christa

So much happened here but the lasting sentiment for me is how complex these narrators and main characters are. Most if not all of these characters make decisions and have grown into their distasteful personalities as a means of survival and, whether they realize it or not, as a response to trauma. But most of them are so SO awful. I loved these stories the most. Awful characters doing awful things but with backgrounds that make this awfulness make sense. I felt this most intensely in “Not Today, Marjorie”. I found her, in the beginning, to be an objectively awful and un-selfaware MC. But the author has expertly weaved in details of childhood and past which complicates this one-note personality. She becomes complex. I don't know whether to hate her shamelessly or to admit to myself that I understand how she ended up this way (how I would most definitely end up this way too if I'd suffered in such a way). There's not a single story here I didnt love. I didn't quite understand “A Conversation About Bread”, but enjoyed the writing nonetheless. I also enjoyed this because of how often the author utilized characters from other stories.

DNF at 53%. Desperately wanted to finish this but I have no idea who anyone is and at a certain point stopped caring. Too many characters and I kept going because I thought it'd eventually come to me, but it just sunk me deeper into confusion. I also had a very very hard time grasping what was happening in action scenes. It was simple shit, like describing where we were physically, or how these monsters were speaking/using the bodies of these kids. The camp aspect was fascinating, but even that I found a bit unrealistic? They've been kidnapped and taken to an undisclosed location and they're...doing dishes? Doing oral sex on each other in the middle of the night? Most of the teenagers who come back from those places talk about how they couldn't even speak to other kids or they'd be punished, so I found this hard to believe. I think it works for the plot that they are rebelling and getting away with it, but in real life, I think they'd face intense consequences more often.

I loved this concept and I really was interested in how these kids end up though. Just not for me. Thanks Netgalley and Publisher for letting me read this eARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

I was recommended this book by my fiction teacher about two years ago and I remember being so in love with the stories he showed us–the night report and the imp. however, i found myself grasping for some answer as to what all these endings mean. maybe i'm not getting something. maybe ive not lived enough to understand. but the endings were always a little far out for me. at the same time, impactful? it's difficult to describe. overall i loved these.

This book was gruesome. It was gross, even frustrating at times. Our speaker was pretentious and self important. But all of this was so well written and purposeful. I have never read a book that makes me HATE the narrator and also sincerely understand her (in some ways). While Dorothy was a gruesome murderer, she was also insightful in her understanding of womanhood. Even if her knowledge of woman was centered around their violence, I still found that information profound and unique.

I will say, whenever I was totally immersed in the story, there were allusions that were impossible to understand and were pretty important to the context. Places, people, foods, even entire sentences in other languages. I don't think I could get through this book if I looked up everything I didn't know. Ultimately, I found myself glazing over half of paragraphs, speeding through pages about foods that (didn't really matter and) I had never heard of. I understand this was part of her character though which is why I still think this is a 5 star book!!

slight spoilers?

beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! you might need a cheat sheet to keep characters, welsh words, or legendborn vocabulary together. otherwise, this is an awesome ya fantasy centered around grief, the black experience, and some fucked up family stuff. hard to explain. just read it.

what i liked:

the writing itself was very craftful. the language, specifically when we're dealing with grief, ancestry, and slavery, is sensitive and careful. then, when we get to fighting scenes or moments of argument/frustration, the dialogue is powerful. the movements are easy to follow and imagine, in my opinion.

i loved the details that were realistic, down to earth, teenage things. the father checking up on her. the onceborn friend who worries and cares. the washing of hair. taking classes. liking boys. being embarrassed and scared. all the while, being a badass mf. i think it's also a wonderful intro, where she has just gotten here and talks about ppl jumping/being scared to jump. we get this idea that she truly is just a kid. and then this shift is even more contrasting.

before and after bree. this detail that keeps coming back is incredibly impactful to me. the grief has transformed her own personhood. it's insane. and genuinely heart wrenching.


