literatisara 's review for:

Dearly by Margaret Atwood

1.0

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“It’s an old word, fading now.
Dearly did I wish.
Dearly did I long for.
I loved him dearly...

Dearly beloved, gathered here together,
in this closed drawer,
fading now, I miss you.
I miss the missing, those who left earlier.
I miss even those who are still here.
I miss you all dearly.
Dearly do I sorrow for you.”

1.5 stars.

When I got accepted for the advance reader's copy of Margaret Atwood's poetry, I was so excited I immediately opened it up and started reading, eager to take in every word, every little story littered amongst the (electronic) pages. After about 15 minutes, I put it down and didn't pick it up for a week.

This anthology of poems was ... interesting. There is no question that Margaret Atwood is talented, nor that she is creative. She is definitely both of those, as her works can attest. Her creativity shines through in her poetry, but they were so quirky they were almost ... too much. I'm not sure how to explain it beyond the fact that it sort of felt like I was reading a book by Roald Dahl but then there were mentions of sex and death that made it clear that the wackiness was not meant for children. I'm sure there is an audience for this kind of poetry, whimsical, sort of random, sometimes very deep, but I am not part of it.

I was expecting something entirely different based on the flowery cover, the almost cutesy name, and a well-known author who I know more for her serious work. This was not what I received. I think what didn't work out for me the most was how all over the place everything was. There was no underlying narrative (that I could find), no way to tie things together, honestly some of the poems that were even grouped together felt forced there. Out of the entire book, only three poems stick out to me (Songs for Murdered Sisters, Invisible Man, and the titular Dearly). Clearly, she has a way with words, this just wasn't the way of words for me.

Please note that I received an advance reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“Sorrow: that’s another word
you don’t hear much any more.
I sorrow dearly.”