her suicide. Wintering takes particular interest the author's interactions with her stifling mother, beloved children, and adulterous husband (Ted Hughes.) The timeline is difficult to follow, since each chapter jumps back and forth between adolescence, separation, and divorce, but Sylvia's attempts to find her independence lend clarity to each scene. Ted is definitely the villain here, and Sylvia the victim, but it's show more hard to argue the point, after suicide attempts and shock therapy. show less

This is the best book I've read in a long time. I savored this author's every description as much as the cake recipes at the end of each chapter. She writes beautifully-turned phrases both shiny-sweet and hauntingly sad about growing up and into the person she is now. There is so much left unsaid, just hinted at, that leaves me wanting to read more.