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ericawrites's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this, but most of it was some nice nature and love poetry that felt like a palette cleanser to my other reading. I do think this book is enhanced if you've read Running in the Family, his memoir, as a lot of these poems were written around the same time. There were a few standouts, like the father-daughter poem, and more of Ondaatje's absurdity in his exploration of sexual and romantic attraction. The nature poems' themes sometimes blended together in delightfully unexpected ways. As I was 1 year old when Secular Love was published, I do think there were some references that I missed.
timshel's review
3.0
Some nice language. Good rhythm. Sometimes the imagery worked for me. Overall, I felt pretty ho-hum about Michael Ondaatje's Secular Love. A few poems were mildly captivating, but otherwise, I wasn't overly impressed.
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