Dirty Pretty Things

I acquired this digital copy of Dirty Pretty Things by Michael Faudet via NetGalley.

Stars: 2/5
tl;dr: Read this book if you “don't like, don't read” poetry.
Full Review (with photos, bonus commentary and a surprise appearance by the author):
http://www.georgettetan.com/2016/06/review-dirty-pretty-things-michael-faudet/

For some reason, I was disproportionately excited about finally getting a copy of Faudet's poetry book. Perhaps it's because I've read and liked Lang Leav's Love & Misadventure, and because the nature of their relationship resulted in the expected cross-promotion on my newsfeed. You probably encountered the hype for both, even if you're not the poetry-reading type. The promotional work was extremely well done and quite likely contributed to its great success.

According to his blurb everywhere, this book is a “#1 Best Seller”. It was also a Goodreads Readers Choice Award Nominee for Poetry last year, but everyone (including Leav's Memories) lost out to Trista Mateer and her second poetry collection The Dogs I Have Kissed.

Leav wrote the introduction to the book, which was not unexpected. She shed some light on how they met, and that they already share a similar aesthetic, which you'd notice if you've read both their work. She talked about how their writing brought them together. What writer won't find that terribly romantic and who won't want a match who's also their creative soulmate?

A bunch of pages in and I was already getting this uncomfortable feeling like I have overextended my expectations of the book.

Nonetheless, I soldiered on but I was making updates on both my Litsy and Goodreads account as I went along. But the sinking feeling continued. One of the big problems I had with Dirty Pretty Things is that the poems appear on one page, followed by a blank page. I grabbed my copy of Love & Misadventure (it's from the same publisher) and found the same thing, cept that I didn't really notice it with physical book. On an iPad, it's an extra swipe.

There were many of these one-liners, and some were good but the others seemed like an awful waste of a page. I mean, I've shot off a repartee or two on Facebook every now and then and gotten a lot of likes for it. I wouldn't have thought to compile them all in a book for prosperity, but maybe that's why I'm toiling in obscurity instead of being a best-selling author.

Okay, I don't hate it all. There's a few in there that I liked, including a couple of one-liners. And you gotta admit that the pithy stuff fits nicely in a social media graphic, doesn't leave things hanging the way an excerpt from a novel does, and can be enjoyed whether or not you go looking for the rest of it.

Other reviewers mentioned this: you'll probably notice the phrases “dusky pink nipples” and “white cotton panties”, among others, jumping out at you. If you're the drinking type, go get sloshed.

There's a few longer pieces - short stories or flash fiction. I felt that those were more substantial. Faudet is capable of writing some engaging prose; I enjoyed those more and wonder how he'd fare writing a novel.

Dirty Pretty Things was the first ARC I downloaded from NetGalley and I was ready to give it all the stars. I wanted to sigh dreamily at every page. Instead I made a Twilight/50 Shades comparison.

Nope. Can't finish this. DNF at 17%. I'm all for literary smut, but I want my poetry to be teasing and my erotica to be sultry, not in-your-face crass. I don't want to feel like a voyeur or 3rd wheel into Leav and Faudet's relationship (or whatever is going on there). Reading this was like sitting on a couch while your friends have sex next to you and occasionally you get a foot to the head. I just don't need the mental images.