Member Reviews
The book as a meal: My meal today was a cigarette, and I kept it in my mouth after it burned out
The book left me: Reflecting on my teenage years and the problematic relationships I had
Why did this call out to me?
Something about the cover just screamed "you will relate to his, you will be depressed by this, but you will enjoy it"
Pick-up-able? Put-down-able?
Pick-up-able, I simply swalled the whole book in maybe 20 minutes
Progression?
Improves, it started somewhat depressing, but became optimistic the further I went. At least thats how I read it
Issues:
Formatting migh be a little jarring and hard to read
Good things:
Diverse selection
Got me feeling and thinking from poem #1
How did it feel to read?
I am a teenager again, I am with my first love, I am not happy in this relationship, but it will get better eventually ...right?
What mood would I read this in?
I am at the end of a depressive episode, and this might either make it worse or better, but we aim for better
Where does this fall in my tier list ranking?
This is more so a B, simply becasue it is a little short and also it awoke memories I thought I had buried a long time ago
Favorite poems:
Your Bodies
pretty places
//holyhome
invocation
Very insubstantial collection. The formatting felt like a pretension rather than a well thought out artistic choice.
im still unsure what to rate this book. as with every collection, each story/poem/part is different in itself and one's enjoyment will fluctuate. some poems are hits, others are misses, and only the author knows whats hidden behind the lines. the main issue i had with the book was the formatting/the delve into free verse. in his attempt to get their point across the author sounds like another rupi kaur or gabbie hanna. when every word is given lots of meaning, the overall picture becomes more and more meaningless. i did love some of the metaphors tho, "why i dont talk to god" and "andthe snowsun meltsme" absolutely broke me.
Beautiful metaphor clashes with near inscrutable form in "sun eater." Levant has a way with symbolism and style but the form and verse can be off-putting for new or casual poetry readers. Despite that, the collection boasts hopefulness and resilience in a world that can feel dark. Worth the read if you like this style.
My favorite poems are: "and what is violet", "//holyhome", "under the bridge", and "a lily is a paradox."
I got this as an arc on Netgalley. This book of poetry was short and sweet, the type of poetry you find yourself reflecting on afterwards. Interesting sentence structures and ways of describing things.