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A review by anagha_sreevals
How to Wash a Heart by Bhanu Kapil
4.0
(4.5 stars) This was shorter since it's a poetry book, but even so, I was invested enough to get through it in one sitting! I haven't read poetry in a LONG time so it was definitely different and I had to reread many parts to really understand certain lines. I think I still missed a lot of hidden meanings and symbolism but I really enjoyed reading this and would recommend!
The ending wasn't unpredictable but it's realistic and drives a lot of emotion in you. I also have very different experiences with immigration compared to the "guest" in this book. However, I can still understand some of the nuances of the immigrant guest and a citizen host, as it's relevant and similar to being in an immigrant in a Western country (at least regarding my experience). The feelings of pain, anger, not belonging etc.
Favorite part (or at least most emotion-evoking part for me):
"How to wash a heart:
Remove it then pack it
In ice.
Remove it then paint it"
The ending wasn't unpredictable but it's realistic and drives a lot of emotion in you. I also have very different experiences with immigration compared to the "guest" in this book. However, I can still understand some of the nuances of the immigrant guest and a citizen host, as it's relevant and similar to being in an immigrant in a Western country (at least regarding my experience). The feelings of pain, anger, not belonging etc.
Favorite part (or at least most emotion-evoking part for me):
"How to wash a heart:
Remove it then pack it
In ice.
Remove it then paint it"