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A review by zoemig
Satan Says by Sharon Olds
4.0
"Once you lose someone it is never exactly
the same person who comes back"
-Feared Drowned
It is a bit odd to be writing a review of a book I have already written an exam on, but I realized that even though I had covered this book in my English course "Modern American Poetry" it was the one book of poetry, because it was the last we covered during a feverish rush of end of the semester, that I hadn't properly read. So because Olds is talented and deserving of a proper read, I decided to sit down and go through the book cover to cover for the first time. It says a lot about a writer that you want to read their works again- after completing a course in which they were covered. Usually books have all joy sucked out of them by dry analysis but the thing about Olds is that the more you read her poetry, the more layers you discover.
Olds is a confessional poet, following in the tradition of Lowell, Plath and Sexton (whom were also covered in my course). Her poetry covers topics such as family life, relationships, and particularly in "Satan Says" the abuse that she experienced at the hands of her father, while her mother (compared to a pimp in the title poem) stood idly by. Satan Says has a distinct narrative that you miss if you read only excerpts of it, as the poems occur in a chronological order. The book is also divided into four sections, each covering a different portion of Olds' life, from Daughter, to Woman, to Mother to Journey. It is a skilled way of dividing up the poetry and it is clear she put a lot of thought not only into the poems themselves, but how they are organized.
This is her first book of poetry, and it has a rawness to it that I hope is not lost in subsequent work. Often when reading published poetry I find it has been polished to the point of being dull and emotionless- certainly not the case with Satan Says. The only way to describe this book is to say it is bloody and violent and fervent. It is also written from a uniquely female perspective- so although of course I would recommend her poetry to anyone, I am honestly not sure it would have the same impact on a male reader (and since my class had only two males both who rarely attended I didn't get much insight into that). Olds also has a very interesting way of playing with language, such as in "The Love Object" where she says "I am taking the word love away from the boy" as if she is recognizing both the limitations and the beauty of language. This beautiful self-awareness is what epitomizes Satan Says for me- life may be terrible or wonderful, but whatever it is, Olds does not shriek away from it but instead faces it head on.
the same person who comes back"
-Feared Drowned
It is a bit odd to be writing a review of a book I have already written an exam on, but I realized that even though I had covered this book in my English course "Modern American Poetry" it was the one book of poetry, because it was the last we covered during a feverish rush of end of the semester, that I hadn't properly read. So because Olds is talented and deserving of a proper read, I decided to sit down and go through the book cover to cover for the first time. It says a lot about a writer that you want to read their works again- after completing a course in which they were covered. Usually books have all joy sucked out of them by dry analysis but the thing about Olds is that the more you read her poetry, the more layers you discover.
Olds is a confessional poet, following in the tradition of Lowell, Plath and Sexton (whom were also covered in my course). Her poetry covers topics such as family life, relationships, and particularly in "Satan Says" the abuse that she experienced at the hands of her father, while her mother (compared to a pimp in the title poem) stood idly by. Satan Says has a distinct narrative that you miss if you read only excerpts of it, as the poems occur in a chronological order. The book is also divided into four sections, each covering a different portion of Olds' life, from Daughter, to Woman, to Mother to Journey. It is a skilled way of dividing up the poetry and it is clear she put a lot of thought not only into the poems themselves, but how they are organized.
This is her first book of poetry, and it has a rawness to it that I hope is not lost in subsequent work. Often when reading published poetry I find it has been polished to the point of being dull and emotionless- certainly not the case with Satan Says. The only way to describe this book is to say it is bloody and violent and fervent. It is also written from a uniquely female perspective- so although of course I would recommend her poetry to anyone, I am honestly not sure it would have the same impact on a male reader (and since my class had only two males both who rarely attended I didn't get much insight into that). Olds also has a very interesting way of playing with language, such as in "The Love Object" where she says "I am taking the word love away from the boy" as if she is recognizing both the limitations and the beauty of language. This beautiful self-awareness is what epitomizes Satan Says for me- life may be terrible or wonderful, but whatever it is, Olds does not shriek away from it but instead faces it head on.