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leahkarge's review
4.0
This collection was just as strange and intense as I was expecting--a must read! Read the full review on my blog.
easofia's review
5.0
Really enjoyed this poetry collection by Bogi Takács. Split into four parts -- I. Trans Love Is; II. A Gentle Introduction to Talmudic Argument Structure; II. Daily Dispatches; IV. The Up-and-Out -- the poetry covers a wide range of topics and always made me think. The book includes a very helpful and detailed list of content notices in the back, for depictions of oppression.
There are lots of good poems here, but some of my favorites were: Trans Love Is; The Size of a Barleycorn, Encased in Lead; Six Hundred and Thirteen Commandments; A Hail of Pebbles and Dust; Never Cease; Expect the Creaking; Two-Tailed Triptych.
Really looking forward to the author's upcoming short story collection The Trans Space Octopus Congregation.
Source: Received book from the author as a subscriber reward. All opinions in this review are my own.
There are lots of good poems here, but some of my favorites were: Trans Love Is; The Size of a Barleycorn, Encased in Lead; Six Hundred and Thirteen Commandments; A Hail of Pebbles and Dust; Never Cease; Expect the Creaking; Two-Tailed Triptych.
Really looking forward to the author's upcoming short story collection The Trans Space Octopus Congregation.
Source: Received book from the author as a subscriber reward. All opinions in this review are my own.
edebell's review
5.0
This collection of poetry is beautiful and amazing.
I must preface: I am not a literary scholar nor a subject matter expert on the themes highlighted; all I can do is provide my thoughts, and hope they represent the collection adequately! But I want to provide those thoughts, in case they might convince you to pick this up. This deserves attention.
Even when writing pain, frustration, or satire, Bogi Takács writes with such inherent compassion and optimism that the experience settles deep within. Then, the feelings are especially resounding and radiant when e writes of joy. And there is always a light breeze of humor, often winding with hope. I found reading this collection very calming on the inside while sensory and prickly on the outside. Every word is chosen. Nuances considered. Brushstrokes within lines not intended. It is so much better than I am able to describe.
Addressing other reviews I've seen, if you must fully understand everything that you read, this may not be the best collection for you. It is unlikely most readers share the author's intersection of experiences and study. Yet, I found the collection openly accessible, in that e paints a picture - a scene, surrounding you. And you are really invited, I felt, to sense and learn from the journey. The invitation to let go of control and just experience - was poetry in itself. The mix of familiarity and unfamiliarity is part of the whole point, I think. It's brilliant.
I will note: I had the honor of meeting the author and e gave me this copy from eir own hands, so I felt like I received a personal pass to board. And just being around em (and eir family) for a short time gave me a slightly better sense of where these poems grew from. Yet, if you follow Mx. Takács on Twitter (@bogiperson), you should have a sense as well, and I think also this same invitation. E is fairly open about some aspects of eir experiences, likely for layered reasons. But, yes, a sense of this poet does I think enhance the experience. Perhaps that is true of all writing that is personal in nature. Or perhaps what I'm trying to express is how personal these poems feel, even when they hold a distance.
To Bogi if e sees this, I will say reading this collection brought me great sensation. And purpose. I've been struggling with anxiety issues that had delayed me reading this, and once it called me to it and I sat to absorb it in full, your words calmed me, both my chest and my mind, which is not so easy to do right now. Thank you. I will revisit it again, I am certain. Feeling something new each time. And I also want to say something that is important, having met you and read your book: I like you.
I probably didn't say all this right, so I will summarize:
I am very moved by this awesome collection, and hope you will also enjoy it.
I must preface: I am not a literary scholar nor a subject matter expert on the themes highlighted; all I can do is provide my thoughts, and hope they represent the collection adequately! But I want to provide those thoughts, in case they might convince you to pick this up. This deserves attention.
Even when writing pain, frustration, or satire, Bogi Takács writes with such inherent compassion and optimism that the experience settles deep within. Then, the feelings are especially resounding and radiant when e writes of joy. And there is always a light breeze of humor, often winding with hope. I found reading this collection very calming on the inside while sensory and prickly on the outside. Every word is chosen. Nuances considered. Brushstrokes within lines not intended. It is so much better than I am able to describe.
