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sloatsj's review against another edition
5.0
I've had this book a week and it has already saved my life 37 times. I am so tickled I have had to remove my wig. As we Americans say, "Thank you sooooo much."
lucasmiller's review against another edition
5.0
Nearly every description of Seidel's poetry I've read makes some mention of its offensiveness, of something frightening basic to its nature. These notices are not lying. I found myself turned around and suddenly lost in the middle of many of these poems, What begin as straightforward narratives by the imagined poet as narrator take sharp turns into strange, brutal territory. Aging, sex, motorcycles, Italy, and always death punch through complex rhyme schemes and meters. It's debonair, it is often uncomfortable, I couldn't put it down.
beepbeepbooks's review against another edition
3.0
It's been a while since I've read poetry, and I heard of Seidel on some weird article I was reading about forgotten authors like Joseph McElroy and Nicholas Baker. I like the idea of evil poetry, reminds me of Bolaño.
And Seidel does have a lot of echoes of Baudelaire. I guess I don't see the complete hype, but there is something hypnotic in his repetition - his race cars, dirty Parisian streets, tropical climates and colonial violence. Maybe I just gotta read more.
And Seidel does have a lot of echoes of Baudelaire. I guess I don't see the complete hype, but there is something hypnotic in his repetition - his race cars, dirty Parisian streets, tropical climates and colonial violence. Maybe I just gotta read more.
ollieshrouder's review against another edition
1.0
I had to google who this man is, because I am stunned at how unaccomplished and lifeless most of these poems are, with a juvenile use of rhyme and line and most poetic devices that I cannot believe this is a tenth collection, under Faber no less. I hope his other collections do his renown justice because this one is far from the mark, though there are rare moments of originality buried in here
EDIT: after ruminating on some of the later poems, where the tone changes from incompetent to unforgivable, I am changing this to one star
EDIT: after ruminating on some of the later poems, where the tone changes from incompetent to unforgivable, I am changing this to one star
harvio's review against another edition
4.0
- at turns - disturbing, gleefully self-mocking, Seidel's poetry appears designed to shock
- some real gems, amidst piles of rubble, I thought
- some real gems, amidst piles of rubble, I thought
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