stierwood's review against another edition
4.5
She totally gets it and the rating is subjectice based on my lack of knowledge about hellenism
mireanthony's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
2.5
On the whole rather boring. “The Fall of Rome: A Traveller’s Guide” seems to be in conversation with A Small Place to some extent, although maybe it just seems to me to be so because I’ve just read A Small Place in the past month. I’d like to read an analysis of this poem and will be looking for one.
“The Gender of Sound” essay was the most interesting part of this collection but I would dearly love to read a response to it by somebody seeking to complicate Carson’s bioessentialist view of femininity.
“The Gender of Sound” essay was the most interesting part of this collection but I would dearly love to read a response to it by somebody seeking to complicate Carson’s bioessentialist view of femininity.
baedeker's review against another edition
3.0
"The Glass Essay" and "The Gender of Sound" were wonderful, but the rest left me ambivalent
stephanielam27's review against another edition
3.0
I love reading Carson in one sitting: it’s like a spiritual revelation (“The Truth About God” had some fetching imagery; I read “TV Men: Artaud” in one breath). Littered with anachronisms that were at times witty and at times forced. Wasn’t a big fan of the bookended essays or “The Fall of Rome” unfortunately- veered more academic than poetic.
“eyes stacked with the motions of roses in that other dawn and a torn coolness-“ (67)
“stuffing her shadow into her mouth as she goes” (105)
“The doubling and interchangeability of mouth engenders a creature in whom sex is cancelled out by sound and sound is cancelled out by sex...Baubo’s mouths appropriate each other.” (136, from “The Gender of Sound”)
“eyes stacked with the motions of roses in that other dawn and a torn coolness-“ (67)
“stuffing her shadow into her mouth as she goes” (105)
“The doubling and interchangeability of mouth engenders a creature in whom sex is cancelled out by sound and sound is cancelled out by sex...Baubo’s mouths appropriate each other.” (136, from “The Gender of Sound”)
iammyowngodandmartyr's review against another edition
4.0
The Gender Of Sound truly saved this whole collection for me, I cared very little for the rest. I like Carson's work most when she talks about grammar and this book just had a lot on anger and emptiness :/ or maybe I just prefer her essays to her poetry. Also, and she has always flouted the Oxford comma, but this time it's in the TITLE and that's almost too much for me.
gal1's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
5.0