Addressing other reviews I've seen, if you must fully understand everything that you read, this may not be the best collection for you. It is unlikely most readers share the author's intersection of experiences and study. Yet, I found the collection openly accessible, in that e paints a picture - a scene, surrounding you. And you are really invited, I felt, to sense and learn from the journey. The invitation to let go of control and just experience - was poetry in itself. The mix of familiarity and unfamiliarity is part of the whole point, I think. It's brilliant.
I will note: I had the honor of meeting the author and e gave me this copy from eir own hands, so I felt like I received a personal pass to board. And just being around em (and eir family) for a short time gave me a slightly better sense of where these poems grew from. Yet, if you follow Mx. Takács on Twitter (@bogiperson), you should have a sense as well, and I think also this same invitation. E is fairly open about some aspects of eir experiences, likely for layered reasons. But, yes, a sense of this poet does I think enhance the experience. Perhaps that is true of all writing that is personal in nature. Or perhaps what I'm trying to express is how personal these poems feel, even when they hold a distance.
To Bogi if e sees this, I will say reading this collection brought me great sensation. And purpose. I've been struggling with anxiety issues that had delayed me reading this, and once it called me to it and I sat to absorb it in full, your words calmed me, both my chest and my mind, which is not so easy to do right now. Thank you. I will revisit it again, I am certain. Feeling something new each time. And I also want to say something that is important, having met you and read your book: I like you.
I probably didn't say all this right, so I will summarize:
I am very moved by this awesome collection, and hope you will also enjoy it.
tsana's review
5.0
Algorithmic Shapeshifting by Bogi Takács is a collection of mostly speculative poems. I'm not a big reader of poetry, but I have mostly enjoyed, for example, the poems that appear in Uncanny Magazine. Since I also enjoy Takács's writing, this seemed like a good place to start reading more poetry.
There is a variety of poems contained in this collection, from very short to longer works and written in different styles. Some are more narrative and some more abstract. A lot of them tell a story, although a few (fewer than I expected, to be honest) went over my head. Some were very sweet love poems, some were chilling dystopian tales. Most tended towards the science fictional or the fantastical, which definitely appealed to me. Several poems engaged with Jewish themes in various ways. A few were less conventional (I think that's the right description) such as "The Tiny English-Hungarian Phrasebook for Visiting Extraterrestrials" which told a story in a clever way, and "The Oracle of DARPA", which was an amusing poem in the form of an interview between DARPA trying to build a weapon and an oracle giving oblique answers and unexpected side effects.
With short story collections and anthologies I usually include comments on each story unless it's flash fiction. I didn't think that would work for me with poems, so instead I'm just going to discuss/react to some of the poems that stood out for me. I was expecting "A User Guide to the Application of Gem-Flowers" to be horrific rather than wholesome. I was wrong. "Trans Love Is" was very sweet, as were a few other love poems I didn't explicitly mark out. "Periodicity" and "Flee to Far Shores" were both about leaving bad political situations and migration; I found them quite meaningful. I found the sort-of-reveal at the end of "The Third Extension" quite satisfying. "A Hail of Pebbles and Dust" was particularly science fictional, about a tidally locked planet. I liked the way "The Size of a Barleycorn, Encased in Lead" engaged with the idea of time-proof sign-posting (for nuclear waste). "Six Hundred and Thirteen Commandments" told a nice story in several verses spread across time, about completing commandments in different lives.
Finally, I want to mention that I had a review copy of the ebook and there were a few typographical notes in there about how the ebook differs in presentation from the original, intended form. One poem ought to have had two verses printed on opposite sides of a double page spread. Another was originally published in an animated form online and, although there description prefacing it was quite accurate, I didn't fully understand the point until I clicked through to see the original version. It's interesting, given these two examples, that neither the ebook or the paper book can be truely said to be the definitive version of the entire collection. I kind of like the idea of there no being one true version...
If you are a fan of poetry or Takács's writing more generally, then I heartily recommend this collection. I am far from being an expert in speculative poetry, but I enjoyed it a lot and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to others who are also interested in reading more speculative poetry (perhaps in between their speculative fiction).
