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chrisljm's review against another edition
2.5
As I’ve gotten older I’ve come to love all colors and the way each hue has such a special shade that I’ve fallen in love with, and it’s what makes it difficult for me to say I have a favorite. And yet, I occasionally come across reminders why my favorite will always be blue whenever I see the most beautiful vivid shades of midnight blue (such as the tones of the cover of this book). There are descriptions in this book that puts into words exactly what it feels for me when seeing those shades of blue.
“2. And so I fell in love with a color- in this case, the color blue as if falling under a spell, a spell I fought to stay under and get out from under, in turns.”
“6. The half-circle of blinding turquoise ocean is this love's primal scene. That this blue exists makes my life a remarkable one, just to have seen it. To have seen such beautiful things. To find oneself placed in their midst. Choiceless.”
“212. If I were today on my deathbed, I would name my love of the color blue and making love with you as two of the sweetest sensations I knew on this earth.”
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Medical content and Ableism
dearbhlanoonan's review
Graphic: Sexual content, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Mental illness
alyssapusateri's review against another edition
2.75
Graphic: Sexual content and Cursing
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Alcohol, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Grief, Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Animal death
readingwithgoose's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Alcohol
mads_jpg's review
1.25
Moderate: Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Drug use, Grief, Sexual content, Animal death, Alcohol, and Cursing
siebensommer's review against another edition
75. Mostly I have felt myself becoming a servant of sadness. I am still looking for the beauty in that.
a lot to ponder
but i struggled w feeling detachment from the depth of feelings in this one
Moderate: Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Alcohol, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
andrewhatesham's review against another edition
2.5
Moderate: Sexual content, Cursing, and Medical content
lcyarnall1's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
laraamaee's review
4.25
As an eighteenth birthday gift, my friend bought me Bluets from the famous Shakespeare and Company in Paris. For this reason, and for my own lifelong, intrinsic connection to the colour blue, Bluets is extremely precious to me. (Although, apparently, according to Nelson, half of American adults also describe blue as their favourite colour. As a British just-turned-adult, can I count myself out?) Well, actually, Bluets stayed on my bookshelf for several months until I got a chance to read it, despite its short length, because I knew that it would shake me to my core. I mean, my poet friend must have gifted it to me for a reason.
So yes, maybe I came in with the preconceived notion that I would like this book. But I was indeed proved right. Nelson's series of 240 intertwining prose poems about heartbreak, sex, caring for her friend with quadriplegia, and of course, the colour blue, were so succinct yet sharp. 'Saturated', perhaps, with both the intense calm and reassurance of a blue ocean, but also the deep, dark blue of loneliness and depression.
This is my first time reading Nelson, and what I thoroughly enjoyed was her honesty and self-assured style of writing. Many moments in the book struck me, made me put it down and reflect or just sit in awe, as good poetry usually does. However, what I wasn't expecting was so many references to other people, mainly philosophers. Often, Nelson quotes these people and uses them to somewhat loosely tie them into her arguments/considerations. Like, I'm sorry, but after studying Literary Theories at uni, I don't necessarily want to bump into Jacques Derrida when I don't have to. But maybe this is a me thing.
I would recommend this mostly to people who are going through a hard time, especially a breakup. I think it would resonate with them most. (And also fellow blue lovers.)
Moderate: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
Minor: Blood
jsfbec's review
3.25
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, and Medical content