I first heard of this book in a 1927 review of it by Dorothy Parker (available in the 1944 edition of The Portable Dorothy Parker, as well as subsequent editions I believe, including the 1973 one). Parker's review is beautifully apt. She says, "I think that the Journal of Katherine Mansfield is the saddest book I have ever read. Here, set down in exquisite fragments, is the record of six lonely and tormented years, the life's-end of a desperately ill woman. So private is it that one feels forever guilty of prying for having read it." Mansfield suffered from a heart condition and later tuberculosis which kept her in a constant state of physical misery for years. Even worse for her was the constant torment of never being able to achieve enough as a writer to satisfy herself. Parker is completely right: I can't think of who could capture that constant, acute sorrow better than Katherine Mansfield. As Parker said, "She was not of the little breed of the discontented; she was of the high few fated to be ever unsatisfied."

If you've never read her short stories (she never wrote anything else), please do, and I would advise you to read them before you read her journal.

The book itself seems like it could be published as a stream-of-consciousness novel (it's impossible to follow at times but no worse for it. It seems to make perfect sense - even the numerous cryptic little notes). It's full of little pieces of stories never finished. Mansfield's body of work was so small (something that upset her deeply) that these little fragments would be enough to make any fan of hers need to read this journal.

She is most often compared to Chekhov, and it's not difficult to see why. I truly believe that Mansfield innovated and practically invented the English (language) short story. Besides Chekhov (whom she often mentions in her journal) I've never read anything quite like her, particularly not anything that predates her.

What else you need to know:
1. Mansfield was born in New Zealand, the influence of which can be seen in short stories like "At the Bay".
2. Her husband, J. Middleton Murry, published her journals, causing some to accuse him of taking advantage of her.
3. You must read this book.

I first heard of this book in a 1927 review of it by Dorothy Parker (available in the 1944 edition of The Portable Dorothy Parker, as well as subsequent editions I believe, including the 1973 one). Parker's review is beautifully apt. She says, "I think that the Journal of Katherine Mansfield is the saddest book I have ever read. Here, set down in exquisite fragments, is the record of six lonely and tormented years, the life's-end of a desperately ill woman. So private is it that one feels forever guilty of prying for having read it." Mansfield suffered from a heart condition and later tuberculosis which kept her in a constant state of physical misery for years. Even worse for her was the constant torment of never being able to achieve enough as a writer to satisfy herself. Parker is completely right: I can't think of who could capture that constant, acute sorrow better than Katherine Mansfield. As Parker said, "She was not of the little breed of the discontented; she was of the high few fated to be ever unsatisfied."

If you've never read her short stories (she never wrote anything else), please do, and I would advise you to read them before you read her journal.

The book itself seems like it could be published as a stream-of-consciousness novel (it's impossible to follow at times but no worse for it. It seems to make perfect sense - even the numerous cryptic little notes). It's full of little pieces of stories never finished. Mansfield's body of work was so small (something that upset her deeply) that these little fragments would be enough to make any fan of hers need to read this journal.

She is most often compared to Chekhov, and it's not difficult to see why. I truly believe that Mansfield innovated and practically invented the English (language) short story. Besides Chekhov (whom she often mentions in her journal) I've never read anything quite like her, particularly not anything that predates her.

What else you need to know:
1. Mansfield was born in New Zealand, the influence of which can be seen in short stories like "At the Bay".
2. Her husband, J. Middleton Murry, published her journals, causing some to accuse him of taking advantage of her.
3. You must read this book.

Both Katherine and her work are like a flower that has grown within the weeds that make up life.

There are 28 stories in this very excellent collection by Katherine Mansfield, the settings reflecting her own life experiences in New Zealand and England in the early part of the 20th century. Her detailed descriptions of objects are intrinsic to the stories, tiny sparkles that spread out and create a canvas on which her characters interact. Every story has its own suppressed passion as Ms. Mansfield gets right into the heart of what makes us all human. They are filled with arrivals and departures, spinsterhood and marriage, love and loss and pangs of despair. Children play a role in her writings, as do distinctions of social class. Life is a struggle for her characters who are timeless in their humanity, although they all live in a world that existed more than 80 years ago. With rare exceptions, the stories are sad. I was impressed by her writing, which is layered with subtleties in the way she deals with the major themes of life and death. Her structure is unique for its time, as there doesn't seem to be any center or an easily identified beginning, middle and end. Often, they are simply small slices of life, rare glimpses into human nature with sharp insights that sparked my own memories and feelings. It might have been uncomfortable, but reading these stories was a deeply enriching literary experience.

