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runeclausen's review against another edition
3.0
So the first thing that struck me, was that it's a poem collection. I have not dealt with that before, and it seemed somehow daunting. The second thing that stood out, was that the book contains the original belarussian version on the left pages, and the english translation on the right pages, which is a really neat feature, even if i do not speak belarussian.
The initial fear of engaging poems was mostly unjustified, as some of the poems were more explicit in their meanings than i could have feared, still with a good chunck of the poems being too subtle for my un-trained mind. Still the poems that i really got, was really good, striking some nerves of the belarussian society, life, love, people, sexuality, historical relations and such. As i read more of the poems i probably also got more used to the style and eventually thought i got most of the points trying to be made.
All in all a pretty decent, mostly melancholic, poem collection, that surely has it highlights.
The initial fear of engaging poems was mostly unjustified, as some of the poems were more explicit in their meanings than i could have feared, still with a good chunck of the poems being too subtle for my un-trained mind. Still the poems that i really got, was really good, striking some nerves of the belarussian society, life, love, people, sexuality, historical relations and such. As i read more of the poems i probably also got more used to the style and eventually thought i got most of the points trying to be made.
All in all a pretty decent, mostly melancholic, poem collection, that surely has it highlights.
laurensalisbury's review against another edition
4.0
This collection was intriguing and an pleasure to read. I just wish I could read the Belarus language.
annaketamina's review against another edition
5.0
lovely collection of poetry, reminiscent of Wisława Szymborska. I think I will revisit this very soon.
meekorouse's review against another edition
4.0
love the poetry and the bilingual text helps very much!
eliza_reads's review
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
I bought this after reading and loving a few of the author's more recent poems elsewhere. This was her first collection to appear in English, and the first time I have read anything translated from Belarusian or encountered Belarusian text--this is a dual-language edition, with the Belarusian originals on each facing page. Many of the poems explicitly engage with Belarusian history, politics, and language, and I am sure I am missing a lot of the complexity of the collection--I don't know much at all about Belarus, and I felt my ignorance reading this book and in the brief research I did after finishing it. Still, I found the book powerful and chillingly evocative, and the most explicitly political poems especially were both ghostly and furious. For example, from "Belarusian 1":
"even our mothers have no idea how we were born
how we parted their legs and crawled out into the world
the way you crawl from the ruins after a bombing
we couldn't tell which of us was a girl or a boy
we gorged on dirt thinking it was bread
and our future
a gymnast on a thin thread of the horizon
was performing there
at the highest pitch
bitch"
Or from "Belarusian II":
"this language does not exist!
it doesn't have any system!
it's impossible to talk to it--
it strikes you in the face at once!
even on holidays
you won't decorate the city with it
it can't be doctored up with either fireworks
or neon light
oh, come on, let this system kiss my
a c c o r d i o n"
Overall, the collection felt a bit uneven to me, although again I am sure there was a lot that I missed. The best poems are exceptional, especially the long poem "White Trash" and several of the poems towards the end, and the whole book is well worth careful reading. I will definitely be seeking out Valzhyna Mort's other work.
"even our mothers have no idea how we were born
how we parted their legs and crawled out into the world
the way you crawl from the ruins after a bombing
we couldn't tell which of us was a girl or a boy
we gorged on dirt thinking it was bread
and our future
a gymnast on a thin thread of the horizon
was performing there
at the highest pitch
bitch"
Or from "Belarusian II":
"this language does not exist!
it doesn't have any system!
it's impossible to talk to it--
it strikes you in the face at once!
even on holidays
you won't decorate the city with it
it can't be doctored up with either fireworks
or neon light
oh, come on, let this system kiss my
a c c o r d i o n"
Overall, the collection felt a bit uneven to me, although again I am sure there was a lot that I missed. The best poems are exceptional, especially the long poem "White Trash" and several of the poems towards the end, and the whole book is well worth careful reading. I will definitely be seeking out Valzhyna Mort's other work.
pogue's review
4.0
I have not read poetry in a while and as good as this book is, I am sure it is much better spoken.
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