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A review by goldhattedlover
Of Love and Desire by Louis de Bernières
3.0
Self-indulgence and universality are time-honoured components of brilliant poetry, and while de Bernières masters the former in this spare collection that compares modern heartbreak to Greek mythological heartbreak, there is an underwhelming portion of the latter.
Despite taking inspiration from Neruda, there is little of the raw, erotic passion that is a lynchpin for so much of Pablo's poetry. Instead, de Bernières relies on the invocation of 'Afrodite' and other Greek metaphors for love, interspersed with lukewarm musings about the 'half-wild, half-tame' women he has loved and lost.
Many are genuinely sweet ('How Once, When Young' among them), but the poems ultimately fall short of the promise made on the cover: to embody the passionate remembrances of those universal human emotions - love and desire.
A pleasant, unspectacular read.
Despite taking inspiration from Neruda, there is little of the raw, erotic passion that is a lynchpin for so much of Pablo's poetry. Instead, de Bernières relies on the invocation of 'Afrodite' and other Greek metaphors for love, interspersed with lukewarm musings about the 'half-wild, half-tame' women he has loved and lost.
Many are genuinely sweet ('How Once, When Young' among them), but the poems ultimately fall short of the promise made on the cover: to embody the passionate remembrances of those universal human emotions - love and desire.
A pleasant, unspectacular read.