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thereadervee's review
4.0
This isn’t something I’d typically read. I’m not big into researching cults and much true crime, but this was something my husband was intrigued by so I had to give it a try. Learning about Allison Mack’s story and her time in NXIVM was such an eye-opener and this collection of poetry really shows how she fell under the influence of Keith Raniere.
The poetry collections mirrors the psychological framework that was engrained in the followers, but also the hope that shines through the horrors of manipulation and other demons that Allison Mack may have felt. The way that these words correlate and really bring emotions to the page is just essential in how they showcase the understanding anyone could feel to find themselves and recenter one another.
The poetry collections mirrors the psychological framework that was engrained in the followers, but also the hope that shines through the horrors of manipulation and other demons that Allison Mack may have felt. The way that these words correlate and really bring emotions to the page is just essential in how they showcase the understanding anyone could feel to find themselves and recenter one another.
shiloniz's review
5.0
"Some / of us at one point, wanted to be / loved by a mediocre man."
.
.
I'm always fascinated by work that is created through the use of constraints and Marissa Silva-Dunbar's collection Allison employs constraints to create a truly troubling portrait of Allison Mack, a young Hollywood darling turned cult priestess, manipulator, abuser, body trafficker. Marissa takes the blog posts of Allison and reworks them into poems, creating something new and beautiful out of tragic love notes to the world. I find myself curious about what was left behind, but not so much that I can't appreciate what has been created from them.
.
.
I'm always fascinated by work that is created through the use of constraints and Marissa Silva-Dunbar's collection Allison employs constraints to create a truly troubling portrait of Allison Mack, a young Hollywood darling turned cult priestess, manipulator, abuser, body trafficker. Marissa takes the blog posts of Allison and reworks them into poems, creating something new and beautiful out of tragic love notes to the world. I find myself curious about what was left behind, but not so much that I can't appreciate what has been created from them.
undermeyou's review
5.0
Allison is an important take on the actions of Allison Mack and her experience with Keith Raniere’s NXIVM. This collection spotlights the gaslighting and trauma responses in a way that gives insight into the phenomenon of the cult mindset and how it victimizes its participants. It’s beautifully written, and Marisa has made something unique with the addition of the remixed blog entries.
km_books's review
3.0
I have lots of thoughts about this poetry collection and will be compiling them into a blog post that will be posted hopefully within the week!
I’ve rated it three stars because some of the original poetry was enjoyable, but after researching and reading the remixed poetry I have some … ‘concerns’ is too strong of a word but it feels a little … wrong to make some things into art. But I will be exploring these ideas further within my blog post!
I’ve rated it three stars because some of the original poetry was enjoyable, but after researching and reading the remixed poetry I have some … ‘concerns’ is too strong of a word but it feels a little … wrong to make some things into art. But I will be exploring these ideas further within my blog post!
tipsybookworm's review
3.0
I think the poetry is well-crafted and that Silva-Dunbar is a great writer. As someone who is only loosely familiar with Allison Mack as an individual and has a very basic understanding of the logistics around the case, I did find it hard to connect with a lot of the poems in the way the author intended.
The concept was interesting but also a little uncomfortable, I think the circumstances surrounding Allison's case made me feel a little eerie with the content of this collection, especially with how recent it was. It's very much in a grey area for me after reading. I also felt like the collection heavily relied on remix poems, which given the concept makes sense, but I'm not the biggest fan of them.
This is my first introduction to Silva-Dunbar's writing and I am intrigued to read more of their work.
Trigger warning(?): read into Allison Mack's charges before picking up this collection.
Thank you Querencia Press for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review
The concept was interesting but also a little uncomfortable, I think the circumstances surrounding Allison's case made me feel a little eerie with the content of this collection, especially with how recent it was. It's very much in a grey area for me after reading. I also felt like the collection heavily relied on remix poems, which given the concept makes sense, but I'm not the biggest fan of them.
This is my first introduction to Silva-Dunbar's writing and I am intrigued to read more of their work.
Trigger warning(?): read into Allison Mack's charges before picking up this collection.
Thank you Querencia Press for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review
amberoooo's review
dark
reflective
3.5
Before reading this book I had no idea who Allison Mack was or what she was involved in. About 1/4 of the way through I actually had to look her up because this book gave no back story which was a little weird to me. I did really enjoy it though once I knew a little more about her. I would definitely recommend this book to others who enjoy poetry.
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