A review by steveatwaywords
A Village Life: Poems by Louise Glück

dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

At once provincially claustrophobic and expansive in vision, Gluck's speakers relate small moments in a small rural town--often nostalgic, often routine--and discover in them ideas tragic, ironically profound, or even life-encompassing. These are characters with quiet secrets, quiet griefs, quiet divisions in themselves and in their relationships. Gluck invites us to slow down and dwell on each instance in its entire, from simple autumn leaf-burning, to a nightgown fresh-washed, from a youthful quarry swim to a moment in a truck cab. I know I will come back to this collection again, because . . . I have to.
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