Reviews

The Trees the Trees by Heather Christle

thrilled's review

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4.0

my friend and i have a ritual of drinking red wine and reading poetry to each other. entire books swallowed in one sitting. no bathroom breaks, although some pausing for discussion of boys and breakdowns and breakthroughs are allowed. this wonderful collection is just like that moment you part from someone you love, even just for the night, and in walking away you glance backward and offer some kind of gesture, perhaps a wave or a more elaborate salute of some kind, even if they don't see, and it's that reassuring feeling that all things end, but this thing isn't ending right now, that there will be another episode of spilled wine and words. yeah. this book is kind of like that.

hereisenough's review

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like those weird dreams where things make half sense, but not really. leaves me sitting here like, “k but why”

caramels's review

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1.0

A collection of random lines that felt like they were put next to each other with absolutely no rhyme or reason. These weren't some "quirky" or "strange" poems, they were just nonsensical sentences, pure and simple, and I didn't feel anything while reading them. Which is kinda the opposite of what poetry should do.

capittella's review

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

5.0

booksnbops's review

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dark emotional funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

3.0

torit's review

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4.0

This will always be one of my favorite poetry collections. Every time I read it, I’m inspired to go write! The weirdness is welcoming and fresh.

erichealdwebb's review

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5.0

Fantastic. Wrote a couple of poems inspired by these. Saw her read once in person, it was also fantastic.

ilovewongkarwai's review against another edition

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3.0

"I avoid my body by sleeping".

jimmylorunning's review

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3.0

Heather is playing 'house' in this book. I don't mean to imply the domesticity, but the pretend, the imagination, the whimsiness, and the playing of roles. Often, like an only child, Heather has to play all the roles herself.
Half-Hedgehog Half-Man
talk to me I said okay said the tree and it
twinkled not like that I said I already know
that talk to me about something new you
monster
it said that was a little better could
we try this
I said from a different perspective
so we swapped places I was still the monster
this would be easier if you could see the video
in the video there are all these owls like bang
bang bang all over the tree which I was now
only that might be clearer in writing because I
was also still myself half-hedgehog half-man
and that could be hard to communicate visually
and also my man-jaw was glass

My Enemy
I have a new enemy he is so good-looking here
is a photograph of him in the snow he is in the
snow and so is the photo I put it there because
I hate him and because it is always snowing in
the photograph my enemy is acting like there
are no neighbors but there are always neighbors
they just might be far away he is 100% evil
and good-looking he looks good in his parka
in the snow if you asked he would call it a
helmet all he ever does is lie he does not
breathe or move or glow he is not that kind
of man it is not that kind of snow

Some of these poems work better than others. And it could just be me, but some of the humor is too clever here (on the page), though she makes it work so well when she reads it.

alexkennell's review

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

5.0