4.5 / 5 stars
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
There is a variety of poems contained in this collection, from very short to longer works and written in different styles. Some are more narrative and some more abstract. A lot of them tell a story, although a few (fewer than I expected, to be honest) went over my head. Some were very sweet love poems, some were chilling dystopian tales. Most tended towards the science fictional or the fantastical, which definitely appealed to me. Several poems engaged with Jewish themes in various ways. A few were less conventional (I think that's the right description) such as "The Tiny English-Hungarian Phrasebook for Visiting Extraterrestrials" which told a story in a clever way, and "The Oracle of DARPA", which was an amusing poem in the form of an interview between DARPA trying to build a weapon and an oracle giving oblique answers and unexpected side effects.
With short story collections and anthologies I usually include comments on each story unless it's flash fiction. I didn't think that would work for me with poems, so instead I'm just going to discuss/react to some of the poems that stood out for me. I was expecting "A User Guide to the Application of Gem-Flowers" to be horrific rather than wholesome. I was wrong. "Trans Love Is" was very sweet, as were a few other love poems I didn't explicitly mark out. "Periodicity" and "Flee to Far Shores" were both about leaving bad political situations and migration; I found them quite meaningful. I found the sort-of-reveal at the end of "The Third Extension" quite satisfying. "A Hail of Pebbles and Dust" was particularly science fictional, about a tidally locked planet. I liked the way "The Size of a Barleycorn, Encased in Lead" engaged with the idea of time-proof sign-posting (for nuclear waste). "Six Hundred and Thirteen Commandments" told a nice story in several verses spread across time, about completing commandments in different lives.
Finally, I want to mention that I had a review copy of the ebook and there were a few typographical notes in there about how the ebook differs in presentation from the original, intended form. One poem ought to have had two verses printed on opposite sides of a double page spread. Another was originally published in an animated form online and, although there description prefacing it was quite accurate, I didn't fully understand the point until I clicked through to see the original version. It's interesting, given these two examples, that neither the ebook or the paper book can be truely said to be the definitive version of the entire collection. I kind of like the idea of there no being one true version...
If you are a fan of poetry or Takács's writing more generally, then I heartily recommend this collection. I am far from being an expert in speculative poetry, but I enjoyed it a lot and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to others who are also interested in reading more speculative poetry (perhaps in between their speculative fiction).
4.5 / 5 stars
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
copiouspep's review
5.0
CW found in the back of the book: cissexism, imperialism, colonialism, self-harm, blood, body horror, insects, anti-migrant sentiment, warfare and violence, misogyny, gaslighting, genocide, anti-Semitism, racism, Nazism, death, police, and mention of firearms.
Ever since e started talking about this book on twitter, I was immediately interested. I love all types of poetry, no matter if they’re contemporary, historical, or science fiction based and this book had all of them with a strong sense of religion and being transgender at the core.
This was an amazing ownvoice poetry collection with beautiful descriptions and it felt like I was drawn into a different world with each poem. E has an amazing voice when it comes to word choice and how to portray eir experiences. It was a weird collection, but definitely in a good way.
Many of the poems seemed very personal but, especially the ones describing the trans and nonbinary experience, resonated strongly with me. A few collections talk about what it’s like to be autistic and the types of experiences many Jewish people face as they deal with racism while just trying to live their life. Others have a strong focus on nature and becoming more in tune with it.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the author and am leaving an honest review.
Ever since e started talking about this book on twitter, I was immediately interested. I love all types of poetry, no matter if they’re contemporary, historical, or science fiction based and this book had all of them with a strong sense of religion and being transgender at the core.
This was an amazing ownvoice poetry collection with beautiful descriptions and it felt like I was drawn into a different world with each poem. E has an amazing voice when it comes to word choice and how to portray eir experiences. It was a weird collection, but definitely in a good way.
Many of the poems seemed very personal but, especially the ones describing the trans and nonbinary experience, resonated strongly with me. A few collections talk about what it’s like to be autistic and the types of experiences many Jewish people face as they deal with racism while just trying to live their life. Others have a strong focus on nature and becoming more in tune with it.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the author and am leaving an honest review.
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