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booksandshan's review
4.0
3.5 / 4 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.
'How does the pain we protect differ from the break we must heal?'
This is a beautiful poetry collection about love, memories and family using the imagery of nature to represent life. The vocabulary of John was amazing and really created the emotion. You could really see the deeper meanings behind the words.
In my opinion this collection is for those who are an 'advanced poetry reader'. I myself have not read that many poetry collections so some of the quotes were hard for me to visualise and went straight over my head. I believe that sharing the experience of the writer creates a stronger bond and provokes more feelings.
'Someday you'll also learn to be satisfied without being full'
This is definitely going to be a reread further down the line with more poetry under my belt.
Would highly recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.
'How does the pain we protect differ from the break we must heal?'
This is a beautiful poetry collection about love, memories and family using the imagery of nature to represent life. The vocabulary of John was amazing and really created the emotion. You could really see the deeper meanings behind the words.
In my opinion this collection is for those who are an 'advanced poetry reader'. I myself have not read that many poetry collections so some of the quotes were hard for me to visualise and went straight over my head. I believe that sharing the experience of the writer creates a stronger bond and provokes more feelings.
'Someday you'll also learn to be satisfied without being full'
This is definitely going to be a reread further down the line with more poetry under my belt.
Would highly recommend.
thewoollygeek's review
5.0
Such beautiful poetry, quite dark at times, but always moving. The use of language, style, it’s just mesmerising at points, it just flows so well and I would reread some just because I loved how they flowed and made me feel. Beautiful
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion
bananafreckles's review
5.0
This stunning book took me so much longer than normal to read because every single poem absolutely rocked me. I couldn't read more than a couple at a time because they each gave me so much to think about, so much to learn, so much stark beauty to just sit back and go, "Whoa."
The first poem, bearing the same name as the book, sets up the thesis: "Because skin has a memory all its own and because memory is a language that's survived its skin." The second poem, "Snake. Tree. Rope. Wall." teaches the reader how to read that memory, creating the language together with the reader:
"Let's agree to call what we're touching his hand.
Let's say it's warm.
Let's agree our hands are enough to judge. Let's say the hollows in his skull are eyes and that all eyes can shine if you sweep the flies from them.
Let's say we are certain of this one thing
then let's never touch it again."
I could go on and on about every single poem. I'm kind of overwhelmed by even trying to review this book because it is so familiar in terms of theme and landscape, and it flays while it heals. So much of this book is underlined now; there were several poems where I ended up underlining the entire thing. Each line, each word is that important, that beautiful. I'll be reading this one over and over again.
The first poem, bearing the same name as the book, sets up the thesis: "Because skin has a memory all its own and because memory is a language that's survived its skin." The second poem, "Snake. Tree. Rope. Wall." teaches the reader how to read that memory, creating the language together with the reader:
"Let's agree to call what we're touching his hand.
Let's say it's warm.
Let's agree our hands are enough to judge. Let's say the hollows in his skull are eyes and that all eyes can shine if you sweep the flies from them.
Let's say we are certain of this one thing
then let's never touch it again."
I could go on and on about every single poem. I'm kind of overwhelmed by even trying to review this book because it is so familiar in terms of theme and landscape, and it flays while it heals. So much of this book is underlined now; there were several poems where I ended up underlining the entire thing. Each line, each word is that important, that beautiful. I'll be reading this one over and over again.
louiseycrochet's review
3.0
As a fairly new kid to poetry, I enjoyed quite a few of the poems in this book.
The collection of poems weave their way in and out between themes of love, loss and abuse, most of which resonated with me.
This is a lovely collection to start out with if you only happen to have a handful of poetry readings under your belt, and if you can handle a bit of darkness in your texts.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for an honest review
The collection of poems weave their way in and out between themes of love, loss and abuse, most of which resonated with me.
This is a lovely collection to start out with if you only happen to have a handful of poetry readings under your belt, and if you can handle a bit of darkness in your texts.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for an honest review
niibooksy's review
4.0
This poetry collection was very compelling to read. The author's writing of landscapes as metaphors for feelings of love, loss and grief really stuck with me. There were poems that resonated in a way that not many poems do, though others felt a little too metaphorical for my taste. Still, I couldn't help but devour this book, trying to connect the dots between nature and the author's story, and even comparing it to my own. I was very significant to read about the author's religion and culture within his poetry.
All in all a beautiful, and at times, sad poetry collection.
All in all a beautiful, and at times, sad poetry collection.
bonylegged's review
2.0
I received an ARC of this book through #netgalley.
A well-written book of poetry. Unfortunately, I struggled to be engaged due to poor formatting of the ARC ebook.
A well-written book of poetry. Unfortunately, I struggled to be engaged due to poor formatting of the ARC ebook.
julia_francis's review
4.0
I loved this poetry collection. I love how unique the concept was, and the actual writing itself was stunning. I adored how the author explored so many different themes in the one collection, as well as produced so much stunning imagery in regards to nature. Would highly, highly recommend this one.
gfox3737's review
2.0
Williams' prose and verses show his familiarity and schooling in poetry, but that doesn't always translate into writing that remains memorable after its read. The best of the bunch are Sons of No One, which opens with a striking first line about the suicides in his family and Dear Nowhere, relating with melancholy some experiences broken up by headings of rural U.S. towns. Fog and Death Is a Work in Progress both resonate with me, too, keeping with the melancholic tone of the collection.