Scan barcode
bluelilyblue's review against another edition
3.0
"When you got tired of walking/ you lay down in the grass. / When you got up, you could see for a moment where you'd been, / the grass was slick there, flattened out/ into the shape of a body. When you looked back later, / it was as though you'd never been there at all."
Some of the poems are sweet and evocative, others I couldn't care about that much, because they felt unfinished to me in some way -- as if the metaphors and the similes were clumsy and formulaic and failed to give the poem a more profound meaning. It's not my favourite work of Louise Glück's; but a weak collection from such an astounding writer is still good, so there are admittedly quite a few highlights, namely: Twilight, Noon, Earthworm, Solitude, Burning Leaves (all of them), Midsummer, A Village Life.
Some of the poems are sweet and evocative, others I couldn't care about that much, because they felt unfinished to me in some way -- as if the metaphors and the similes were clumsy and formulaic and failed to give the poem a more profound meaning. It's not my favourite work of Louise Glück's; but a weak collection from such an astounding writer is still good, so there are admittedly quite a few highlights, namely: Twilight, Noon, Earthworm, Solitude, Burning Leaves (all of them), Midsummer, A Village Life.
dutchcrunch's review against another edition
4.0
EARTHWORM
Mortal standing on top of the earth, refusing
to enter the earth: you tell yourself
you are able to see deeply
the conflicts of which you are made but, facing death, you will not dig deeply—if you sense
that pity engulfs you, you are not
delusional: not all pity
descends from higher to lesser, some
arises out of the earth itself, persistent
yet devoid of coercion. We can be split in two, but you are
mutilated at the core, your mind
detached from your feelings—
repression does not deceive
organisms like ourselves:
once you enter the earth, you will not fear the earth; once you inhabit your terror,
death will come to seem a web of channels or tunnels like
a sponge's or honeycomb's, which, as part of us,
you will be free to explore. Perhaps
you will find in these travels
a wholeness that eluded you—as men and women
you were never free
to register in your body whatever left
a mark on your spirit.
Mortal standing on top of the earth, refusing
to enter the earth: you tell yourself
you are able to see deeply
the conflicts of which you are made but, facing death, you will not dig deeply—if you sense
that pity engulfs you, you are not
delusional: not all pity
descends from higher to lesser, some
arises out of the earth itself, persistent
yet devoid of coercion. We can be split in two, but you are
mutilated at the core, your mind
detached from your feelings—
repression does not deceive
organisms like ourselves:
once you enter the earth, you will not fear the earth; once you inhabit your terror,
death will come to seem a web of channels or tunnels like
a sponge's or honeycomb's, which, as part of us,
you will be free to explore. Perhaps
you will find in these travels
a wholeness that eluded you—as men and women
you were never free
to register in your body whatever left
a mark on your spirit.
casparb's review against another edition
This collection is doing strange things for me it arrives at a bizarre place in her bibliography and while it’s too early for me to say I am wondering how we take it as a contribution to the oeuvre. When Louise is autobiographical here she’s at her best I think & this occurs in Noon, At The River, & the title poem. I kind of feel I ought to know more about the development of this collection because I’m wondering if this autobiographical spring exists as an expansion of what has been put down already - in many ways it can feel a few steps back on the conceptual level from the previous three collections Averno - The Seven Ages - Vita Nova
March is quite beautiful and Louise most explicitly Eliot she’s lifting lines rather than her usual allusion. Again I like it but also I’m wondering why it’s taking place at this point in her career and whether it coheres with the collection.
It’s a collection of SCENES & more so than usual it’s her expertise and I suppose the title alludes to this. Recurring bats and burning leaves to be unpacked maybe cinema is a muse more than usual but that’s an instinct not an analysis
March is quite beautiful and Louise most explicitly Eliot she’s lifting lines rather than her usual allusion. Again I like it but also I’m wondering why it’s taking place at this point in her career and whether it coheres with the collection.
It’s a collection of SCENES & more so than usual it’s her expertise and I suppose the title alludes to this. Recurring bats and burning leaves to be unpacked maybe cinema is a muse more than usual but that’s an instinct not an analysis
emicordelia's review against another edition
reflective
sad
fast-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? Yes
3.0
bithikahalder's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
5.0
missterremoto's review against another edition
4.0
Resguarda la belleza de las cosas sin negar su crudeza o su repulsión. Entre la niña que reconoce en sí a su madre y ese cuerpo que le desagrada, los amantes que se besan mientras los gatos matan ratas, o recetas de cocina que traen recuerdos y también problemas, la nostalgia y el cariño lo empapan todo.