Different. I enjoyed it. Makes you think. A pleasant read. I wold recommend to others. The writing is very good.

It's the early 1960s in the Toronto suburbs. Loss pervades a young man’s life, both in a personal and global sense, but the memories endure.

This book was way out of my comfort zone! I selected this book knowing I have a difficult time reading prose poetry, but the cover and description intrigued me. In this slim book, each page is a vignette—fragments of emotion and memory. I didn't fully understand the surreal, dreamlike imagery on each page, but every scene evoked a sense of nostalgia and wistfulness in me. Sometimes the vivid, surreal descriptions struck me as more realistic than a true-to-life description would've been.

I read Pockets four times, and I truly did get something different out of it on each read. A sense of loneliness and melancholy pervades some of the pages: the phone goes unanswered and the young man is continuously refilling his empty pockets. Sometimes the only object in his pockets are rocks to put on headstones. But with all the sadness, there's also hope and brotherhood. The narrator marvels at how everything in the world is connected. He sees himself mirrored in others without anyone having to say a word. The way forward after loss is difficult, but life continues on.

In the acknowledgments, the author says that this book wouldn't exist without I Walked out of 2 and Forgot It by Toby MacLennan. I'd love to track down a copy of that book someday to see the connections.

It's rare that an author comes along that can pull off fragmented thoughts and scenes yet still have the work considered insightful and thought-provoking. Ross does just that in this small fractured book, the missing parts make what is present even more important and compelling.

(formatting issues, could not review)
I'm sorry I am unable to review this one. I've seen a photo of the pages in print but something happened in the translation to kindle and it is indecipherable. I know poetry and prose poems but I don't think the words are in the right order. Sounds interesting, will maybe catch after publication.