what i wish was different:

too many characters. even 2-3 less characters would help. greer feels like they are simply filling a role as a non-binary character and there is very little else importance to them otherwise. even in the second book, (i have not finished) they seem to be a very flat character that does not influence bree at all, yet is mentioned often for some reason? vaughn is a character i wished we could get into more (after a ~certain~ scene, his resentment and jealousy for bree seems extremely important to me!).

i came into this with 0 knowledge on King Arthur. it was something i had to get used to and pretty much refused to google until i started book 2. read this for school and a visitor did a presentation on the myth of arthur which is what informs my understanding almost wholly. i wished we got a little bit of info on him. i understand many people already know about this stuff, but we are literally NEVER told ANYTHING about arthur on a level that matters. it was actually kind of jarring. and with that, we are told so so so much about the ‘lines' and all this ancestry the present pages (ex. what each color means for each line)... for what? if you aren't explaining the ultimate ancestor why does this in-depth description of descendants matter? ALL OF THAT BEING SAID, i don't think writing exists in a vacuum and a readers lack of knowedlge is somewhat their responsibility to deal with. This is why I still think this book is 5 stars. This detail (or lackthereof) does not, at all, take away from the excellent representation of micro aggressions and racism, as well as the grief bree endures throughout this series. if i am somehow missing an entire background revolving around king arthur's myth/legacy, please let me know where in the book that occurs.

small moments i love:

“The unsettled spirits, the eager ones, look for ways in and you're much more open to your ancestors now. And listen, this is the South; there are a lot of unsettled Black folk in the ground.”

“Then I will give you the power to do so, wound tight with truth.”

“She smears her blood onto the fruit and the flowers, presses the mixture and her hand as deep into the ground as they'll go, and calls the ancestors to aid in a rhythmic chant of her own making.”

This book is truly wild.

I sometimes felt that the writing style got in the way or took up too much space, but I still enjoyed it. I have always agreed that poets make excellent fiction writers. Sometimes that has its pros and cons .

It's definitely not feminist. The beliefs of this family is in no way remotely related to what feminism is. Even a misandrist wouldn't agree with some of the stuff they think, at least in my opinion.

I felt a bit weird about the cutting scenes (ex. minor, conciliatory slices in my thigh) just because it felt too “pretty”. It portrayed self harm as some sort of stress reliever that wasn't meant to be associated with mental illness. That was handled poorly and a bit insensitively.

I felt that the ending was cheap and confusing. Killing these men didn't do much for me. We could've delved a bit deeper by getting off the damn island ya know? I also am not sure what the ending is getting at. They're just walking around the island, trying to pass the “border”? What is the border and where does it lead to? Reading comprehension is not my strength, so if you DO know what the very end is doing, let me know. I am genuinely confused.

Here are some of my favorite quotes:

“There is a fluidity to his movements, despite his size, that tells me he has never had to justify his existence, has never had to fold himself into a hidden thing, and I wonder what that must be like, to know that your body is irreproachable.”

“If we were to spit at them, they would spit back harder. We expected that – we were prepared for it even. What we didn't expect was their growing outrage that we even dared to have moisture in our mouths. Then outrage that we had mouths at all. They would have liked us all dead, I know that now.”

“I forgave her easily because the scream was proof of concern, of love, the same way she would have screamed had a viper been raising its head, fangs bared towards my outstretched hand.”

Personal belief: 90% of memoirs are made just to be quoted. I felt that way with this one. It was more boring than most! But it definitely gets more interesting as it goes. Murakami gets honest about failure (despite never truly failing anything?) and getting older, which was cool to read.

This is such an unserious comment but it almost felt like I was being gaslit the entire time that he didn't care about competition and meeting certain times/markers. The entire book is about beating every marathon and it's so nonchalant about it that it honestly made me annoyed.

If you're a runner this might be motivating. If you're a writer, there are select moments of interesting introspection/analogy/commentary from Murakami. If you're interested in his life, go for it. But generally this was not easy to get through.

Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This was literally awesome. That's the only word I can think of. Awesome.

