Reviews

The Country Without a Post Office: Poems by Agha Shahid Ali

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dantemkunc's review

emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

This was increasingly really tough for me to read, to quote another reviewer, because Agha Shahid Ali writes in blood and not in ink.
It is an exceptional collection of his poetry, one that I foresee I will revisit several times. Notable ones that stood out for me - Farewell ("My memory is again in the way of your history/ Your history gets in the way of my memory") , I See Kashmir from New Delhi at Midnight, The Pastoral ("Is history deaf there, across the oceans?") and The Country Without a Post Office.
Another thing quite remarkable about Ali is that he purely writes Urdu in English and I am strangely so here for it?

bethanyclarkvt's review

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3.0

He is not my favorite poet. I think, despite most of the imagery and wording being very interesting and beautiful, that I would enjoy it a lot more if I had been raised in Kashmir the same time he was. I think a lot of his poetry requires background knowledge that I simply don't have. That alone decreases my enjoyment of the book, as I constantly felt like there was a meaning just barely beyond my grasp. I didn't really understand any of the poems, what he was talking about. That frustrated me. Like I said, I always felt like I would get it if I understood the allusions. Another thing is that he uses repetition a lot. Of phrases, of words, etc. This is interesting the first few times, but not at a near constant basis.

I do really think his use of wording and imagery is wonderful. The poems sound simply exquisite. He uses a lot of question, unorthodox line and stanza breaks, and while at times this gets tiresome, it's more often simply wonderful poetry that I really wish I could enjoy and understand.

Overall, not as wonderful as I expected or hoped, but not terrible either. It wasn't a wholly unenjoyable read, but I probably won't be searching out his books anytime soon.

burnedstory's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense

4.0

I think I've never felt transported to the setting of the poems like I've with this collection. The writing transferred me to the scene, it felt like I was watching over. Beautiful is the only word I can use to describe this collection of poems. The sadness, hope, hopelessness, everything is worked into these few pages.

britineurope's review against another edition

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3.0

The first three books in this collection I loved, particularly the first one or two poems in each. Ali is able to conjure up a sketch of Kashmir that is somehow wistful and joyful and familiar all at once.

meowmitski's review

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3.0

3.75/5.

codypretzel's review

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4.0

I thought this book did an incredible job merging the duties of the societal correspondence, literary citizenship, personal epistolary, and necessary lyric.