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ashak's review against another edition
3.0
Some books are read for their stories, whereas some are savoured for their vivid imagery. David's Park's The Poets' Wives belongs to latter category.
The gist:
The poets in question are William Blake, Osip Mandelstam, a Russian revolutionary poet and an unknown Irish poet. These are three separate stories told from their wives' point of view.
Blake's reputation as a madman yet a genius in the eyes of his wife as he breathed life into words and turned them into poetry is very effective although a bit abstract. Park makes a great connection between Blake and his poetry by inserting lines at appropriate intervals.
The second account is that of Nadehzha Mandelstam and the how his rebellious poetry cost him his life and turned hers into becoming a fugitive.
The third is that of an unknown contemporary Irish poet, how his poetic sensibilities restrained him from reaching out to his wife and children. Each account is different for the era and society separates the poets but they are bound by the common thread of fighting a society conspiring to tame them.
What works:
The language is beautiful and the moving images
What doesn't:
Although there is a bit of background, often the stream of consciousness approach gets a bit taxing for the reader
The voices though poignant fall short of involving the reader, leaving her wanting for a more comprehensive account
The writing style is brilliant and the descriptions are evocative.
However it is a taxing read and requires perseverance to enjoy it.
The gist:
The poets in question are William Blake, Osip Mandelstam, a Russian revolutionary poet and an unknown Irish poet. These are three separate stories told from their wives' point of view.
Blake's reputation as a madman yet a genius in the eyes of his wife as he breathed life into words and turned them into poetry is very effective although a bit abstract. Park makes a great connection between Blake and his poetry by inserting lines at appropriate intervals.
The second account is that of Nadehzha Mandelstam and the how his rebellious poetry cost him his life and turned hers into becoming a fugitive.
The third is that of an unknown contemporary Irish poet, how his poetic sensibilities restrained him from reaching out to his wife and children. Each account is different for the era and society separates the poets but they are bound by the common thread of fighting a society conspiring to tame them.
What works:
The language is beautiful and the moving images
What doesn't:
Although there is a bit of background, often the stream of consciousness approach gets a bit taxing for the reader
The voices though poignant fall short of involving the reader, leaving her wanting for a more comprehensive account
The writing style is brilliant and the descriptions are evocative.
However it is a taxing read and requires perseverance to enjoy it.
girlwithherheadinabook's review
4.0
I received an advance review copy of this novel as part of the Goodreads Giveaway. This was very exciting because I would have wanted to read it anyway, biographical fiction has been on the ascendant over the past number of years, as has the notion of the helpmate, the powerful woman, silent in the shadow of the great man. These women have been too long unsung, their husbands may bask in glory but their wives' memories are crumbled to dust. In The Poets' Wives, David Park imagines for them a voice, lends them an experience and yet I could not help wonder at the idea that once again, these women's voices had been superseded by a man.
All three of the poets' wives featured muse on what they have sacrificed to support their husbands, the infidelities endured, the hardships faced. The first narrative is in the voice of William Blake's unknown wife Catherine, the second from the perspective of Nadezhda Mandelstam, wife to Russian poet Osip and lastly the modern Lydia, recent widow to a fictional Irish poet Don. Park himself is an Irishman so despite his assurances in the afterword, it was tempting to imagine that the final section represented some part of his own experience or at least observations. This was particularly strange in the case of Nadezhda, who found her voice in her own account of her struggles, Hope Against Hope. Still, I felt that Park sincerely wished to honour the role of women in the creation of art and the power of literature and love. Each story stands as an independent novella, each woman having different but related experiences as spouse to someone whose eyes were locked on something separate to them.
All three women outlive their husbands, each responsible for their husbands' legacies. Nadezhda Mandelstam's husband died in a Soviet work camp after having been arrested for writing anti-Stalin poetry, for years she literally guarded his poetry in her own memory. Catherine Blake battled to guard her husband during his mental illnesses and then Lydia deals with the practical consequences of her husband's death. Yet all the while that they support their partners, they are each left feeling alone and lacking - shrunken and ignored by the world. They have been wooed with words, but words alone have not been enough to sustain them.
For my full review:
http://girlwithherheadinabook.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/the-poets-wives-david-park.html
All three of the poets' wives featured muse on what they have sacrificed to support their husbands, the infidelities endured, the hardships faced. The first narrative is in the voice of William Blake's unknown wife Catherine, the second from the perspective of Nadezhda Mandelstam, wife to Russian poet Osip and lastly the modern Lydia, recent widow to a fictional Irish poet Don. Park himself is an Irishman so despite his assurances in the afterword, it was tempting to imagine that the final section represented some part of his own experience or at least observations. This was particularly strange in the case of Nadezhda, who found her voice in her own account of her struggles, Hope Against Hope. Still, I felt that Park sincerely wished to honour the role of women in the creation of art and the power of literature and love. Each story stands as an independent novella, each woman having different but related experiences as spouse to someone whose eyes were locked on something separate to them.
All three women outlive their husbands, each responsible for their husbands' legacies. Nadezhda Mandelstam's husband died in a Soviet work camp after having been arrested for writing anti-Stalin poetry, for years she literally guarded his poetry in her own memory. Catherine Blake battled to guard her husband during his mental illnesses and then Lydia deals with the practical consequences of her husband's death. Yet all the while that they support their partners, they are each left feeling alone and lacking - shrunken and ignored by the world. They have been wooed with words, but words alone have not been enough to sustain them.
For my full review:
http://girlwithherheadinabook.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/the-poets-wives-david-park.html
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