Angry, impassioned ... Van Duyne is...effective in her takedown of the literary establishment that closed ranks around Hughes to protect him against feminist pushback from the 1970s on. She is less effective, regrettably, in capturing Plath in her entirety as a woman and an artist ... All this material is compelling and well argued; it would be a diehard admirer of Ted Hughes indeed who did not come away with the conviction that he was a deeply troubled man ... There’s much to admire in Loving Sylvia Plath, but it’s an addition to Plath studies, not quite the 'reclamation' of the subtitle.
Through the lens of a tough-minded contemporary feminism ... Can also become shrill and reductive ... Van Duyne...admits both to identifying with Plath and to lacking critical distance ... If your shelves (like mine) already groan with works by and about Plath, Hughes and their intimates, Van Duyne’s love letter to the poet may seem necessary. For those less obsessed, it is a volume you can safely skip.
Van Duyne seeks to subvert Hughes’ narrative of Plath’s life and what drove her to end it. In the wake of #MeToo and cultural conversations about believing women, Van Duyne argues Plath’s story ought to be given a fresh look.
Deeply researched ... Van Duyne’s scope includes the cultural context in which Hughes’ narrative has thrived, bringing in philosophy of intimate partner violence, as well as reflecting on her own personal experiences with an abusive ex.
