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adamcarrico91's review against another edition
3.0
There are a few poems that are outstanding, but overall I didn’t connect with this set. There is only so much I can read about a man’s sexual frustrations that don’t translate into anything beautiful to me. There’s a lot in it, but at a certain point it felt like a chore to me.
caityq's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
3.5
I really loved The Book of Longing and immediately bought this after.
It's taken me much longer to read it, and I think it's because once I read through the more completed works, I found the less finessed ones a but harder. Some poems were fantastic, and some were not as great for me. A mixed bag! But worth reading if you're a Cohen fan.
It's taken me much longer to read it, and I think it's because once I read through the more completed works, I found the less finessed ones a but harder. Some poems were fantastic, and some were not as great for me. A mixed bag! But worth reading if you're a Cohen fan.
stierwood's review against another edition
5.0
obejctively a top offender of turning women into muses but I give him a pass because his poetry is so incredible. there were lines that hit like a ton of bricks, moments of clarity that knocked down previous illusions. smart and stark, uncloaked.
amynbell's review against another edition
5.0
I never really listened much to Leonard Cohen's music which is more likely poetry being read on a musical backdrop. A late friend of mine was obsessed with Cohen, so I thought I'd give this posthumously-published collection of Cohen's poetry a read one day when I was in the mood for poetry. Cohen's voice is unique. You can't listen to it without trying to figure it out. It sounds low, but I can sing along with the narrow range he seems to have, so I guess the a proper explanation of his voice is that it has a deep resonance. His literary "voice" is unique as well. As he points out, his poetry is probably not going to end up in the Anthology of English Literature, but he still has interesting things to say about love and life.
Reading his poetry (some of which he turned into songs), I get the image of a man who's been through many cities and many women. But at a certain point, he wants to leave his past behind him as he feels age creeping upon him and decides that he's touring with the "songs of [his] youth for the last time. Enough is enough." There's a hint of melancholy, loneliness, and emptiness despite the various excitements he's had. But there are moments that spark joy as well.
I'll let Cohen speak for himself with a few lines.
Loneliness & Memories:
Sometimes it gets so lonely
I don’t know what to do
I’d trade my stash of boredom
For a little hit of you
~~
The memories come back empty
Like their batteries are low
It feels like you just left me
Tho’ it happened years ago
Longing & Temptation
Your crazy fragrance all around
Your secrets all in view
My lost, my lost was saying found
My don’t was saying do...
I was fighting with temptation
But I didn’t want to win
A man like me don’t like to see
Temptation caving in
(which turns out to be one of those rare songs of Cohen's that was catchy enough for me to put on replay a couple of times through: https://youtu.be/M0uq5cgd2So)
~~
When we are apart and the moon is full
My longing paints your hands on the full moon
~~
Since I no longer long for anyone
I am not alone
Encounters
she took me because she was going to die in two weeks in a car accident on the Laurentian highway, she took me in one of her last embraces, because she saw how simple I would be to comfort, and I was so grateful to be numbered among her last generous activities on this earth.
~~
and your drunken kisses which were like someone trying to eat my voice raw like a living oyster
~~
I’m writing in the book that you gave me
I’m so happy that we never made love
~~
I feel ridiculous in my grey suit and my pomaded hair all groomed for love while the vermin swarm between my thighs and lower and higher
~~
Several grandmothers are winking at me
I may do something I’d regret
Younger Women
There is a woman I like
She is young and beautiful and kind
And cannot sing
But she wants to be a singer
I used to keep a full picture of her
Hidden on my laptop
Then I thought:
I can’t do this again
And I dragged it (reluctantly)
To the little trash basket
Which I did not empty for quite a while
Aging
And you’re not leading your life
You’re leading someone else’s life
Someone you don’t know or like
And it’s ending soon
And it’s too late to begin again
Armed with what you know now
~~
There was so little to say
All my prophecies were coming true
I was old
My work was done
Then you began to undress for me on Skype
And I had to think about my life again
Reading his poetry (some of which he turned into songs), I get the image of a man who's been through many cities and many women. But at a certain point, he wants to leave his past behind him as he feels age creeping upon him and decides that he's touring with the "songs of [his] youth for the last time. Enough is enough." There's a hint of melancholy, loneliness, and emptiness despite the various excitements he's had. But there are moments that spark joy as well.
I'll let Cohen speak for himself with a few lines.
Loneliness & Memories:
Sometimes it gets so lonely
I don’t know what to do
I’d trade my stash of boredom
For a little hit of you
~~
The memories come back empty
Like their batteries are low
It feels like you just left me
Tho’ it happened years ago
Longing & Temptation
Your crazy fragrance all around
Your secrets all in view
My lost, my lost was saying found
My don’t was saying do...
I was fighting with temptation
But I didn’t want to win
A man like me don’t like to see
Temptation caving in
(which turns out to be one of those rare songs of Cohen's that was catchy enough for me to put on replay a couple of times through: https://youtu.be/M0uq5cgd2So)
~~
When we are apart and the moon is full
My longing paints your hands on the full moon
~~
Since I no longer long for anyone
I am not alone
Encounters
she took me because she was going to die in two weeks in a car accident on the Laurentian highway, she took me in one of her last embraces, because she saw how simple I would be to comfort, and I was so grateful to be numbered among her last generous activities on this earth.
~~
and your drunken kisses which were like someone trying to eat my voice raw like a living oyster
~~
I’m writing in the book that you gave me
I’m so happy that we never made love
~~
I feel ridiculous in my grey suit and my pomaded hair all groomed for love while the vermin swarm between my thighs and lower and higher
~~
Several grandmothers are winking at me
I may do something I’d regret
Younger Women
There is a woman I like
She is young and beautiful and kind
And cannot sing
But she wants to be a singer
I used to keep a full picture of her
Hidden on my laptop
Then I thought:
I can’t do this again
And I dragged it (reluctantly)
To the little trash basket
Which I did not empty for quite a while
Aging
And you’re not leading your life
You’re leading someone else’s life
Someone you don’t know or like
And it’s ending soon
And it’s too late to begin again
Armed with what you know now
~~
There was so little to say
All my prophecies were coming true
I was old
My work was done
Then you began to undress for me on Skype
And I had to think about my life again
nancydang's review against another edition
i find many leonard cohen lyrics more poetic than the “poems” that are presented in this book. there were, however, some beautiful lines here and there, like “We Spread and Drown as Lilies Do— / We Spread and Drown Forever.”
kristyreads's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I mean it’s Leonard Cohen. What’s not to love. Some poems and passages destroyed me and others brought me a warm fuzzy feeling.