This collection of short stories is a remarkably good introduction to Katherine Mansfield. All of her most well-known and representative stories are included here, along with some that are lesser-known.

The beauty of Mansfield's writing lies in her poetic description of detail--her power of suggestion--and her courage. She was determined, both in her life and in her writing, to move against the current of the time. Her life was filled with problems; her health, her love life, and her writing all caused her measureless pain, but in spite of these she lived her life the way she chose to live it. And though her writings were often critized--not least by her notable rival, Virginia Woolf--she kept on in the face of difficulty, and is now recognized as a major transformer of the short story.

A few examples from this collection would be in order. In "At the Bay," Mansfield examines in great detail the experiences and emotions of each member of a large family in New Zealand. It is in this story that she displays perhaps to the fullest extent her ability to take seemingly unimportant details--gestures, looks, scattered thoughts--and from them build a fascinating portrayal of an individual's personality.

In "Psychology," she conducts a unique experiment. At first glance, not much happens in the story; but on further examination and multiple rereadings, the depth of conflict becomes evident, and then, Mansfield's understanding of the deepest nooks and crannies not only of the female but also of the male character.

"The Singing Lesson" progresses in a lighter vein; a spinster singing teacher receives a message from her fiance, breaking off their engagement; she begins her teaching miserable, heart-broken, and full of anger. Thirty minutes later, she receives another message in which he reassures her of his love. The story contains interesting use of imagery and simile, and pokes mild fun at the tragic mood swings of the young woman.

Mansfield's stories are not melodrama, but lyrics. They are short, poignant silhouttes drawn in quick and sometimes uneven brushstrokes, but always carrying the touch of genius.

I have come across Mansfield numerous times in school, but not until this year, when I read her entire collection of short stories, have I begun appreciating her greatness as a writer. In her stories, Mansfield captures some of the impressions we encounter daily and have time only to remark how surprising, how sudden, and how fleeting they are. Some stories, like "A Garden Party", "The Doll's House", "The Daughters of the Late General", accurately convey the sense of loss, the breath of youth, the regret of unfulfilled lives all in subtle and striking prose. The beauty of the writing lies in the subtlety of description, the use of symbolism, and the immediacy of the language, not unlike her contemporary and admirer Virginia Woolf.

I was fortunate enough to find a copy of Claire Tomalin's biography of Mansfield, and reading it gave me a better grasp of the context of the writing. If the stories sometimes seem remarkable or shocking for the time they were written in, Mansfield's life too readily provided a source to draw from. Her presence and personal failings, triumphs, and conflicts are felt throughout her work, and rereading the stories knowing about her life impressed this sense further. Her stories show what a writer can do when inspired, and suggest what a much greater writer she could have been with time, health, and happiness later in life.

Gurdjieff has been much slandered by people who claimed he somehow abetted Mansfield's death by tuberculosis or didn't help her sufficiently. In those days there was no cure for TB and she was already dying. He made her last days meaningful. The book will give some insight into his teaching and her interest in it. She had no complaints--was in fact grateful. She died as comfortably as she wouldhave anywhere. The book is out of print but can be found used.

I first heard of this book in a 1927 review of it by Dorothy Parker (available in the 1944 edition of The Portable Dorothy Parker, as well as subsequent editions I believe, including the 1973 one). Parker's review is beautifully apt. She says, "I think that the Journal of Katherine Mansfield is the saddest book I have ever read. Here, set down in exquisite fragments, is the record of six lonely and tormented years, the life's-end of a desperately ill woman. So private is it that one feels forever guilty of prying for having read it." Mansfield suffered from a heart condition and later tuberculosis which kept her in a constant state of physical misery for years. Even worse for her was the constant torment of never being able to achieve enough as a writer to satisfy herself. Parker is completely right: I can't think of who could capture that constant, acute sorrow better than Katherine Mansfield. As Parker said, "She was not of the little breed of the discontented; she was of the high few fated to be ever unsatisfied."

If you've never read her short stories (she never wrote anything else), please do, and I would advise you to read them before you read her journal.

The book itself seems like it could be published as a stream-of-consciousness novel (it's impossible to follow at times but no worse for it. It seems to make perfect sense - even the numerous cryptic little notes). It's full of little pieces of stories never finished. Mansfield's body of work was so small (something that upset her deeply) that these little fragments would be enough to make any fan of hers need to read this journal.

