A review by bethanyclarkvt
The Country Without a Post Office: Poems by Agha Shahid Ali

3.0

He is not my favorite poet. I think, despite most of the imagery and wording being very interesting and beautiful, that I would enjoy it a lot more if I had been raised in Kashmir the same time he was. I think a lot of his poetry requires background knowledge that I simply don't have. That alone decreases my enjoyment of the book, as I constantly felt like there was a meaning just barely beyond my grasp. I didn't really understand any of the poems, what he was talking about. That frustrated me. Like I said, I always felt like I would get it if I understood the allusions. Another thing is that he uses repetition a lot. Of phrases, of words, etc. This is interesting the first few times, but not at a near constant basis.

I do really think his use of wording and imagery is wonderful. The poems sound simply exquisite. He uses a lot of question, unorthodox line and stanza breaks, and while at times this gets tiresome, it's more often simply wonderful poetry that I really wish I could enjoy and understand.

Overall, not as wonderful as I expected or hoped, but not terrible either. It wasn't a wholly unenjoyable read, but I probably won't be searching out his books anytime soon.