"No Rhododendron" by Samyak Shertok is heavy and laden with imagery that grips you with the feeling that the author has felt a deep sense of sadness, loss and despair. Shertok often writes of of Apa, "Look, Apa, what you've turned me into: a scavenger of grief," and the reader cannot help but feel an overwhelming sense of dread at the clips and pieces at what is coming next.

For this piece, it is worth reading two or three times to grasp the complexity of the writing. Shertok writes with rich metaphors, and clipped sentences that may be confusing in the first go-round.

Woof (complimentary). I didn't expect to get absolutely obliterated by the overwhelming feeling of melancholy and helplessness and defiance and remembering and grieving and violence and survival that came through every poem.

Thanks for the ARC

A really nice collection of poetry. I liked the new forms. My favourite poems were Mother Tongue, A Brief History of Hunger, No Rhododendron, Ama, A Blessing, Operation Rhododendron, Sky Burial, Bride of the Revolution, Lachryphagus, Breaching, Luciferin, Heirloom, Dear Mouth of the Horse Ghost, The Last Himalayan Beekeeper. Thank you NetGalley and University of Pittsburgh Press for the early review copy.

Sometimes you read a book where the suffering is so great that your heart contracts and tears well in your eyes and your mind fills with guilt and empathy and that was exactly what happened while I was reading this collection. The author did an amazing job at portraying loss and pain and fleeing home even when you don't want, even when you're leaving behind everyone and everything you know and love. It was heart shattering.
Poetry has been letting me down recently and it's been bumming me out, but this was my light in the dark. I am immensely glad that I requested it. My mind is still spinning.