Jennifer Gratz's, “Still Falling” is a poetry book of storytelling enveloped in nature and the senses, like the way a freight train desperately wants to be heard, or greetings of the crow. It surrounds grief, shows the aftermath of certain devastating moments and relationships we all experience, and observes the world/nature in such a distinctive, intelligent way.

When I first read this, I was searching for answers, for explanations, for some sort of resolve. However, this book is not focused on giving the juicy details of our despair, of our trauma. It gives us just enough. For example, it seems as if the “you” in these poems, which I read as most of the time as the same person the speaker seems to know intimately, remains unnamed. In poems like, “Who Understands”, I'm left with more questions than when I began. While in other poems, like “Grief”, grief becomes something so distinct, so obvious and easy to understand that I'm right there. I'm standing at the stove with the speaker, sweating and crying and coping just as they are. What the poems have in common though is intimacy and the speaker's curiosity and wisdom despite it.

This book is full of honesty, of relationships, the sudden and the gradual loss of them. It's curious of humanity, of love, of death. I think of “Staring at the Sun”, though most of these poems end or include some sort of philosophical or unanswerable question. This is what tells me the speaker has so much left to discover. At the same time, the speaker is incredibly wise. They are smart enough to ask the questions no one else thinks of. Besides its theme, the imagery in this book is perfection. It's obscure and sensory and unique. Gosh. This is such an incredible book of poetry. I love love loved it.

This was literally awesome. That's the only word I can think of. Awesome.

some of favorite lines:

“At first, like grief, snow covers everything”

“He weighed 953 pounds. To make him stop, / all I had to do was hold my breath.”

“I wrapped my hand around cattail / and squeezed: spongy and veloured / as an espresso-soaked ladyfinger”

This was just the most beautiful thing I've read in a while. Found myself teary-eyed multiple times. Particular favorites of mine are “A Few Things Jasmine Taught Me”, “Definition” and “Ritual”. Beautiful imagery. So incredibly honest.

quotes i love:
“emergency room chairs hold / fear better than flesh”

“God owes me. i.e., God should repay me for the / life he took wid him and away from me”

and my ABSOLUTE favorite

“Bargaining is asking the cemetery / to unswallow the body, / begging the bullet to undo / the skull it made into mausoleum”

Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.


Vanishing Act is a deeply personal book of poetry surrounding womanhood, “tragedies you wish you could have avoided”, memory and mothers, certain aches and weights we feel forever, time and the stains we can never relinquish, despite that time. And in the Miracle After, these grievances and stains are comforted, as the speaker talks themselves down, talks down the living and non living things that surround them. The speaker finds solace in staying still, in losing one's mind, in being somewhat broken and aging. This speaker and this poet are incredibly wise and honest, as they seem to be working through the most universal problems of identity and life itself on the page, never truly finding resolution that we all crave. If you're someone that appreciates this unresolved conflict, the simple conversation and confession of grief, you will enjoy this book.

What I loved:

This is one of my quirks, but I am particularly enamored with first lines. And the first lines of this book are some of my favorites ever. I love most when first lines are images: “you cupped together / a bowl of grapes” or “there is something moving / behind the stove. It might have a tail”, However, there are very statements to some of these that I love equally as much: “So you fucked it up in a way / you didn't know you could” or “In the end, the breath may be / the last to leave”. With first lines like this, I never wanted to skip around to the next most exciting thing.

The personification through the second half of the book is spectacular. We give animals and inanimate objects grief and a voice. Moments of dialogue (and rhetorical questions), even from these non-human characters, were disorienting in the best way. The best example is in “Call and Response” where the rooms begin talking to the speaker. I am not sure what this madness is stemming from, but I think this disorientation is purposeful.


What I didn't love as much:

I think there could be more variety in the title of poems, as most of them were one worded or extremely short. While there is great variety in the form, the titles were not as exciting and it was very easy to skip over them. “By the Laundromat on Sainte-Catherine Street” broke this mold and I love the title very much! “Semblance of a Narrative” was another one of my favorites because it felt playful and informed the poem.

Moments I loved:

“I want to be / more than an animal / happening to itself”

What the Living Do in its entirety.

