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30something_reads's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
While I really enjoyed how personal Alyan got within this collection, having read this after her most recent collection, it did not hold up as well in its entirety. The Moon That Turns You Back is a much stronger collection in my option.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Violence, Rape, Racism, Mental illness, Addiction, Islamophobia, and Sexual content
bookedrightmeow's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Since April is national poetry month, I’ve been mixing in some poetry, which I don’t typically read anymore. I used to be super into it—reading and writing—but I’ve fallen away from the practice over the years.
Hala Alyan’s The Twenty-Ninth Year reminds me why I love poetry so much. After I read the audio version, I immediately wanted to go back to the print version and do a re-read so that I could pick up the details I missed the first time.
Alyan is a Palestinian American novelist, poet, and clinical psychologist. She writes about the ravages of war in the Middle East, then pivots to the death of WWE wrestler Chyna. She writes about addiction and recovery, trauma and healing, the spirit and the body.
I can’t say that I fully understood the context of all the poems here, but I can say that they resonated with me enough to want to return to them. These are works to spend time with, to mull over and consider them again.
Hala Alyan’s The Twenty-Ninth Year reminds me why I love poetry so much. After I read the audio version, I immediately wanted to go back to the print version and do a re-read so that I could pick up the details I missed the first time.
Alyan is a Palestinian American novelist, poet, and clinical psychologist. She writes about the ravages of war in the Middle East, then pivots to the death of WWE wrestler Chyna. She writes about addiction and recovery, trauma and healing, the spirit and the body.
I can’t say that I fully understood the context of all the poems here, but I can say that they resonated with me enough to want to return to them. These are works to spend time with, to mull over and consider them again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Islamophobia, Sexual assault, Violence, and Xenophobia
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