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A review by alanffm
Book of Mercy by Leonard Cohen
5.0
One of his most personal books of poetry. The Jewish symbolism and discourse is truly touching and his use of language is, as always, powerful. Leonard Cohen passed away this week and I could not ask for a more appropriate book to mourn him with. Rest In peace 'World's Last Troubadour'.
Second read (2019):
Cohen seems to be writing from a calmer space, however, many of the internal struggles present in Death of a Ladies man remain on Cohen's mind. Judaism, in the first set of poems, is portrayed as un-abandonable, horrific, beautiful, and at the same time as the source of his loneliness.
It is interesting to see Cohen’s relationship to Judaism transform throughout the EoS, DoLM, BoM eras. In BoM, the cruel and judgmental god of DoLM is present but temperate. The law is both tyrannical but also merciful. Mercy is the true orientation of Judaism in this volume: “it is your judgment [that] parches me” (poem 34).
The prayer-like nature of these poems cannot be overstated. The poems in Book of Mercy read as if they were taken out of a prayer book.
Second read (2019):
Cohen seems to be writing from a calmer space, however, many of the internal struggles present in Death of a Ladies man remain on Cohen's mind. Judaism, in the first set of poems, is portrayed as un-abandonable, horrific, beautiful, and at the same time as the source of his loneliness.
It is interesting to see Cohen’s relationship to Judaism transform throughout the EoS, DoLM, BoM eras. In BoM, the cruel and judgmental god of DoLM is present but temperate. The law is both tyrannical but also merciful. Mercy is the true orientation of Judaism in this volume: “it is your judgment [that] parches me” (poem 34).
The prayer-like nature of these poems cannot be overstated. The poems in Book of Mercy read as if they were taken out of a prayer book.