Reviews

Glass and God by Anne Carson

Only show reviews with written explanations

heartwurm's review against another edition

4.0

Another beautiful piece by Anne Carson! The first piece in this collection, “The Glass Essay” is insightful and poignant. She mixes verse with beautiful metaphors and breathtaking control of the narrative.

mastben11's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

The first poem-essay was damn near perfect, but none of the following resonated as fully for me.

thrilled's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

i kept discovering underlined bits & starred parts that totally synced up with my taste. maybe all carsonites think alike? it took me a while to realize I've already read most of this one. either i have a touch of dementia or reading anne carson always feels like the first time. let's go with the latter for my peace of mind. i wish this collection resonated with me more. the glass essay and the essay on the gender of sound made it all worth it in the end though.

variousfictions's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.5

The Glass Essay is the jewel in the crown. A poem that had me reflecting on my own life's prisons and the pain of lost love. But there's more to enjoy and ponder in this collection too. I was particularly enamoured with The Fall of Rome: A Traveller's Guide, a poem in which Carson recalls a trip to the Italian city where she works through a sense of alienation, weaving classical myth and philosophy into a poetic memoir that has become somewhat a trademark of her style. I loved this part, which is something I have felt when abroad (and at home at times) but have been unable to express so succinctly. Probably because I am not Anne Carson:

What is the holiness of the citizen?
It is to open

a day

to a stranger,
who has no day
of his own.

The final piece, Gender of Sound, is an insightful essay on how the sound of the voice shapes our perception of gender, using examples from ancient Greece and Rome (of course), through to the modern day, and how those perceptions have created barriers for women in society due to the female voice, in its tone and usage, being judged as something in opposition to societal order. Really well researched and thought-provoking.

Very likely a book I will revisit in the months and years to come.