Twenty Love Poems & A Song of Despair by Pablo Neruda

4.04 AVERAGE

eenaah's profile picture

eenaah's review against another edition

3.5
hopeful inspiring mysterious sad fast-paced
β™‘πŸŒ·π‘»π’‰π’† π’π’Šπ’ˆπ’‰π’• π’˜π’“π’‚π’‘π’” π’šπ’π’– π’Šπ’ π’Šπ’•π’” π’Žπ’π’“π’•π’‚π’ π’‡π’π’‚π’Žπ’†. 𝑨𝒃𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒆 π’Žπ’π’–π’“π’π’†π’“, π’”π’•π’‚π’π’…π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 π’˜π’‚π’š π’‚π’ˆπ’‚π’Šπ’π’”π’• 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 π’•π’˜π’Šπ’π’Šπ’ˆπ’‰π’• 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 π’šπ’π’–. β™‘πŸŒ·

idk what to feel about this. i did love it but i wasn't - ummm- impressed? i mean i think it's the translation i feel like poetry in a way kind of loses its essence when translated. aah that's sad because so much good poetry out there in. different languages we will never learn and thus we can never appreciate the poetry.


 π’šπ’π’–𝒓 π’”π’Šπ’π’†π’π’„π’† 𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒔 π’…π’π’˜π’ π’Žπ’š π’‚π’‡π’‡π’π’Šπ’„π’•π’†π’… 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔; π’Žπ’š π’Œπ’Šπ’”π’”π’†π’” 𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’Žπ’š π’Žπ’π’Šπ’”π’• π’…π’†π’”π’Šπ’“π’† 𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔 π’Šπ’ π’šπ’π’–π’“ π’‚π’“π’Žπ’” 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆.    

β™‘ 𝑰 π’“π’†π’Žπ’†π’Žπ’ƒπ’†π’“ π’šπ’π’– 𝒂𝒔 π’šπ’π’– π’˜π’†π’“π’† 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 π’‚π’–π’•π’–π’Žπ’. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 π’˜π’†π’“π’† 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’ˆπ’“π’†π’š 𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’”π’•π’Šπ’π’ 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕. 𝑰𝒏 π’šπ’π’–π’“ π’†π’šπ’†π’” 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’‡π’π’‚π’Žπ’†π’” 𝒐𝒇 π’•π’˜π’Šπ’π’Šπ’ˆπ’‰π’• π’‡π’π’–π’ˆπ’‰π’• 𝒐𝒏. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’˜π’‚π’•π’†π’“ 𝒐𝒇 π’šπ’π’–π’“ 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍.  

β™‘ 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 π’Šπ’” 𝒔𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕, π’‡π’π’“π’ˆπ’†π’•π’•π’Šπ’π’ˆ π’Šπ’” 𝒔𝒐 π’π’π’π’ˆ
meyshka's profile picture

meyshka's review against another edition

4.0
challenging dark lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

aromalv's review against another edition

4.0
emotional reflective fast-paced
ardentlydarling's profile picture

ardentlydarling's review against another edition

5.0
emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense fast-paced
this has to be my second or third poetry book in my entire life so i might not be the best reference as to my rating but the raw emotions i elicited from this book... it was poignant and heart-rendering. 

i have highlighted and bookmarked my favorite lines which i will rereading from time to time because i'll be writing it down in my 2025 journal. 

sjparker98's review against another edition

4.0
There’s something beautiful about a man being quite this dramatic over a hot woman (or indeed, various hot women). Something about Spanish poetry really hits a level of passion that doesn’t sit so well in English, and revisiting this collection with a higher level of understanding really helped to cement that. I can’t wait to return to them again as my level improves further. Some bits erred into machismo vibes, but only occasionally.

β€œEs tan corto el amor, y es tan largo el olvido.”
hwestenhofer's profile picture

hwestenhofer's review against another edition

4.0
I was honestly shocked that I haven't read this collection until now, & I'm only partially aware of if I've ever read Neruda before; however, he is a skillful poet, & this collection's title is brilliant. It's always challenging to rate an entire collection of poetry because you'll inevitably like some more than others, & that is the case with this text. There were some poems (like the twentieth love poem) that I adore, & there were others that were good but not favorites. I also wish that I could read & understand the original Spanish because I would undoubtedly reap more from them & probably enjoy them more. All in all, though, I highly recommend this collection, & there is no doubt as to why it is as esteemed as it is.
trav_earl's profile picture

trav_earl's review against another edition

5.0
challenging emotional funny inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

jane710's review against another edition

5.0
hell yeah, i loved it and especially β€œi like for you to be still”

inoshiro's review against another edition

4.25
emotional inspiring reflective sad

annamariamoldovan's review against another edition

I am so not into poetry but this was genius!