Hell Hath No Fury : Women's Letters from the End of the Affair

Rating:
Summary: More real writers, less contemporary whiners, please
Review: Being interested in the epistolatory writing genre for several years now (e.g. Ovid's Heroides, the Heloise and Abelard letters), I thought this book might be an interesting read - shedding light on not only the emotions at the 'end of the affair', but on the lives of the many women - Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Elizabeth I to name a few - whose missives are included here. The chapters are divided according to the type of letter written - Refusal of Marriage letter, the Autopsy letter, the Divorce letter, etc. While many of the letters could fall into several catagories, it's an effective organizational device. Many of the letters by famous women were unfamiliar to me, so that was a nice bonus. I didn't realize when I purchased the book, however, that many of the letters included are from modern day, ordinary women. Now, there's nothing intrinsically wrong with this concept at all - mixing 'historical' letters with contemporary letters (and emails). Provided the emotional and literary quality is on par - which might be wishful thinking, but wish it I did. Unfortunately, I found that many of the contemporary letters are amateurish and immature, often ineffectively vulgar, and poorly written. I'm sure the emotions are sincere, but that is not a justification for publication. While reading some of these modern letters might cause the reader to think "I'm not alone, other women have gone through this too" - which I am sure is the aim of the book - I just ended up thinking that I could outwrite and better express myself and my emotions more than most of the contemporary women included in this book. Not to say that all the contemporary letters are horribly bad - the 63 year old administrative assistant in North Carolina wrote an interesting letter about the end of her affair with a man who appeared not to know what he wanted - she's no Sylvia Plath, but her letter was not filled with variations of the F word, and did not involved the immature, unclever put downs and vengeful-ness of some of the 20 year olds featured in this book. Perhaps that's the key -age brings with it maturity - or perhaps real talent does, as the letter from a 16 year old Anne Sexton or the letter from a 19-20 year old Sylvia Plath reads as more mature than some recent letters from women in their late 20's, 30's and older. Or perhaps the difference is that society has changed - it seems more acceptable today to express yourself like a foul mouthed harridan than in yesteryear. Please don't mistake my criticism of these letters for the notion that women should not express their anger and their feelings. They most certainly should. I would just prefer they express it in a mature, creative, clever way, if I am going to pay money to read about it. Since there seem to be more 'historical' letters than 'contemporary' letters, I still recommend this book to women who want to read how others coped with the end of their affairs. And I would caution readers that if they are reading this book for ideas to use in their own letters, they might want to follow better examples than Tanya of the Methadone Clinic.

Rating:
Summary: I think you're wrong
Review: Not that I am a bitter person :) but this book is so refreshing to read when a relationship has gone badly. Everyone can relate to a relationship that has ended. This book is so enlightening as it places many different letters from healthy and the not so healthy relationships in one place. This book is refreshing in the sense that you can see the bad points in your relationship and move on. Giving you a wide range of author's this book gives you a large canvas to view relationships and their demise from. Some letters are from famous ladies, and the others are not so famous. I think the value of this is walking away with the knowledge that life goes on without that particular person in your life. All in all a book that evokes sympathy, laughter, and a tear or two.

Rating:
Summary: Very Interesting Book!
Review: This book contains, as described, letters from women to their partners at the end of the relationships. Some of the letters are laugh-out-loud funny, some poignant, some sad, some cruel, some pathetic and desperate. Some of the letters were written hundreds of years ago, and if you like classic literature, you will really enjoy the writing that comes directly from the hearts of women such as Anais Nin, Charlotte Bronte and Simone de Beauvoir. The letters are divided into categories such as "The Tell-Off", "The 'Just Friends'" and "The Divorce Letter". In each chapter, the letters are arranged chronologically, so if you are looking for a light, amusing read, you can flip to the middle of each chapter and read the more contemporary letters. Not all of the letter-writers are famous women. In fact, one of the leters was found lying on a sidewalk, its author never positively identified. I would recommend this book to someone who really enjoys reading, and enjoys the voyeurism of the peek into what is often the most interesting part of a relationship- its end.

Rating:
Summary: Great gift
Review: This book is simply a lot of fun to flip through. It's a neat way to see a different side of famous figures, ranging from Lady Mary Wortley Montagu to George Sand to Dorothy Sayers to Anne Boleyn, Mary Wollstonecraft, Charlotte Bronte... I was impressed with the sheer range of figures represented. It's an addictive read.

Rating:
Summary: I think you're wrong
Review: While some of the letters in this book are disturbing and intense, I disagree with the reviewer who says that the book is sickening. There are many loving letters as well as cruel ones, and the loving ones WAY outnumber the cruel ones. And the arrangement of the letters in the book is proof that we all react to breakups differently...some more maturely than others.