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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
While I had a mostly neutral reaction to this collection of poems, I have to say that I love the end of "Approaching Godthåb". Her description of the Earth from close-up to a view from space was beautiful and so descriptive of her feelings. Wonderful.
One feature all my favorite poets share is the ability to blend the mundane with the mystical. This book as a whole - portraying her journey through dissolution of a marriage - blended both expertly, with breathtaking imagery and visible pain/strength/brokenness/rebuilding. The theme of singing vs quiet really touched me. The traps on the china plates skewered my heart. What struck me the hardest, though, was Olds' repeated mention in the first section of comforting her soon-to-be ex. He'd taken her by surprise, left her, closed while she opened - and throughout the beginning she works to make it easier for him. Its irony resonates with anyone who has loved.
I am not often a reader of poetry, but Sharon Olds collection of poems in Stag's Leap is entirely relatable even to those who have not gone through a divorce.
I wanted to read an Olds book, and this was the only one available at my library. I say that because it’s about her divorce, which is a topic I usually wouldn’t choose to read about. However. Olds is incredibly gifted at communicating the human experience. Though I haven’t gone through a divorce, I related easily to her words and feelings, her fears and triumphs. By the end, I realized that the point wasn’t really to discuss divorce and brokenness, but love and healing. Beautiful.
This volume was, I think, not meant for me. I read it based on the praise of a friend entering a recent divorce, but though at first I was able to read through the poems to some of my own experiences, as it went on it left me behind more and more. I expected to like the “epilogue” in particular much more than I did. Usually I don’t mind if poetry isn’t #relatable so I think the poetic style here just isn’t for me — veering between colloquialisms and brand names, and laundry lists of obscure vocabulary, in a way that was less than the sum of its parts for me.
This was some of the best poetry I read in a long time. I love the honesty of Olds. She is in so much pain, but we see her survive, but never forget. These are the parts of a break up no one ever talks about. It was beautiful and honest.
I'd like to say it didn't feel like she was out to make money, but if I really paid the sticker price for this paper back...
I'd like to say it didn't feel like she was out to make money, but if I really paid the sticker price for this paper back...
I’m not going to say that I didn’t enjoy this book, but I kind of also wish I hadn’t read these poems, at least not just yet.
Some poems are universal with a core that can touch almost any reader, these poems were so specifically written by a woman going through a divorce with her husband that I was aware that what they concerned and their deeper emotions were inaccessible to me. They didn’t overly affect me like most good poetry can do.
That isn’t to say it isn’t good, of course contemporary verse has its upsides and downsides but the imagery and use of natural and scientific language was beautiful. Some of the words conjured up interesting and captivating images with a strange ethereal real/grittiness but it was like I was only touched on one plane of existence.
Some poems are universal with a core that can touch almost any reader, these poems were so specifically written by a woman going through a divorce with her husband that I was aware that what they concerned and their deeper emotions were inaccessible to me. They didn’t overly affect me like most good poetry can do.
That isn’t to say it isn’t good, of course contemporary verse has its upsides and downsides but the imagery and use of natural and scientific language was beautiful. Some of the words conjured up interesting and captivating images with a strange ethereal real/grittiness but it was like I was only touched on one plane of existence.
Despite being a bit of a thesaurus (which is not the worst thing a book can be), this is a 4.5 for me. I loved these poems.
sad
fast-paced
These poems were truly heartbreaking, but they were also beautifully written. I am happily married and her words brought me to where she was during this time.
emotional
slow-paced