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kavreb's review
4.0
A meditation on life, sickness and loneliness, I loved this little book, consisting of autobiographical thoughts and writings, written not as poems, but with the obvious hand of a poet.
I enjoyed following Rankine's interested and slightly sad gaze through the events of her life. At the same time, the weight of the book is undeniable, and there were moments when my own life got too heavy for me to feel comfortable picking this book up - when my own pain got too much, I just didn't have any room in my life for Rankine's pain.
But I kept returning to it. There's something about it that I just enjoyed; and what's more, it made me feel that this, this is the kind of structure I could write a book in. That is not to say that it's simple enough that "even I" could write something like it, but that it just spoke to the individual intricacies of my brain - I liked the freedom that the structure offered for moving between and with one's subjects, without limiting oneself to any certain narrative or essay-like theme, or even the more rigid structure of a poetry collection (the structure of Nikita Gill's Fierce Fairytales also comes to mind, but I happened to enjoy her writings considerably less than those of Rankine).
Like Rebecca Solnit's memoir-like examinations of the world, I was throughout the book quietly interested in it and occasionally fascinated. I can see myself returning to it, if not to relive some pretty horrible moments, but to experience again her tranquil contemplations and poetic sense of the language.
I enjoyed following Rankine's interested and slightly sad gaze through the events of her life. At the same time, the weight of the book is undeniable, and there were moments when my own life got too heavy for me to feel comfortable picking this book up - when my own pain got too much, I just didn't have any room in my life for Rankine's pain.
But I kept returning to it. There's something about it that I just enjoyed; and what's more, it made me feel that this, this is the kind of structure I could write a book in. That is not to say that it's simple enough that "even I" could write something like it, but that it just spoke to the individual intricacies of my brain - I liked the freedom that the structure offered for moving between and with one's subjects, without limiting oneself to any certain narrative or essay-like theme, or even the more rigid structure of a poetry collection (the structure of Nikita Gill's Fierce Fairytales also comes to mind, but I happened to enjoy her writings considerably less than those of Rankine).
Like Rebecca Solnit's memoir-like examinations of the world, I was throughout the book quietly interested in it and occasionally fascinated. I can see myself returning to it, if not to relive some pretty horrible moments, but to experience again her tranquil contemplations and poetic sense of the language.
airheadxt's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
mikkiokko's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Not only a successful experimental understanding of grief, but also confrontation of the American quality to remain careless that challenges the reader to care and be here. Twenty years later it remains as potent as ever. I will be circling this one for a long time.
kidasquared's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.25
I found this through an excerpt in Lerner’s The Hatred of Poetry. I appreciated its aesthetic and approach—its “mixed media” is engaging and reminds me how boundless literature can be, especially in the poetry world where I see these artistic liberties taken more often.
there are moments where Rankine’s prose didn’t grab me as much as I would’ve liked. the message is strong, but its existential language kept me at a distance
C+/B-
there are moments where Rankine’s prose didn’t grab me as much as I would’ve liked. the message is strong, but its existential language kept me at a distance
C+/B-
tonatyuh's review
4.0
While I didn't automatically love this, it is a poem that will take time to grow into, I think
Rankine's themes of loneliness and sadness and death all hit close to home, but there's still so much that Rankine packs into this short amount of pages that it can take a while to truly appreciate every aspect put into it.
I can't wait to read more of Rankine
Rankine's themes of loneliness and sadness and death all hit close to home, but there's still so much that Rankine packs into this short amount of pages that it can take a while to truly appreciate every aspect put into it.
I can't wait to read more of Rankine