“In the new world; / my tongue is pink & my name is King / and I need not wear my womanhood / like a flag of surrender”

“If I could repel you / towards hope, I would”

“I find a God / who is not an active listener, / who takes too long to reply to prayers, / who appears only to disbelievers”

“Though labor is necessary, / it is not purpose”




Merged review:

Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.


Vanishing Act is a deeply personal book of poetry surrounding womanhood, “tragedies you wish you could have avoided”, memory and mothers, certain aches and weights we feel forever, time and the stains we can never relinquish, despite that time. And in the Miracle After, these grievances and stains are comforted, as the speaker talks themselves down, talks down the living and non living things that surround them. The speaker finds solace in staying still, in losing one's mind, in being somewhat broken and aging. This speaker and this poet are incredibly wise and honest, as they seem to be working through the most universal problems of identity and life itself on the page, never truly finding resolution that we all crave. If you're someone that appreciates this unresolved conflict, the simple conversation and confession of grief, you will enjoy this book.

What I loved:

This is one of my quirks, but I am particularly enamored with first lines. And the first lines of this book are some of my favorites ever. I love most when first lines are images: “you cupped together / a bowl of grapes” or “there is something moving / behind the stove. It might have a tail”, However, there are very statements to some of these that I love equally as much: “So you fucked it up in a way / you didn't know you could” or “In the end, the breath may be / the last to leave”. With first lines like this, I never wanted to skip around to the next most exciting thing.

The personification through the second half of the book is spectacular. We give animals and inanimate objects grief and a voice. Moments of dialogue (and rhetorical questions), even from these non-human characters, were disorienting in the best way. The best example is in “Call and Response” where the rooms begin talking to the speaker. I am not sure what this madness is stemming from, but I think this disorientation is purposeful.


What I didn't love as much:

I think there could be more variety in the title of poems, as most of them were one worded or extremely short. While there is great variety in the form, the titles were not as exciting and it was very easy to skip over them. “By the Laundromat on Sainte-Catherine Street” broke this mold and I love the title very much! “Semblance of a Narrative” was another one of my favorites because it felt playful and informed the poem.

Moments I loved:

“I want to be / more than an animal / happening to itself”

What the Living Do in its entirety.

“In the new world; / my tongue is pink & my name is King / and I need not wear my womanhood / like a flag of surrender”

“If I could repel you / towards hope, I would”

“I find a God / who is not an active listener, / who takes too long to reply to prayers, / who appears only to disbelievers”

“Though labor is necessary, / it is not purpose”




Merged review:

Vanishing Act is a deeply personal book of poetry surrounding womanhood, “tragedies you wish you could have avoided”, memory and mothers, certain aches and weights we feel forever, time and the stains we can never relinquish, despite that time. And in the Miracle After, these grievances and stains are comforted, as the speaker talks themselves down, talks down the living and non living things that surround them. The speaker finds solace in staying still, in losing one's mind, in being somewhat broken and aging. This speaker and this poet are incredibly wise and honest, as they seem to be working through the most universal problems of identity and life itself on the page, never truly finding resolution that we all crave. If you're someone that appreciates this unresolved conflict—the simple conversation and confession of grief—you will enjoy this book.

What I loved:

This is one of my quirks, but I am particularly enamored with first lines. And the first lines of this book are some of my favorites ever. I love most when first lines are images: “you cupped together / a bowl of grapes” or “there is something moving / behind the stove. It might have a tail”, However, there are very statements to some of these that I love equally as much: “So you fucked it up in a way / you didn't know you could” or “In the end, the breath may be / the last to leave”. With first lines like this, I never wanted to skip around to the next most exciting thing.

The personification through the second half of the book is spectacular. We give animals and inanimate objects grief and a voice. Moments of dialogue (and rhetorical questions), even from these non-human characters, were disorienting in the best way. The best example is in “Call and Response” where the rooms begin talking to the speaker. I am not sure what this madness is stemming from, but I think this disorientation is purposeful.


