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mikkiokko's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
5.0
I cannot say this is the book that made me like poetry, but it is absolutely the book that made me "get" poetry; or to say let itself affect me completely. I finished it and wanted to immediately read it again. I love love love love love love this collection!!
athenas99's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
4.0
So many lovely poems in this collection - Tracy K. Smith truly has a way with words. Quite a few poems were inscrutable to me, but lovely all the same.
cultneophyte7's review against another edition
5.0
A brilliant collection of short poems, which borrows it's name from that Bowie song, so you already know it can't be all bad. A sci-fi inspired one, which talks about a whole lot of things and issues, with a plethora of pop culture and science references thrown around. While a couple of poems might have felt plain, most were just so articulately crafted, it was a delight to read.
The collection has a Radiohead-esque vibe to it too, if you know what I mean, and now that I have established that thought in my head, I cannot help but get rid of it. And the Bowie fan that I have been, all of this appeals to the inner nerd inside me unlike any other collection would. Really loved the narrative aspect of it all, would recommended.
The collection has a Radiohead-esque vibe to it too, if you know what I mean, and now that I have established that thought in my head, I cannot help but get rid of it. And the Bowie fan that I have been, all of this appeals to the inner nerd inside me unlike any other collection would. Really loved the narrative aspect of it all, would recommended.
morgob's review against another edition
5.0
I'm on a poetry kick and I love it! This collection was very good. I loved the different styles of poems she used, and the topics were wonderful. I have also discovered, through comparing which poems were my favorite in this one and in Native Guard, that I have a type of poetry that I prefer. My favorite type of poetry would be the kind that references history and historical events. Particularly, historical events that are not very well-known, to bring them to light and tell the previously unknown story. This author in particular references history and David Bowie, who isn't quite history but I love him anyway. So, having said that, I will list my favorite poems:
-"The Universe: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack", I love this one because of the word choice and the way it sounds,
-"They May Love All that He Has Chosen and Hate All that He Has Rejected", I loved this one because of the stories of the dead and having us look at the dead's killers, and I especially love the postcards,
-"Everything that Ever Was", also love this for the wording
-"The Museum of Obsolescence", the wording is magical but also the premise and the ideas behind it are very interesting
-"Don't You Wonder, Sometimes?", the David Bowie references are wonderful
-"Life on Mars", love all of the history, the mentions of the atomic bomb and that destruction, and the ideas of humanity and loneliness, also the Americans bit about Iraq got my blood boiling, especially after reading the endnotes
-"My God, It's Full of Stars", love the Bowie and 2001 references, it is kind of a scary poem because space is scary
-"Cathedral Kitsch", love the wording and discussion of god and religion, also interesting ideas about science and religion combined
-"The Largeness We Can't See", the wording is nice, but so are the ideas behind them, and that going into the unknown kind of deal.
-"The Universe: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack", I love this one because of the word choice and the way it sounds,
-"They May Love All that He Has Chosen and Hate All that He Has Rejected", I loved this one because of the stories of the dead and having us look at the dead's killers, and I especially love the postcards,
-"Everything that Ever Was", also love this for the wording
-"The Museum of Obsolescence", the wording is magical but also the premise and the ideas behind it are very interesting
-"Don't You Wonder, Sometimes?", the David Bowie references are wonderful
-"Life on Mars", love all of the history, the mentions of the atomic bomb and that destruction, and the ideas of humanity and loneliness, also the Americans bit about Iraq got my blood boiling, especially after reading the endnotes
-"My God, It's Full of Stars", love the Bowie and 2001 references, it is kind of a scary poem because space is scary
-"Cathedral Kitsch", love the wording and discussion of god and religion, also interesting ideas about science and religion combined
-"The Largeness We Can't See", the wording is nice, but so are the ideas behind them, and that going into the unknown kind of deal.
malu's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.5
They should have hired a professional narrator/actor. It was like the author was trying to make the reader fall asleep.