Scan barcode
heidihaverkamp's review against another edition
3.0
Some incredibly funny writing about growing old, mixed with poignant writing about loss, change, and beauty - mixed in with a bit of discomforting writing about women, a few too many chapters, for me, of famous men Hall once knew, including an awkward one about Garrison Keillor, post #MeToo. A man of another time, satisfied with himself, somewhat humble all the same, but with the manspreading-style tone and tenor of a different generation of writer male writer, which I now find a bit strange.
mawalker1962's review against another edition
4.0
Lots of lovely poignant essays on growing very old in this book. Also some not very interesting ones, but all in all a satisfying read.
tomhill's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed Essays After Eighty more. Hall's recollections of poets he had known or met are interesting, and the last two essays in this book, "Way Way Down, Way Way Up" and "Tree Day" are very good, and more effective I think, because they ended up being his last published writings (which I suspect he suspected might be the case). Both of Hall's last books are most effective when they deal with the losses and the indignities that come with old age. For a more distilled and even more moving take on these themes see the excellent Youtube video: "Donald Hall: Old Age is a Ceremony of Losses."
thisotherbookaccount's review against another edition
3.0
OK, it's more like 3.5.
I generally stay away from prose written by poets. Call me uncivilised, but I am generally not a fan of poetry. But when I heard about this book — A Carnival of Losses: Notes Nearing Ninety by Donald Hall — I just couldn't pass it up. Death and dying are topics that fascinate me as a reader, and descriptions of this essay seem to promise exactly that — from the perspective of a ninety-year-old poet, no less.
An essay collections, like short story collections, collect both hits and misses. And while the chapters that touch on ageing, death, sickness, solitude and isolation are compelling — easily a five-star read — the book also collects a slew of other essays that are somewhat unrelated to the topics at hand. Sometimes Hall writes of a conversation he overhears at a party, or a dinner party he added a long time ago. There's even a large chunk of the book on all the poets, famous and forgotten, he had met over the years. It would make sense for their inclusions if the essays somehow tie back to the topics of death and dying, but they don't always do. While they do feel like they could perhaps make for good materials for a separate book altogether, collecting them here just seems somewhat out of place. It's like serving mash potatoes in the middle of a dessert course.
But the essays on the topics at hand are so good, so well written, that they struck my heart in the deepest, most tender spots. I cannot say I fully recommend this book as a whole, but sections of this are such wonderfully written essays that I feel everyone should read it. After all, we are all dying as we are living.
I generally stay away from prose written by poets. Call me uncivilised, but I am generally not a fan of poetry. But when I heard about this book — A Carnival of Losses: Notes Nearing Ninety by Donald Hall — I just couldn't pass it up. Death and dying are topics that fascinate me as a reader, and descriptions of this essay seem to promise exactly that — from the perspective of a ninety-year-old poet, no less.
An essay collections, like short story collections, collect both hits and misses. And while the chapters that touch on ageing, death, sickness, solitude and isolation are compelling — easily a five-star read — the book also collects a slew of other essays that are somewhat unrelated to the topics at hand. Sometimes Hall writes of a conversation he overhears at a party, or a dinner party he added a long time ago. There's even a large chunk of the book on all the poets, famous and forgotten, he had met over the years. It would make sense for their inclusions if the essays somehow tie back to the topics of death and dying, but they don't always do. While they do feel like they could perhaps make for good materials for a separate book altogether, collecting them here just seems somewhat out of place. It's like serving mash potatoes in the middle of a dessert course.
But the essays on the topics at hand are so good, so well written, that they struck my heart in the deepest, most tender spots. I cannot say I fully recommend this book as a whole, but sections of this are such wonderfully written essays that I feel everyone should read it. After all, we are all dying as we are living.
mitchellvolk's review against another edition
4.0
Need an honest and articulate literary grandfather? Look no further. His writing is recursive as important memories and moments float to the surface time and time again. I was under the impression you were only allowed to write about something once (Thanks, Donald!). I’m sad to have only discovered him now.
dylanperry's review against another edition
5.0
Reread: September - October 2019
I don’t know if he’s a favorite author, but Donald hall is undoubtedly one of my favorite people and I think that’s a better compliment. I can read these snippets of his life again and again. 5/5
Original Review
4.5/5 Really enjoyed this. Already plan on going back through his catalog; I don't care if it's poetry, memoir, or essays, if Donald Hall wrote it, I'll read it. Simple as that.
I don’t know if he’s a favorite author, but Donald hall is undoubtedly one of my favorite people and I think that’s a better compliment. I can read these snippets of his life again and again. 5/5
Original Review
4.5/5 Really enjoyed this. Already plan on going back through his catalog; I don't care if it's poetry, memoir, or essays, if Donald Hall wrote it, I'll read it. Simple as that.
krismarley's review against another edition
4.0
A Carnival of Losses caught my attention earlier this year as a BookPage Book of the Day, which I typically view between emails or projects at work. I neglected to place on reserve or mark on goodreads, so I was delighted to find it on the Express Shelf at one of my public libraries yesterday. I’ve borrowed Jane Kenyon collections in the past, but this Carnival gives me reason to revisit with fresh eyes. I also plan to revisit Ox Cart Man. 🐂
christiangolden's review against another edition
This book was not what I expected
harrietnbrown's review against another edition
2.0
I love Donald Hall's poetry, and some of his prose. But this book should never have been published. It's disorganized and self-indulgent, and if you care enough about the people he's writing about you've heard these stories before.