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marshzz's review against another edition
5.0
I won’t even lie, I’ve read and reread every poem repeatedly since first opening the book. i don’t know if i’ll ever “finish” this poetry collection. it’s burrowed itself into my stomach and live within me now.
togidemi's review against another edition
4.0
The dramatic gays always pull through!! Queer poets writing about infatuation and intimacy and obsession! Goddamn!
I don't really have the gray matter to explain why exactly I enjoy Siken's poetry, mostly as a consequence of me not having the gray matter to explain why exactly I enjoy poetry. I saw a review describe much of its contents as "cinematic" and... yeah. (I really enjoyed the recurring film motif, too.) I regret much of my experience reading poetry consisting of, like, Instagram poets - you know the ones - because I deeply appreciate when poets get weird. I love Boot Theory in particular, and I ESPECIALLY had fun with You are Jeff; the last section of the latter is pretty famous on Tumblr, but that's almost a shame since the preceding context build it up to so so much more than pining for a guy. (It's pining for a guy dangerously, pfft.)
I don't really have the gray matter to explain why exactly I enjoy Siken's poetry, mostly as a consequence of me not having the gray matter to explain why exactly I enjoy poetry. I saw a review describe much of its contents as "cinematic" and... yeah. (I really enjoyed the recurring film motif, too.) I regret much of my experience reading poetry consisting of, like, Instagram poets - you know the ones - because I deeply appreciate when poets get weird. I love Boot Theory in particular, and I ESPECIALLY had fun with You are Jeff; the last section of the latter is pretty famous on Tumblr, but that's almost a shame since the preceding context build it up to so so much more than pining for a guy. (It's pining for a guy dangerously, pfft.)
starryaqua's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
"We pull our boots on with both hands
but we can't punch ourselves awake and all I can do
is stand on the curb and say Sorry
about the blood in your mouth. I wish it was mine.
I couldn't get the boy to kill me, but I wore his jacket for the longest time."
"And the boy who loves you the wrong way is filthy.
And the boy who loves you the wrong way keeps weakening.
You thought if you handed over your body
he'd do something interesting."
What an absolute gut-punch of a collection. I knew this was going to hurt after reading a couple of poems by themselves, but oh, wow. Siken's mastery of reaching in and scooping out the most rough and raw parts of himself sucks the reader in, and begs them to ache as he does. He paints a vivid image of growing up as a young boy, bumbling around and messy, in a world where everything he is had to be hidden away. Violence and love tangle together into a terrifyingly human depiction of desire. The need to want and be wanted. A beautifully crafted depiction of male queer yearning.
kaydee_reads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.75
Breathless and anxious and beautiful - I loved this poetry collection. A couple poems felt a little too long for my taste, but the vast majority were stunning and I’m so glad I found this author!
111domino's review against another edition
2.0
I dont get the hype, it felt so instapoetry to me. Some poems are so cluttered, with so much unnecessary junk, they just go on and on about nothing. If you cut out all the waste it would hit but it didn't sadly
melitrophium's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.75