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lateromantic's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and War
thevicarslice's review against another edition
4.0
Haunting, disembodied, and strange. The effect is real and I'm glad for the introduction giving the reader frame of reference and notes about the translation.
dr_anshgujral's review against another edition
3.0
"So are all the winds gone?
Has this tree been condemned to an eternal yellow?
And did the dandelions wither so long
where the walls meet in the corner
that they’ve forgotten their news?
—You pound the windowpanes of this train to no avail.
In vain you hurl your voice to the other side of the window.
We are the actors in a silent film."
Wish I could read this collection in Persian, and appreciate it in all its glory
Has this tree been condemned to an eternal yellow?
And did the dandelions wither so long
where the walls meet in the corner
that they’ve forgotten their news?
—You pound the windowpanes of this train to no avail.
In vain you hurl your voice to the other side of the window.
We are the actors in a silent film."
Wish I could read this collection in Persian, and appreciate it in all its glory
jamesdavid's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
eldritchteacozy's review against another edition
5.0
This collection is absolutely gorgeous. The poetry is at once sensuous and very thought provoking, full of juxtapositions and contradictions. There is an air of melancholy with little hints of beauty throughout. I love the way the poet compares and contrasts the natural world to the man-made one in a lot of ways, from bees flying over fields of landmines, to birds so accustomed to nesting on wires, that they no longer nest on trees. The poems contain a hint of the complexities of self and identity, and the way we relate to others, yet remain apart. The martial imagery is also very well-used and affecting, without being too much.
This collection also has a very unusual sense of time, where memory is stacked on top of memory on top of present reality, where multiple possibilities inhabit a single space. It's breathtaking and brilliant.
I'd recommend this to anyone who loves imagery rich poetry that appeals to the senses, the mind, and the heart.
FTC disclosure: I received this book from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
This collection also has a very unusual sense of time, where memory is stacked on top of memory on top of present reality, where multiple possibilities inhabit a single space. It's breathtaking and brilliant.
I'd recommend this to anyone who loves imagery rich poetry that appeals to the senses, the mind, and the heart.
FTC disclosure: I received this book from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
drewsof's review against another edition
5.0
5+ out of 5.
Absolutely ravishing. Abdolmalekian, as translated by geniuses Ahmad Nadalizadeh and Idra Novey, is an astounding chronicler of life in war, of life at all. There's humor, a mischief even at times, but also such beauty and pathos and pain and honesty. Good lord, I loved this; so many of these poems took my breath away.
The poems are presented with the original Arabic on the left, which adds a beautiful level of understanding about each of them -- something I hope Penguin Poets will do more often with their translations!
Absolutely ravishing. Abdolmalekian, as translated by geniuses Ahmad Nadalizadeh and Idra Novey, is an astounding chronicler of life in war, of life at all. There's humor, a mischief even at times, but also such beauty and pathos and pain and honesty. Good lord, I loved this; so many of these poems took my breath away.
The poems are presented with the original Arabic on the left, which adds a beautiful level of understanding about each of them -- something I hope Penguin Poets will do more often with their translations!