She is most often compared to Chekhov, and it's not difficult to see why. I truly believe that Mansfield innovated and practically invented the English (language) short story. Besides Chekhov (whom she often mentions in her journal) I've never read anything quite like her, particularly not anything that predates her.

What else you need to know:
1. Mansfield was born in New Zealand, the influence of which can be seen in short stories like "At the Bay".
2. Her husband, J. Middleton Murry, published her journals, causing some to accuse him of taking advantage of her.
3. You must read this book.

This book adds significantly to the understanding of Katherine Mansfield and her New Zealand stories. I enjoyed it very much.

By accident I picked up "Letters to John Middleton Murray from Katherine Mansfield." It's a book to cherish. I absolutely adore the letters. Today, while sitting on my balcony, birds singing, it was as though I've gone back in time to the early 1900s to an uncomplicated time. These letters are like mini short stories--each one is different and there's tidbits of information of how life was nearly 100 years ago. Highly recommend this book. Here's a quote from a letter dated January, 1917: "I have just come in and smoked a cigarette, staring out through these dirty windows on to the dirtier windows across the way."

The opening story tells of a partyat her house with a group of friends of all persuasions-social-ist,communist,technocrat etc. andher cousin, a businessman. After the guests all explain how theirbeliefs would cure the ills of theworld her cousin tells his storywhere his protagonist realizes "There aren't enough smart peopleto go around."

Mansfield's innovative diction captivates readers and draws one into her own world. A world in which individuals are not bound by the common restraints of society.

If you've never read her short stories (she never wrote anything else), please do, and then read her journal. There is really something incredible that's underneath the surface of her short stories. If you just looked at the surface you might think they were cutesy or affected (little girls figure largely), but you would be completely missing the point. It's hard to explain what's so moving about them. When she describes some lazy afternoon, she just gets it so right that all the vast range of human experience seems to be contained in this afternoon (whereas in any Great American Novel-esque tomes you read only a fraction of that experience is ever expressed). But at the same time, it was just this cute little vignette that had very satisfying descriptions of flowers and little girls playing. The journal will help you understand her sadness as it's expressed in her work. You know when you are very, very upset, and you see something so beautiful or even funny, you're likely to become on the verge of tears? That's how Mansfield sounds in her stories - the stories are that beautiful thing that she sees.

She is most often compared to Chekhov, and it's not difficult to see why. I truly believe that Mansfield innovated and practically invented the English (language) short story.

I came across K.M. as she liked to be refered, 60 years after her death. Very late,but better late then never. And especially for K.M. In a german Pension indrigued me first,a review told me, she could have made a lot of money, to publish it again, during the WWI.she declined. She had lost her Brother at the somme, but could not bring herself to more war mongering.
Then I read The Garden Party, and new nearly instandly what kind of person she might have been.
She disliked being priviliged, down the Street, kids her age where starving. The Garden Party gave her an opportunity to disclose Society as what it was. The gap between the Have and Have not.And this in the early 20th century in New Zealand.
And the Garden Party is on of the few stories at the backdrop of New Zealand scenery.
Her Stories make still a highly interesting read, very modern issues with an unbelievable talent for drama, as well as a very dry Sense of humor, like in 'A german Pension'
One or two stories of her are always my companion.

I came at this book from the Mansfield camp and a little exhausted by all of the stale comparisons between Mansfield and Woolf. However, Smith's work is full of well-researched and thoughtful analysis. It's an amazing study--particularly of Mansfield, I think--and one that belongs on the same shelf as Kaplan's KM & THE ORIGINS OF MODERNIST FICTION and Dunbar's RADICAL MANSFIELD. Essential reading for Mansfield scholars and fans alike.

I came at this book with an interest in Mansfield (and to a lesser extent Woolf) and was tired of the countless studies (chapters and essays) comapring the two. Needless to say, then, I approached this study with trepidation and assumed I would not think much of it. But what a surprise! Smith has done a terrific job with her research and has produced a study that towers over the others I've seen. The study smells of sweat and hard work. I put it alongside Sidney Janet Kaplan's and Patricia Dunbar's studies of Mansfield. It is one of the best.

IT TOOK ME A LONG TIME TO FIND THIS ONE IN THE DAYS BEFORE AMAZON.COM. ALTHOUGH YOU MAY NOT FIND ANY DIRT IN THIS BIOGRAPHY, IT STILL IN AN IMPORTANT READ BECAUSE IT FOCUSES ON THOSE NEW ZEALAND DAYS OF KM. IT HAS A REMARKABLE FEEL FOR WELLINGTON. READ IT. R. CAPPUCCI