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mohawkm's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book of poetry! The author focuses much on her moves across the country, and walking through cities, along with the more painful parts of having the trailing partner be unemployed, and the resulting breakup.
In part, the poems read a little like you are behind the poet's eyes, ala Being John Malkovich. Whether you like a sense of place, relationships, or personal musings, you are likely to enjoy this book.
In part, the poems read a little like you are behind the poet's eyes, ala Being John Malkovich. Whether you like a sense of place, relationships, or personal musings, you are likely to enjoy this book.
scottwoods's review against another edition
5.0
There is a bravado that bubbles out of Aptowicz’s work that is not present in this latest collection. This is not a bad thing. The book is her most personal to date, and with this work we discover that not everything in her world is a joke. At the forefront of TYONM are her traditional and always-welcome traits: warm and accessible language, cut with a hip fearlessness in subject matter and form, spread out over many engaging scenarios. And yet, contextualized through an exploration of loss, we are treated to a collection that not only shows you who she is (all her books do that), but what she’s made of.
Aptowicz possesses a keen eye for good stories; it is what propels her catalog at large, and certainly her best work. Seeing that eye turned on herself (as opposed to squirrels on crack or lawn gnomes. See? An unassailable imagination!) is something to behold. It is an earnest gut-punch of a book, and stripped of her usual buoyancy, leaves us with one of the most honest collections of art this year. Notable poems include "33 1/3", "Austin", "Married Men" and "Not Doing Something Wrong isn't the Same as Doing Something Right."
Aptowicz possesses a keen eye for good stories; it is what propels her catalog at large, and certainly her best work. Seeing that eye turned on herself (as opposed to squirrels on crack or lawn gnomes. See? An unassailable imagination!) is something to behold. It is an earnest gut-punch of a book, and stripped of her usual buoyancy, leaves us with one of the most honest collections of art this year. Notable poems include "33 1/3", "Austin", "Married Men" and "Not Doing Something Wrong isn't the Same as Doing Something Right."
with_drea's review against another edition
5.0
This book is like the best punch to the gut-- especially the last poem.
earlgreybooks's review against another edition
4.0
This was a really great collection. There were lots of poems I really connected to, and the ones that I didn't connect to, I still loved. Definitely interested in reading more of Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz's work!
elliotvanz's review against another edition
4.0
I've heard a lot of great things about Aptowicz over the years, but this was my first time reading her poetry. I'm so glad I picked up this collection. This is a book centering around transitions. Moving away from New York and to Texas (and the amazing sense of place she evokes). The break-down of relationships, as well as the whirlwind passion of new ones. Finding your footing and loosing it all over again. These are poems of heartbreak and also hopefulness, the sorts of words that come from those times in our lives that seem the most uncertain and vivid. Relatable through and through but never easy nor simplistic. Aptowicz uses an economy of words to snap complex feelings into stark relief.
andreaj's review
4.0
Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz is a modern confessional poet. She doesn't want to stick her head in an oven, but she does let us in to such embarrassingly beautifully honest, deep,raw places within her being, that we can't help but relive a similar time we did or thought or experienced that same thing. In The Year of No Mistakes, we see a second coming of age, the transition from the adulthood you thought you'd have, to the one that the universe doled out for you.
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