emsemsems's review against another edition
2.0
Oh dear. I kept myself a little bit more sleep-deprived than usual before digging in because I heard that that's the best way to get with this collection of poems. Unfortunately I like them a lot less than I had wanted to; and I certainly did not like them enough to give it a 3-star rating. I simply can't do it even though a 2-star rating feels a bit stingy. I'm a fan of Simic, but this one was more of a 'miss' than a 'hit' for me.
Half a dozen poems from this collection that I actually thought was brilliant (and made the whole reading experience worth my time) :
HOTEL STARRY SKY
LOVE WORKER
ROMANTIC SONNET
MY QUARREL WITH THE INFINITE
THE OLD WORLD
COUNTRY FAIR
Perhaps I should give it another shot at a later date - in a less sleep-deprived state?
Half a dozen poems from this collection that I actually thought was brilliant (and made the whole reading experience worth my time) :
HOTEL STARRY SKY
LOVE WORKER
ROMANTIC SONNET
MY QUARREL WITH THE INFINITE
THE OLD WORLD
COUNTRY FAIR
Perhaps I should give it another shot at a later date - in a less sleep-deprived state?
mpho3's review against another edition
4.0
She was drunk and so was the man
Who kept kissing her neck.
The dog got the stick and looked back at us.
And that was the whole show.
Who kept kissing her neck.
The dog got the stick and looked back at us.
And that was the whole show.
jayshay's review against another edition
3.0
Hotel Insomnia - Charles Simic
It was a hit and miss collection of poems for me. Simic's style seems both stripped down and bombastic. Several of his poems would generally start with simple precise language and then suddenly make these big sweeping words choices at the end. The language equivalents of going "BA BA BHAAAA!!!"
Examples:
"my heart spiked and bleeding in its branches." (p27)
"Filled with almonds of heaven and hell." (p56)
"...With love screaming bloody murder!" (p7)
"The red parrot screaming in the parrot house." (p8)
"Watching the bare winter trees/Lashed by the driving wind."(p13)
"Opening its black wings in the New World / As if never to close them again." (p47)
Or it just didn't match with my own taste and mood at the moment. It has more to do with the swings between the two different modes of address. What feels jarring to me might feel sweeping to others. It's a tough gig poetry.
It was a hit and miss collection of poems for me. Simic's style seems both stripped down and bombastic. Several of his poems would generally start with simple precise language and then suddenly make these big sweeping words choices at the end. The language equivalents of going "BA BA BHAAAA!!!"
Examples:
"my heart spiked and bleeding in its branches." (p27)
"Filled with almonds of heaven and hell." (p56)
"...With love screaming bloody murder!" (p7)
"The red parrot screaming in the parrot house." (p8)
"Watching the bare winter trees/Lashed by the driving wind."(p13)
"Opening its black wings in the New World / As if never to close them again." (p47)
Or it just didn't match with my own taste and mood at the moment. It has more to do with the swings between the two different modes of address. What feels jarring to me might feel sweeping to others. It's a tough gig poetry.
yeahdeadslow's review against another edition
5.0
My theory that magical things happen when one meanders through the NF section at the library remains intact! For that is what I was doing when I found Hotel Insomnia.
Whilst browsing the poetry section, I was attracted to its title first, then I picked it up, flipped through it, decided it had great potential to be something I'd like, and took it home.
As I said, I liked the title first of all; it conjured certain pictures and expectations in my mind that I'd say Charles Siric captured quite well. He pulled me into a deceptively sparse-looking world with bleak rooms whose windows look out onto a bleaker city. He gave beauty to the wee hours of the morning, lying in bed with eyes that won't stay closed; listening and remembering.
I think I have a new favourite poet!
Whilst browsing the poetry section, I was attracted to its title first, then I picked it up, flipped through it, decided it had great potential to be something I'd like, and took it home.
As I said, I liked the title first of all; it conjured certain pictures and expectations in my mind that I'd say Charles Siric captured quite well. He pulled me into a deceptively sparse-looking world with bleak rooms whose windows look out onto a bleaker city. He gave beauty to the wee hours of the morning, lying in bed with eyes that won't stay closed; listening and remembering.
I think I have a new favourite poet!
stephaniemwytovich's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely stunning. My favorite collection of his yet.
robk's review against another edition
3.0
With the birth of our first child less than a month away now, many people have been saying we need to get as much sleep as we can now because we will be sleeping a lot less when the baby comes. Well, despite their advice I have been struggling to fall asleep lately. So when 2:30 am rolls around and I am staring at my books, trying to pick one to read from the huge stack of books I haven't read yet, I see Hotel Insomnia and I decide to check in.
Most of these poems are as jarring as the logic that begins to accompany consecutive sleepless nights.
My favorite line comes from the poem, "The Congress of the Insomniacs,"
"Sleeplessness is like Metaphysics.
Be there."
Most of these poems are as jarring as the logic that begins to accompany consecutive sleepless nights.
My favorite line comes from the poem, "The Congress of the Insomniacs,"
"Sleeplessness is like Metaphysics.
Be there."
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