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waytoomanybooks's review
emotional
sad
fast-paced
2.0
Disclaimer: I had to read this for school.
This book is...not great. In the poem “Corona,” the author tells us she has chosen to be “as manic as possible” in order to fill up her book and get it published on her publisher’s timeliness, and it shows. The book is broken into three sections, but rather than have connective tissue binding the three sections together, the sections feel like three different books squished together. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a poetry connoisseur, but I found most of Raphel’s prose to be inscrutable. Such as when she writes, "My name is Chris. My name is Chrysler. My name is / Cristal. My name is Chrysalis." This collection feels like an Instagram “poet” found a publisher and editor who helped her polish her work to feel more legitimate than other writers of her caliber. I really wanted to like this book since dark academia is a very interesting craze, and it didn’t deliver on that front, nor did it deliver on being a thoughtful, cohesive, or impactful poetic narrative. There were a few gems that stood out to me, which contributed in my consideration of a star rating appropriate for this collection.
This book is...not great. In the poem “Corona,” the author tells us she has chosen to be “as manic as possible” in order to fill up her book and get it published on her publisher’s timeliness, and it shows. The book is broken into three sections, but rather than have connective tissue binding the three sections together, the sections feel like three different books squished together. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a poetry connoisseur, but I found most of Raphel’s prose to be inscrutable. Such as when she writes, "My name is Chris. My name is Chrysler. My name is / Cristal. My name is Chrysalis." This collection feels like an Instagram “poet” found a publisher and editor who helped her polish her work to feel more legitimate than other writers of her caliber. I really wanted to like this book since dark academia is a very interesting craze, and it didn’t deliver on that front, nor did it deliver on being a thoughtful, cohesive, or impactful poetic narrative. There were a few gems that stood out to me, which contributed in my consideration of a star rating appropriate for this collection.
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Confinement, Eating disorder, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Miscarriage
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