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ryanberger's review against another edition
emotional
funny
relaxing
medium-paced
3.0
Caveat: I am not a Leonard Cohen fan. It's not that I dislike him at all, it's simply that he hasn't clicked for me. And yet so many of my favorite artists have called him one of the greatest songwriters of all time and went out of their way to talk about what a huge influence he was on them. I wanted to pick this up and see if a deeper appreciation can form.
Not especially. There were a handful of poems that I thought were really interesting given his long life and unique perspective. I also felt there were a few that seemed.... amateurish? It's true I need to read more poetry and listen to more Cohen, but there were a lot of poems I found to be kind of eye rolling. The most egregious rhyming stretch I've ever seen is located in this book.
The lyrics don't do much for me at all, unfortunately. Maybe it's because in all the ways and forms that I write, I will never be a songwriter and so my ears and eyes aren't tuned to the things that make lyrics bloom when all you have are words on the page without rhythm, delivery, context, etc.
Not especially. There were a handful of poems that I thought were really interesting given his long life and unique perspective. I also felt there were a few that seemed.... amateurish? It's true I need to read more poetry and listen to more Cohen, but there were a lot of poems I found to be kind of eye rolling. The most egregious rhyming stretch I've ever seen is located in this book.
The lyrics don't do much for me at all, unfortunately. Maybe it's because in all the ways and forms that I write, I will never be a songwriter and so my ears and eyes aren't tuned to the things that make lyrics bloom when all you have are words on the page without rhythm, delivery, context, etc.
cdinkel91's review against another edition
5.0
While there are definitely a few pieces presented here he wasn't finished with yet the entire volume is very well put together for a posthumous release. Some of these poems I'd put up with his best work ever. I physically couldn't select anything less than 5 stars.
vigil's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Death, Cursing, Car accident, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, and War
seullywillikers's review against another edition
I just wasn't feeling it. And that's okay.
readbydeb's review against another edition
4.0
Cohen has such a way with words, whether talking about everyday occurrences or more reflective situations. He also seems to have a knack for stringing phrases together in a way that is simultaneously unexpected yet oddly familiar. I also absolutely loved the Biblical and religious symbolism in so many of his poems.
I will say I much preferred the strictly poetry sections. I had no idea who Leonard Cohen was when I picked this book up, so I was caught by surprise when I reached the song lyric section. While I did like some of the poetry contained within his songs, it was a bit disruptive to the flow to read a written poem interrupted by the refrain of the song. The same situation happened in the “Notebooks” section of this book; while there were some great gems in there, it was distracting (though interesting) having to sift through Cohen’s thought process.
I will say I much preferred the strictly poetry sections. I had no idea who Leonard Cohen was when I picked this book up, so I was caught by surprise when I reached the song lyric section. While I did like some of the poetry contained within his songs, it was a bit disruptive to the flow to read a written poem interrupted by the refrain of the song. The same situation happened in the “Notebooks” section of this book; while there were some great gems in there, it was distracting (though interesting) having to sift through Cohen’s thought process.
rainbowbookworm's review against another edition
5.0
It has been a while since I have picked up a poetry book and read it in one sitting. I borrowed this one from the library and ended up buying a copy for myself. The audiobook is also fantastic.
mobilisinmobili's review against another edition
2.0
I love Leonard Cohen dearly. I was looking for a book of poetry, this is more a collection of song lyrics. If you're interested in those I'd recommend listening to the songs. The rest of the fragments, with the exception of a dream he had about Tom Waits, and the tremendous speech to the Asturias society transcribed at the very end, did little for me. I think I'll take some time to revisit some of his earlier collections of poetry.