Reviews

a "Working Life" by Eileen Myles

_niva_'s review

challenging funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.75

booksofannie's review

challenging slow-paced

2.25

jenniferavignon's review

funny lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.0

jhigginbottom's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

This isn't fiction and I'm not sure why it's labeled as such. It's a fantastic poetry collection, though. Some super interesting formatting and really good work. This is my first read by Myles, but I plan to read more by them soon. 

lowbrowhighart's review

challenging reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

sghuerta's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

hungrybookclub's review against another edition

2.0

 This collection was the first I've read by Eileen Myles. The poetry seems to all be written in the same format, which is fine if not at time monotonous. When the poems are focused they hit home and really resonate with the reader. As they fall from focused to fragmented and abstract, it loses all meaning.
The work is blunt - right to the point - but it should not necessarily be taken at face value. I believe this stanza says it all:

"I'm something unreliable/and this/is a day for/poetry" 

sura_reads_books's review

3.0

I loved some of the imagery in this, and how abstract it was. However, the use of hyphens, white space, and misspellings or alternate spellings made this difficult for me to read at times. The poetry is unique and something that I would recommend to a lot of people I know who would love this, it just isn’t for me personally! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher!

lesbrarycard's review

fast-paced

3.5

Really enjoyed this quick and thoughtful collection - there is something perpetually familiar about the way Myles writes and I find it comforting! The way sentences and even words were broken down into fragments made quite moments sharper and brought a disjointed stream of consciousness to the whole body of work. 

seherina's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

I'm something 
unreliable 
and this
is a day for 
poetry.

I'm trying to understand why I liked this book so much and I don't have answer. There are just some really wonderful moments that pull you in and honestly Eileen Myers is so much fun to read out loud! 

My personal favourites from this collection are April 15, Beloved Train, Love Song and September 7.