Reviews

Upstream: Selected Essays by Mary Oliver

koz108's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

3.75

froginawaistcoat's review against another edition

5.0

Very enjoyable. Wistful/calm/enchanting descriptions of nature. Nicely paced, never really got bored. Relaxing and great for nature nerds. A very pleasant read.

I recommend it if you like reading other people's oddly elaborate thoughts in a calm and poetic way.

Like yes please Mary Oliver tell me about the spiders on your stairs; I'm hanging on every word about those little guys and their silly webs.

nike_1212's review against another edition

3.0

It took me a wee while to finish this book despite the fact that it’s quite short. I think it’s quite an eccentric piece, both in writing, topic and execution, and it wasn’t super easy to get in the groove of her stream of thought. At times her writing is poignant and her insights unexpectedly sharp and emotional, other times I am lost in long elaborations of people that I don’t know too much about, and frankly failed to see the connection to. In any case her appreciation and attentiveness to the natural world is stunning. The love and care for the smallest beings is magnificent and made me feel humbled and more attentive too.
Because it had quite a big up and down in terms of engagement for me between the chapters I give it 3.5 stars.

emimlie's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.75

stefanikovaa_'s review against another edition

4.0

Overall a mix of beautiful nature writing, reflection on great authors and interesting narratives.
Definitely want to get more into Oliver’s writing.

happylilkt's review against another edition

4.0

I simply love Mary Oliver. This was a very interesting format, almost stream of consciousness. some odd moments, but overall just lovely.

stella_nutella's review against another edition

inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.5

hannahrose_99's review against another edition

4.25

 

this book felt like reading a bible to me. i just want to go outside and write and appreciate nature and animals and give myself over completely to creativity and poetry!! if we didn't live in a capitalistic society where my wellbeing depended on clocking in, this would be the life for me. this inspired me to try and live like her as much as i can within the constrains of capitalism!!

there were some parts that dragged for me, but overall, mary oliver's writing style is perfect in how simplistic she is about the small things that matter most. the parts that dragged the most for me were the literary criticism pieces, but honestly, even those impressed me so much.

suzie_woo's review against another edition

this is my first ever collection of essays.
if you are going to read it, do so sat outside, on a warm, sunny day.
section 1 is my favourite. the essays focus quite heavily on Oliver's childhood which i find fascinating.
i think i will read the first few over and over again. something about them makes me feel at peace.
section 2 and 3... i got bored. i think i am just too immature and stupid to enjoy all the things she talked about.
i liked section 4 but specifically 'bird', which just thinking about makes me want to cry. 'who cometh here?' feels very special as well.
i enjoy Mary's brain a lot. i would definitely want her to be in my blunt rotation (if she starts talking about the cat milk thing though i'm out). 

rainyfellaa's review against another edition

2.0

Well I don't think this book is totally bad just it wasn't for me it bored me a lot and I think it was repetitive although I haven't get familiarized with poetry but for now I think I'm gonna leave this score although I'm gonna try to reread this one in another time to see if my taste for poetry improved and get a better try on this one