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Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams

and other prose writings
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( 6,763 ratings, 551 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams is a collection of short stories, essays, and diary excerpts by Sylvia Plath. These pieces delve into the complexities of human consciousness, exploring themes of fear, desire, and the boundary between dreams and reality. Plath's writing offers intimate glimpses into her mind, blending fantasy and autobiography in a compelling exploration of mental landscapes.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you are fascinated by the rich and vivid exploration of the subconscious mind. Through the lens of a gifted author, it offers a collection of prose that delves into themes of dreams, imagination, and the human psyche. Fans of literary fiction with a touch of psychological intrigue will find this a compelling read.

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A collection that outlines the author's early preoccupation with issues of mental illness, creativity and femininity, all of which would become recurrent themes in her later work. It contains the thirteen stories together with five pieces of her journalism, as well as a further nine stories selected from the Indiana archive.

Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams: and other prose writings, by Sylvia Plath, is a collection of early prose stories, journalism and journal fragments exploring the themes of mental illness, creativity and gender, from one of the twentieth century's most idiosyncratic voices.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Sylvia Plath commented in her journals: 'For me, writing verse is an evasion of the real job of writing'. From her mid-teens she wrote stories, at first easily and successfully, but then with increasing difficulty as the demands of her real vision complicated her growing ambition to make a career as a conventional story writer.

When the first edition of Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams appeared, Margaret Walters said of it in the Guardian: '.the book does offer new insight into her development as a writer,' suggesting how even her mistakes and dead ends contributed to the formation of an original and pathfinding talent.

This second edition contains the thirteen stories included in the first edition together with five of her more interesting pieces of journalism and a few fragments from her journal; and in Part IV, a further nine stories selected from the Indiana Archive. All items are given approximate dates of composition in so far as that is known.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams is a compelling collection of Sylvia Plath's short stories and prose, showcasing her unique voice and profound insights into the psyche. Readers appreciate the dark and vivid imagery Plath employs, often reflecting themes of existential dread and desire. Critics commend the collection for its depth and the powerful, almost haunting, narrative style characteristic of Plath's work.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780571049899

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 09 April 2001

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Faber & Faber

Edition: Main

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 20.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 200.0mm

Weight: 255g

Pages: 352

About the Author

Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and studied at Smith College. In 1955 she went to Cambridge University on a Fulbright scholarship, where she met and later married Ted Hughes. She published one collection of poems in her lifetime, The Colossus (1960), and a novel, The Bell Jar (1963). Her Collected Poems, which contains her poetry written from 1956 until her death, was published in 1981 and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry.

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