Reviews

May by Herman Gorter

ellenvanruremonde's review against another edition

2.0

*2.5 stars*
okee, de eerste 15 pagina's was het opzich wel interessant om te lezen, maar daarna kwamen de woorden echt niet meer bij me binnen. Laten we even gaan gooien met leuke begrippen. TEVEEL ENJAMBEMENT. ik snapte er helemaal niets meer van. Waar eindigt de ene zin en waar begint de andere? Oja, en waarom al die random Germaanse, Noorse, Griekse én Romeinse mythologie ertussendoor? Om het nog ingewikkelder te maken?
Gorter gebruikte wel leuke metaforen enzo, maar die kwamen niet echt meer bij me binnen, want ik heb me hier echt doorheen moeten vechten.

meilanb's review

4.0

Verhaal is leuk, maar door de schrijfstijl moeilijk te volgen.

gijs's review against another edition

3.0

John Keats keek mee over zijn schouder toen hij Mei neerpende. Zoals in 'Endymion' en 'Lamia' de sfeer is lyrisch, melancholisch, tragisch.

nenaveenstra's review against another edition

4.0

Mei is niet voor niets een klassieker: het is een prachtig cyclisch gedicht over de personificatie van de maand mei, met prachtig gevonden beelden en veel kennis van de klassiekers van toen. Het is geen makkelijk boek, en je mag er echt de tijd voor nemen, maar het is die tijd zeker waard. (Tip: lees het in mei en zie de bloemen uit het gedicht om jou heen bloeien)

Maar Mei is niet helemaal meer van deze tijd, en niet alleen vanwege het archaïsche taalgebruik. Er zitten namelijk wat racistische ondertonen en verwijzingen naar slavernij in, vooral richting het einde, maar ook in het veelvoudige gebruik van het woord 'blank' als synoniem met 'wit', maar ook: schoon, ongerept, superieur. Dergelijke aspecten moeten we niet vergeten als we klassiekers lezen, hoe groot hun belang voor het literaire landschap ook is geweest.

fyonageleynse's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

ladyreading365's review

4.0

Such a beautiful story wrote entirely in a poetic way. This prose is not to be missed. This wonderful story about a lady called may. It follows her birth, meeting a poet to her final days. I just love the poetry by this Danish poet and im so thankful that it has been translated into English for the first Time. The words of this story contains so much passion and so many wonderful feelings flowing through this words. It is so rare that you get to read the life of a woman through the delights of such emotive poetry. It is truly stunning and well worth reading. Im sure you will love it just as much as I did. I can't recommend it enough. I adored the 3 pictures that start each section. I would of loved to see more of these pictures throughout the book to give it that extra sense.
So much praise goes out to the author, translater and publishers for bringing us this magnificent piece of poetic work. I just can't wait to read more from this author and publishers.

notmythunder's review

adventurous lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

dorothysbookshelf's review

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

AD // Gifted • Thank you very much to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

As a translator myself, I know the struggle of translating poetry, and keeping the same tone and message as the original. Although I do not speak Dutch, so have not read “May” in its original language, this edition is well crafted, delicate and full of life. 

Strong visual imagery is used throughout the poem, alongside an AABB rhyme scheme and an iambic pentameter. I do not know the original poem’s internal meter, but I do know that it had the same AABB rhyme scheme, and transferring a poem’s initial rhyme scheme into a translation is a feat extremely hard to accomplish.

The world of “May” is so intricately interwoven with Norse mythology. I adore mythology, so it was a welcome appearance! This is the first of Gorter’s work I have read or heard of, and his allegorical choices really demonstrated his skill level. I may explore more of his work, if translations are available.

My least favourite thing about this poem is it’s usage of enjambment. Instead of achieving a flowly effect (the usual goal of enjambment), at times it felt jagged and unnatural.

In conclusion, this poem is a beautiful epic of grief, life, death and youth. I am very pleased at the inclusion of an introduction and a synopsis, as it helped me appreciate the poem and understand certain elements of it. I think complex novels or poems sometimes need a synopsis, as to make them more accessible, which assists the reader’s own interpretations.

I would rate this 4 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

sirah's review

4.0

You might expect that to read a poem over 150 pages long would be a grueling undertaking. I suppose if you hate poetry and clever wordplay and beautiful symbolism and gentle syllables, it would be a terrible experience. However, if you enjoy even one of these things and are committed to reading the entirety of section 2 in one sitting, you'll likely be delighted by this book. I was continually surprised and delighted by the intricate word choices and the foamy imagery. I'll never think of the month of May quite the same way again.

floooodle's review

hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

3.0

As someone who does not much enjoy poetry, this book did unfortunately not change my mind. I DNFed it not far in. I think I do not perhaps have the mind of someone who understands poetry and sees it in the beautiful way in which it is intended, therefore I struggle to read it and end up finding it, put frankly, boring and meaningless. 

In my opinion, I think a lover of poetry could still find this enjoyable and see it for what it is meant to be, even though I couldn’t.