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staplerscissors's review
5.0
Visceral poems. A lot of intestine imagery. Rusty, oaken barrels of bourbon, shoe polish, and ink. And tart and Springtime in April and fresh grass but trodden on by the black leather boots of Honduran death squads. That's what these poems feel like.
nearfutures's review
3.0
“The night sky is enjambed with rotten assets.” Can’t say I enjoyed these poems because they were extremely visceral and grating, but they were well-crafted. Definitely a lot to think about and a lot of really stunning individual lines though I think many of the poems were overlong beyond reasonable content-informing-form justification.
jvillanueva8's review
3.0
I didn’t love this collection, even though I wanted to. By the end it felt redundant and played out. And Borzutzky’s writing was very reminiscent of the guys in writing classes who equated being edgy and grotesque with being honest and “real.” Really enjoyed “The Mountain at the End of this Book”
hereisenough's review
5.0
Quite amazing, poetry books this good are rare. Borzutzky plants the reader into a feverish, liquid state of mind, filling it with images of dystopia, immigration, poverty, humanness... such heavy topics written to be captivating and almost beautiful. Seriously good poetry.
masonn's review
3.0
How do you rate a book of poetry? I'll definitely revisit this a lot. Some of the poems were quite stirring (and terrifying, to be honest) while others went over my head.
jonjeffryes's review
5.0
A book of poetry that I felt excited to revisit every time I sat down to read. Rare for my experience with poetry, I was also compelled to keep turning the pages. There's no narrative, but the poems feel connected in voice and outlook and I was always interested to see where Borzotzky would go next. The poems are filled with a cynicism that feels very timely, but leavened by wit and beautiful phrasing.