Reviews

The Man Suit by Zachary Schomburg

0liviar's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious slow-paced

5.0

Absolutely brilliant. Especially love how characters and figures recur (without it being heavy-handed), helping the momentum and cohesion of the collection. This was marvelous.

bellwetherdays's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

4.25

strauberry's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious slow-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

4.5

tymelgren's review against another edition

2.0

This book is a little famous and it has a constellation in the shape of a coffin on the cover so I read it before going to some Halloween parties. It's mostly stupid.

monasterymonochrome's review against another edition

4.0

I'm not sure I understood most of the poems in here (they make little external logic, though the logic is surprisingly sound within the confines of their created worlds), but I still came away feeling like I had been profoundly affected in some way. I'm always really impressed by surrealist poets; it's not a style I've learned to master myself - I feel like it takes a certain level of inventiveness and un-self-consciousness I just don't possess - and Schomburg is especially good at it. Not all of his experimentation and eccentricity worked for me, but a lot of it did, and even the less impactful pieces had one or two moments that made them worth it. Schomburg's imagery is vivid and bizarre and does very well at evoking certain emotions and atmospheres without hitting the reader over the head with them. His language is simple but effective and works especially well within the context of his surreal images, making the extraordinary seem somehow quotidian while still maintaining its capability to amaze and surprise. Despite their strangeness and seeming randomness, the poems in this collection are connected by a surprisingly vast and complicated web of narrative and thematic threads (made all the more apparent by the detailed, somewhat tongue-in-cheek index at the back). I'd love to go back and really pore over these connections in depth when I have more time to devote to that task.

werdfert's review against another edition

3.0

i tried to put The Man Suit on over my outsized shoulders. it was lumpy and made me look like David Byrne.

lake's review

4.0

Definitely recommend this one for people who want to explore a dark anthology of poetry and prose. It's experimental without veering into pretentious territory. Touches you at some points, hushes you, and hurts you if you think too hard. Love it, and Schomburg is a cool person as well.

trinitym's review

4.0

I'm not sure how I felt about the longer sections, but I really liked the way the ending tied back into the beginning.