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amnoweb's review against another edition
3.0
DNF - About 100 pages in, I decided I just wanted to get back to prose. Would be interested to revisit his later work, that seemed to be a bit more my cup of tea
afretts's review against another edition
4.0
"Your Breast is Enough For My Heart" is my favorite poem of all time. Gorgeous.
rachelevolve's review against another edition
2.0
I hate that I have to write that Neruda's poetry didn't move me as much as I thought it would. His poetry is very similar to that of Walt Whitman, who I also didn't particularly enjoy. I've read so many references to the beauty of Neruda's poetry, I just thought they would be painfully and beautifully romantic, but they were just regular poems. I did however enjoy a couple, but my favorite in this mammoth collection of poetry is one by the title of "Your Laughter".
mythilisk's review against another edition
5.0
Simply put, he is in love with love. I can't really argue with that.
astroneatly's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Homie writes 20 love poems and a song of despair and suddenly he’s “the greatest poet of the twentieth century-in any language.” That’s a matter of opinion, though he wrote so many and not all of them were put in this book. I loved the Chilean movie about his crossing the Andes but no mention of Óscar Peluchonneau. Poets tend to love the earth and sky and everything their feet will carry them… maybe they even love themselves a little bit. Yet, I’m always moved by the way these poems tell me and comfort me of the wisdoms of age, essentially reading poems makes me feel better when my headspace is full of uncertainty.
“There is something hostile trembling in my certitude,” Though I can’t place it, and recently I’ve thought a lot about how I can improve. I’ve come to the conclusions that starting from the bottom is actually a step up. “I don’t want to go on being a root in the dark,” a root cannot grow in the dark, and is best fertilized at the coming dawn and it’s setting sun, with plenty of water.
“I no longer love her, that’s certain, but maybe I love her.
Love is so short, forgetting is so long.”
Neruda’s poems are of course romantic, generally serious, though his Book of Odes brings a light hearted flavor to this monster of Poetry. “a cabbage head, and one bottle of vinegar.” In Ode to the Past, he writes, “Time is divided into two rivers: one flows backward, devouring life already lived; the other moves forward with you exposing your life.” I sometimes get the sense that people know the direction their lives will take, not because of some esoteric knowing but because of it’s intention. People with good intentions or bad intentions will see the fruition of their life’s work. “With a single life
I will not learn enough.”
…and Tupac germinates in the ground.
“There is something hostile trembling in my certitude,” Though I can’t place it, and recently I’ve thought a lot about how I can improve. I’ve come to the conclusions that starting from the bottom is actually a step up. “I don’t want to go on being a root in the dark,” a root cannot grow in the dark, and is best fertilized at the coming dawn and it’s setting sun, with plenty of water.
“I no longer love her, that’s certain, but maybe I love her.
Love is so short, forgetting is so long.”
Neruda’s poems are of course romantic, generally serious, though his Book of Odes brings a light hearted flavor to this monster of Poetry. “a cabbage head, and one bottle of vinegar.” In Ode to the Past, he writes, “Time is divided into two rivers: one flows backward, devouring life already lived; the other moves forward with you exposing your life.” I sometimes get the sense that people know the direction their lives will take, not because of some esoteric knowing but because of it’s intention. People with good intentions or bad intentions will see the fruition of their life’s work. “With a single life
I will not learn enough.”
…and Tupac germinates in the ground.
ashponders's review against another edition
2.0
By far the most frustrating of the meany dreadful collections of this wonderful poet's work.
amaya_jam's review against another edition
I like some of his poems but he's giving some serious sexist borderline pedo vibes. Not to mention he was besties with Stalin.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content