Cover Image: Pink

Pink

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If you want to read something that makes you feel something, Pink by Sylvie Baumgartel is the collection to pick up. I took a long time reading this one because after each poem, you feel the need to contemplate its meaning, or, if the meaning is on the surface, you want to contemplate how that specific piece made you feel. It's not like an ordinary collection--there is no filler content and every piece will be sure to give you some type of reaction.

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I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed are my own.

Modern poetry is very different from what I'm accustomed to. I found this one to be crass, leaning on vulgar. I somehow simultaneously appreciated the ongoing reference/metaphor to the Sistine Chapel. It felt extremely contrived, like the cigarette bit in "The Fault In Our Stars."

Overall, not impressed.

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The collection was consistent throughout--imagery was consistent from poem to poem, and certain motifs, including art, color, and sex were used throughout. Pink, the final poem in the collection, was an incredible conglomeration of all the poems that had come previously in the work.
Beautifully written and laid out. Self hope, self-love, anxiety, and depression mixed with self-doubt. I felt like this book was speaking to me and for me. It was so beautifully written and resonated to my core. Highly recommend. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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An artistic, highly crafted book of poetry that felt difficult to connect with and too intimate at times. The author weaves words and sentences together wonderfully (A stiletto was first a pen, / Then a dagger, / Now a heel. / Caravaggio's Medusa was painted on a shield), but there are many times throughout the collection that the images the author puts together or tries to convey don't feel fully accomplished or realized (I can't see the stop-motion / Lions hunting in the Lascaux cave. / They are being saved / From my breath; / They are being preserved / For future bodies to destroy).

I may not be the right audience for this book of poems, so perhaps that is why some of the imagery and metaphor don't land for me.

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Lots of mythological references and imagery. Felt like very intelligent poems, which is perhaps why I did not enjoy it more, having a hard time digesting them. Very dense and something that has a lot of depth.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Not going to lie, I didn't understand as much of this as I would have liked, but I felt every second of it, and to me, that is the sign of a good poetry collection. It was very evocative, and almost had the feeling that Baumgartel was spitting fire, though it didn't necessarily come across as angry, just powerful.

The collection was consistent throughout--imagery was consistent from poem to poem, and certain motifs, including art, color, and sex were used throughout. Pink, the final poem in the collection, was an incredible conglomeration of all the poems that had come previously in the work. Overall, I cannot say enough good things about this collection, and would definitely recommend it.

Final thought: all of the poems were good, but I thought Stiletto, Girl, Love, and Pink (the second one) were especially powerful and intense.

Thank you to Netgalley, Sylvie Baumgartel, and the publisher Farrar, Straus, and Giroux for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

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This was the first time I've read poetry by Sylvie Baumgartel. Her style is raw, intimate and honest. Her poems often reference (Italian) art, which I really liked.

Pink is a novel about self love, hope, art and history. The poems are beautifully intertwined and forms a cohesive collection.

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this Arc in exchange for a honest review

4.5


This was a wild ride! It was a collection of beautifully written poetry. Anxiety, self love, family, depression, relationships, it was a beautiful mixture of them all put together. I absolutely loved 'LOVE', not only was it wrote so perfectly, it was so powerful. The whole book is powerful, definitely reccomend it for those who like to feel connected with each word, each line.

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I've never read Sylvie Baumgartel's poems before, and oh my! What a work of art, beautifully written, I felt a bit of ironic voice in some poems, and I loved it, I loved that sensuality and depth.
The combination of topics, I felt like I was in Italy, or the feeling of a mother, or the meaning of PINK in some beautiful poems, what can I say, I loved her fluency in her writing, how each poem was connected to the next and the life in all of them.
I truly, recommend this book for those who love that deep feeling in each sentence, that makes you think and feel intensely the will to live.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

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Thought provoking. Rapturing. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Kudos to the author. Thanks to netgalley for providing the arc.

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I went into this book having no idea what to expect except that some of the poems were supposed to talk about art. I've never read poems by Sylvie Baumgartel before. Agh, they were wonderful. The collection really fit well together and poems spoke to one another over time. I loved how everything seemed to relate to visual art and imagery, images spun into words, maybe vice versa. Lots of Italian art references, often Florentine. I have no idea how to talk about poetry, but I loved the flow, the whole collection formed a cohesive mood and feel. Destructive, dark, attentive, smart, humorous at times. I loved it all.

Thanks to #NetGalley and Farrar, Straus, & Giroux for sharing a copy of this book in an exchange for an honest review.

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Beautifully written and laid out. Self hope, self love, anxiety and depression mixed with self doubt. I felt like this book was speaking to me and for me. It was so beautifully written and resonated to my core. Highly recommend. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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