What I didn't love as much:

I think there could be more variety in the title of poems, as most of them were one worded or extremely short. While there is great variety in the form, the titles were not as exciting and it was very easy to skip over them. “By the Laundromat on Sainte-Catherine Street” broke this mold and I love the title very much! “Semblance of a Narrative” was another one of my favorites because it felt playful and informed the poem.

Moments I loved:

“I want to be / more than an animal / happening to itself”

What the Living Do in its entirety.

“In the new world; / my tongue is pink & my name is King / and I need not wear my womanhood / like a flag of surrender”

“If I could repel you / towards hope, I would”

“I find a God / who is not an active listener, / who takes too long to reply to prayers, / who appears only to disbelievers”

“Though labor is necessary, / it is not purpose”

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review!

As If She Had a Say is such a visceral and unique short story collection. Most of these stories are rooted in experiences of rape, assault, motherhood, and grief, specifically through an exploration of womanhood. Truly though, these stories are simply exploring people and the weird things we feel, experience, and think. I say weird loosely because sometimes the main characters are just living their life and doing objectively weird things like selling hands! However, a lot of the “weirdness” just comes along with coping with trauma and loss.

These short stories are quick and to the point. There's a lot of metaphor/symbols. For example, a girl projects movies through her vagina. It's all cool until people take advantage of her ~skill~. The metaphors aren't usually difficult to “get” although I was lost on few stories.

I like to think that most readers would really like the obscurity here but it's definitely not for everyone, especially with darker/triggering themes (miscarriage, SA etc.) attached. And most, if not all, of these stories have some sort of darker or personal meaning to them. I personally think that's the most impressive aspect of the book! If you're a reader who values honesty and vulnerability, you'll love that element of this.

I will say I tended to get bored after 3-4 stories in one sitting because the format of them were so similar. And a lot of the themes were similar as well. I just think the obscurity in these stories could be reflected in format as well. This is why the last story was so interesting to me! It was visually different which separates it from all the others.

My favorite stories tended to be longer. They were more fleshed out and allowed me to get closer to the speaker/MC. The shorter stories were great, just had a more experimental feeling to them. Some of my faves were “The Best thing for the Baby”, “Postcards from the Person You Ate” and “Solitaire”. Solitaire is probably one of my favorite short stories ever because its obscurity is real. We see ourselves in it. Instead of experimenting with writing itself, the author really allows for the speaker to tell the truth about the somewhat taboo feelings he's got. The author allowed him to feel them without question. I also just love how well it captures grief... when we lose someone, we find them everywhere. And when we lose someone at the hands of another person, we tend to find the perpetrator in everything too. This story captures that perfectly.

Thank you BookSirens (and Kathleen Fine!) for allowing me to read this ARC!

What an introduction! We are immediately plunged into the aftermath of the crime, which we aren't aware of at this point in the novel, with a simple but very impactful scene. This author writes addiction with much empathy, which I gathered from the prologue alone. The grief, coping, and guilt of this main character matters more than anything and this was displayed well throughout the book.

As someone with a shorter attention span, I really appreciated the shorter length chapters. I did feel the book was dragging on at times though. What our main character had for breakfast is not necessarily the most important aspect of a scene, but it was given so much time. 40% of the way through and I felt like we were barely getting to tension. The constant switching between past and present, while it does provide context, gives me a bit of whiplash. I couldn't get attached to emotional moments at first. Ultimately, as soon as we get any momentum, the chapter ends (in the first half of the book). The conflict FLIES by and becomes just underwhelming. At the same time, the book itself was going rather slow and gave us too much time to connect dots and to make up our own conclusions. I found myself guessing the plot twist early on in the book.

I will also say that there were SO many characters and some of them weren't distinct enough to remember quickly. Most of the names were so generic sounding and ran together. By the end of the book, I would still mix up certain names.

Despite these things, there was a great mix of physical/enviroment detail and internal thoughts. In other words, characterization was both physical and mental. Emily is a great example of a victim that isn't “perfect”, as most people aren't. We often can't stomach that people who've suffered greatly are not perfect people and that's why I appreciated this kind of characterization. She made bad decisions, but ultimately, was driven to these behaviors by her own grief and turmoil.

