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donifaber's review
4.0
I liked this book more conceptually than in execution. As Szymborska says, "Since childhood I've derived pleasure from accumulating useless knowledge. And after all, who's to say what's useless and what isn't? Take the instructions on how to mail frogs so that they arrive bright-eyed and frisky at their final destination: who knows when this may come in handy for personal or civic purposes?"
I love the random spread of books she chooses to respond to: everything from Steps and Missteps in the Evolution of Molluscs to a biography of Ella Fitzgerald to The War With Newts, a book warning about Hitler's fascism.
However, none of the responses made me interested in reading the actual books. They were more like private reflections and although it was fun to catch a glimpse of intimacy, it was not as communicative as it could have been.
I love the random spread of books she chooses to respond to: everything from Steps and Missteps in the Evolution of Molluscs to a biography of Ella Fitzgerald to The War With Newts, a book warning about Hitler's fascism.
However, none of the responses made me interested in reading the actual books. They were more like private reflections and although it was fun to catch a glimpse of intimacy, it was not as communicative as it could have been.
satyridae's review
4.0
A collection of book reviews from the Polish poet & Nobel Laureate. Wonderful, quirky, delightfully erudite and completely eccentric. Recommended.
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