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aaronlindsey's review
1.0
Wait, now...what? Say again?
Look, I love Sylvia Plath. I mean like... I'm IN LOVE with Sylvia Plath. She's one of my top five favorite authors of all time. I love her so much my wife is jealous. It's kinda creepy. I have a framed portrait of her in my library.
So when I heard someone had written a book of poetry all about The Bell Jar, one of the greatest novels of all time, I knew I had to read it.
BIG MISTAKE! I like poetry, too. Sylvia wrote beautiful verse. Robert Frost has brought tears to my eyes. Edgar Allen Poe has had me shivering in my Doc Martins. Heck, Raymond Carver was not a good poet (imho) but at least his poetry made sense!
But this slim volume.... I don't even know how to classify it. The Bell Jar was mentioned on one page. And even that made no sense. It's as if the author cut out every word of The Bell Jar, dropped them all in an actual bell jar, grabbed a handful, and jotted them down.
Seriously. I didn't understand one page. It's only good quality...it's very short. I read the whole thing in less than an hour. One star for short torture.
Look, I love Sylvia Plath. I mean like... I'm IN LOVE with Sylvia Plath. She's one of my top five favorite authors of all time. I love her so much my wife is jealous. It's kinda creepy. I have a framed portrait of her in my library.
So when I heard someone had written a book of poetry all about The Bell Jar, one of the greatest novels of all time, I knew I had to read it.
BIG MISTAKE! I like poetry, too. Sylvia wrote beautiful verse. Robert Frost has brought tears to my eyes. Edgar Allen Poe has had me shivering in my Doc Martins. Heck, Raymond Carver was not a good poet (imho) but at least his poetry made sense!
But this slim volume.... I don't even know how to classify it. The Bell Jar was mentioned on one page. And even that made no sense. It's as if the author cut out every word of The Bell Jar, dropped them all in an actual bell jar, grabbed a handful, and jotted them down.
Seriously. I didn't understand one page. It's only good quality...it's very short. I read the whole thing in less than an hour. One star for short torture.
hexedmaiden's review
I couldn't stand the writing. Each line felt disjointed and I had to give up
kjboldon's review
4.0
A fascinating and passionate collection of poems inspired by Plath and her famous autobiographical novel, with poems crafted from the text. A worthy encomium, but marred by errors. Chapter 15 repeats text from 14, and the end material is riddled with typos. The author said he hopes readers will find Plath through his work. I think the reverse is more likely, that Plath fans will appreciate this interpretation of the beloved book.
stranger_sights's review
4.0
You can read my full review at mediadrome.wordpress.com
Although it took me until about the halfway point to really begin to connect with Cepeda’s poems, I think I hit about the same point in The Bell Jar before really beginning to connect to the story. For that reason, I think that Cepeda did a really wonderful job putting together these patchwork poems. If poetry or Sylvia Plath are your things, I’d highly recommend giving this book a go – you’ll probably love it.
Although it took me until about the halfway point to really begin to connect with Cepeda’s poems, I think I hit about the same point in The Bell Jar before really beginning to connect to the story. For that reason, I think that Cepeda did a really wonderful job putting together these patchwork poems. If poetry or Sylvia Plath are your things, I’d highly recommend giving this book a go – you’ll probably love it.
lanternsjourney's review
3.0
La Belle Ajar is a book of 20 centos poems, or poems taken from the individual words of another work. There is one poem written from each chapter of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar.
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I really enjoyed this book, but if I'm honest, besides a few lines that resonated with me, I felt like I only partially understood this collection. I would definitely recommend this collection if you're a huge Sylvia Plath fan, but I wouldn't recommend it for someone who doesnt know much about, or has never read, Sylvia Plath. I've previously read The Bell Jar and The Colossus and Other Poems, and still feel a little lost. Maybe this is because poetry is so personal and emotional.
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I really enjoyed this book, but if I'm honest, besides a few lines that resonated with me, I felt like I only partially understood this collection. I would definitely recommend this collection if you're a huge Sylvia Plath fan, but I wouldn't recommend it for someone who doesnt know much about, or has never read, Sylvia Plath. I've previously read The Bell Jar and The Colossus and Other Poems, and still feel a little lost. Maybe this is because poetry is so personal and emotional.
spookishmommy's review
4.0
4.5
CALLING ALL FANS OF SYLVIA PLATH!!
Why did it have to end?? The second half of poems were my favorite. I love depressing things. And the Afterword was excellent. Love hearing about the authors inspiration and journey to get La Belle Ajar published.
CALLING ALL FANS OF SYLVIA PLATH!!
Why did it have to end?? The second half of poems were my favorite. I love depressing things. And the Afterword was excellent. Love hearing about the authors inspiration and journey to get La Belle Ajar published.
doomkittiekhan's review
5.0
I initially picked up this slim volume as something to read during my two allotted coffee breaks each day as I continue to work from home. This morning, fresh cup of coffee in hand, I stood outside in the humid morning, and began to read. I quickly realized that I had gone about this all wrong. This deceptively simple book needed room, quiet, space, and my full attention. I closed the book, took a sip of coffee, and waited. I waited until after dinner, and the house was a little quiet, then made my way outside, sat in the growing dusk, and devoured this book.
La Belle Ajar is a love song to the literary works and life of [a:Sylvia Plath|4379|Sylvia Plath|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1586015851p2/4379.jpg] with Adrian Ernesto Cepeda as her High Priest, [b:The Bell Jar|395040|The Bell Jar|Sylvia Plath|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1297266095l/395040._SX50_.jpg|1385044], his sacred text. Composed during a time of grief, Cepeda was drawn to The Bell Jar and embarked on a peculiar and ambitious creative project. Composed strictly in cento verse, Cepeda forged a poem a day, one from each of the twenty chapters within the source material. What emerged is a tarot reading of Plath's novel. Single words rearranged to draw new meaning from the text.
Read these poems all at once, meditate on them one at a time, read them alongside their corresponding chapters in The Bell Jar - however you do it - just read them.
La Belle Ajar is a love song to the literary works and life of [a:Sylvia Plath|4379|Sylvia Plath|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1586015851p2/4379.jpg] with Adrian Ernesto Cepeda as her High Priest, [b:The Bell Jar|395040|The Bell Jar|Sylvia Plath|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1297266095l/395040._SX50_.jpg|1385044], his sacred text. Composed during a time of grief, Cepeda was drawn to The Bell Jar and embarked on a peculiar and ambitious creative project. Composed strictly in cento verse, Cepeda forged a poem a day, one from each of the twenty chapters within the source material. What emerged is a tarot reading of Plath's novel. Single words rearranged to draw new meaning from the text.
Read these poems all at once, meditate on them one at a time, read them alongside their corresponding chapters in The Bell Jar - however you do it - just read them.
theboldbookworm's review
4.0
I think it's hard to rate poetry because poetry is such a personal medium. I ended up really liking this little collection. I had no idea what a cento poem was until I read the introduction to this book. It was very interesting to see what the author crafted using Plath's words. He really made these poems his own and this collection is definitely worth picking up.
tattooedhorrorreader's review
4.0
Such a complicated, dark, and beautiful little book of poetry. I can't say that I understood each poem, but I enjoyed the challenge of sinking into each one and working to, if not decipher the meaning, at least gaine a sense of the emotions evoked. I can say with certainty, that I enjoyed La Belle Ajar much more than the original source material.