Once we got through a bunch of exposition and context, the story truly engaged me. As there were more bumps in the road for Emily (ie. more tension and conflict), the back and forth was not as whiplash-y and left me on the edge of my seat. The twists and turns of the story, while sometimes expected, were very impactful. Sometimes the things we expect from traumatic events like this are just realistic, not cliche! I applaud the author for handling certain sensitive subjects with such care. It's very refreshing to see this being discussed with sensitivity, as a lot of popular books dealing with similar issues tend to romanticize it.

Ultimately, this type of fiction is new for me. I am often reading Adult Fiction, but I wanted to try something new. I am pleasantly surprised at what this book is exploring thematically. The plot is incredibly interesting and I was extremely compelled by Emily's character. This novel made me consider my own morals and judgements, as well as my privileges. I found myself trying to figure out how I might feel if I was her, if I was a juror, and what fate Emily might ‘deserve'. In the end though, I think this story is much more than giving or not giving a conviction to a young girl. It's about abuse, trauma, and grief. How Emily copes, how she attempts to reconcile with and forgive herself, and how everything went down, is at the center of this story. While I had difficultly with pacing and some of the characters fell flat for me, the story's message makes up for that. The end wasn't terribly satisfying for me, but I think that's what life is. You survive even when it's not pretty, even when you'd rather move on and forget your past life.

I know this is not everyone's cup of tea, but this was such a quick and insightful read. I absolutely ADORED the gossip and storytelling. I think it's really important that the older community in Dunnet Landing (and everywhere else) are considered and fully formed in discussions like this. It's wise, tear jerking at times, and just so darn realistic. I love these ladies and the select men that appear. They are all unique yet I love them all the same.

this is a super quick and heartwarming classic. a bit different than the animation we've probably all seen. The scrooge here was too quick to accept criticism. The acceptance is gradual in the animation which I think is the most important part of the story. Regardless, just about anyone should be able to pick this up and find something to love.

Thank you Scribner for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own!

It's been said in other reviews but this is “no plot just vibes” and I loved every minute of it!

Two sisters are living in NY. One's suicidal and the other has her own set of problems that don't have a diagnosis from what I remember, but she's obsessed with racist/antisemitic/homophobic moms on Instagram. Their mother is a RAGING narcissist and everyone in the book is a pussy. I think the book's purpose is to show you just how much of a pussy they each are. I'm not even kidding. Everyone in this book is manipulative and awful in their own way. It's fantastic.

The dialogue was at times not realistic. It was like hearing someone say their personal thoughts or diary entries but to their sister who they mildly hate? In detail. But at the same time, I think this was on purpose and most of the quotable moments were pieces of dialogue.

The strength of the book TRULY was in its characterization and its obscurity. The most memorable parts are the from the mother. Just the nastiness that comes from her. I would probably also have mental issues if that was my mother. I think the dynamic between the MC and her sister was at the forefront of the book and still, they always ended up where they started. My only gripe is that I hated when they spoke in unison.

But this was super cool. What can I say! You have to be in the mood for something weird and character driven. And it can be sad at times. Like, it describes being in pain so well that it makes you remember you're suffering too and the world is awful. This is such a double-edged sword because it can make you feel icky and depressed. But it's written well and feels so real, which is impressive and makes you want to keep reading. If that sounds like you, you should like this one! It goes by super quick, IMO.

I won this in a contest and I am forever grateful that Black Sunflowers Poetry Press sent this to me! I went to school with one of their authors and really loved their book as well.

With Phantasmal Flowers in The Eden Where Only I know, I wanted more from each of these poems. All of them were very, very short to the point that I couldn't quite tell what the theme of the book was. The blurb says that this is meant to “distill the human experience through flora” but I wasn't always sure what human experience it was distilling. There are definitely some gems in here though, mainly when the speaker is curious and self pitying. For example, in “FlOwEr”, I loved the lines, “why am I blooming / yet no one sees me? / why am I smiling / yet nothing flows into me” (page 8). This poem in particular, and a few others with those interrogations, lead to me to believe that a lot of this is exploring a general feeling of disappointment or displacement. The speaker's life feels unsatisfactory or maybe even open-ended, which comes through metaphors like thirst, wanting to be sheltered from the sun, physically reacting to the changing of the seasons, etc. Flowers are also totally stationary and reactive to their environment, so I assumed this was a symbol as well. Overall, I think this concept is incredibly unique and I really just wanted the poems to be more extended and feel more connected to each other through more imagery or scene. In fact, I think this concept could be an incredible short story. Anyways, the cover is really beautiful and I also really loved the changes in capitalization/punctuation! Poetry is really subjective and I am no expert, so take my opinions with a grain of salt! There's lots to love here.

sometimes felt that this book contradicts itself. or, specifically in part 4, is trying desperately to show us perfection while also making the society sound...unbearable. i mean, a world where a bunch of dumb humans are shitting on each other amongst a bunch of honest and wise horses...does not sound like perfection to me. no love. no opinions...? there is literally a procreation cap on them hoes.

but i can still appreciate what it's satirizing and there's no denying, there are some funny details and incredibly bold moments with philosophy/dissection of human nature. at the same time, i think it's trying to do so much at once.

the misogyny here is supposedly satirizing as well, but it just didn't feel that way to me? like sure women's bodies are ugly and smell bad up close. what now? perhaps it's trying to make a mockery of this idea of our inferiority. but at the same time, most of the men in this story are not only written as bearable, but well liked or respected by gulliver. idk maybe i'm missing something. in class (sigh), it was mentioned that swift is maybe commenting on the unrealistic standard of beauty (particularly in the nobility). in other words, that rich women are godly in theory. but really we are all stinky and gross. but again, gulliver is more disgusted at women undressing than being shit on. like literally feces on the noggin.

i think i still have so much to learn about satire and politics and ENGLAND and earlier works like this so all my thoughts are literally just that...THOUGHTS.

I won this in a giveaway, just as a disclaimer. I'm always honest in book reviews, giveaway or not! I had no idea what to expect from this but I was INCREDIBLY HAPPY just after reading the first poem. This is such a stunning chapbook. It recounts the speaker's experience with abuse and paranoia (caused by that abuse), that leads them to want to get revenge, find themselves, and live in a world where they don't have to constantly look over their shoulder. Insane imagery (in the best way possible) that's accessible and honest and that truly transports you into the moment. I appreciated the variety in form, in theme, even in voice. Some of these poems are unsettling, some of them are joyous, some scared, others angry. My favorite poem is, “Dream in which I Can't Get Away”, where the speaker imagines they're teaching a class and their abuser comes in the classroom and sits in the front row, only to be fucking pummeled. I LOVE poems of revenge, of justice. So this was particularly delightful. I also think people are very scared to talk about what rage actually feels and looks like. Sometimes it's stomping their head in. So I think this was a really brave choice and courageous chapbook in general. Only other thing I could ever want from this chapbook is more. Like...it could've been 10x as long and I would've ate it up.

There are a few lines I underlined that were just really nice!

- My two favorites were: “Thirty minutes left of pretending power”...in a poem where the speaker wields the most power and authority in a classroom (and then stomp their abuser's head in). I'm really into alliteration honestly. I thought this was also just a unique way of thinking about teaching, especially as a teacher's daughter. A lot of the authority we think teachers wield is just in our head, especially in higher education. A lot of teachers are pretending to have some sort of authority as a means of gaining respect. But they can be scared and undermined and overlooked too. Bit of a deviation from the chapbook but was just a thought I had!

“Ignore the wetness gracing your lower back. It's just purging”...as the speaker dances to I Will Survive. Loved the idea that the dancing is literally draining the fear, the paranoia and exhaustion, out of them.

- “Don't tell me to hold space for any hurt that isn't mine” !!!!

Love, love, LOVED this one. Thanks Black Sunflowers Poetry Press for sending it to me! <3