snoakes7001's review against another edition
5.0
Easily the best thing I've read about modern warfare. Devoured it in a day. Get a box of tissues and get reading.
em_ham's review against another edition
5.0
I got through this in one sitting, late at night, whispering it aloud after having heard Owen Sheers read from it at an event. Pink Mist is definitely a poem that you get most out of by hearing, and I think it would be stunningly powerful to see or listen to it being performed.
The verse poem tells the story of three lads from Bristol who join the army and are sent to Camp Bastion in Afghanistan. I found it convincing and noted that it is based on Sheers' interviews with soldiers and their families. Experiences and personal responses came through clearly and poignantly in the poem, which offered insight into a way of life that is otherwise quite alien to me. Occasionally the poetic devices or motifs felt a bit blunt or indulgent – the eggs, for example – or the voices not quite authentic, though in general Sheers' ability to marry everyday speech and 'poetry' without compromising either amazed me. I enjoyed the depiction of Bristol but if you don't have a basic familiarity with the city, this might create distracting questions (similarly, a couple of military terms or acronyms I wasn't sure I understood weren't in the glossary, and I found it broke the flow of the poem to stop and look these up).
Pink Mist is an important portrayal of modern warfare and its impact on young servicemen (and servicewomen, though they don't really feature), their partners and families, and their encounters with, and impressions of, civilians living in war zones. I will read it again, perhaps alongside some older war poetry. In particular, there were three parts I found very haunting:
• Taff's wife's comparison of her husband, returned from Afghanistan, with their young son, and living with them as mothering two children, except her son never 'stared into my eyes, soaked with sweat, / looking at something countries away. / Tom didn't have the last year of his life / flashing like a trailer across his mind all day'
• the 'two plastic chairs, / empty, lit up by the fires, / turning reddish brown and purple red' with 'pink mist' (I didn't know what this was, and if you don't either, learn the term through the poem rather than looking it up first)
• the 'Rose Cottage' at Camp Bastion and Staff Sergeants Andy and Tom tending to soldiers 'like two maids making a bed'.
I'd be very interested to learn how this poem is received by people with personal experience of military service, or those close to them.
The verse poem tells the story of three lads from Bristol who join the army and are sent to Camp Bastion in Afghanistan. I found it convincing and noted that it is based on Sheers' interviews with soldiers and their families. Experiences and personal responses came through clearly and poignantly in the poem, which offered insight into a way of life that is otherwise quite alien to me. Occasionally the poetic devices or motifs felt a bit blunt or indulgent – the eggs, for example – or the voices not quite authentic, though in general Sheers' ability to marry everyday speech and 'poetry' without compromising either amazed me. I enjoyed the depiction of Bristol but if you don't have a basic familiarity with the city, this might create distracting questions (similarly, a couple of military terms or acronyms I wasn't sure I understood weren't in the glossary, and I found it broke the flow of the poem to stop and look these up).
Spoiler
Personally, I'm not keen on writing that assumes the voice of a dead person, but I could see how it worked to show Arthur's continuing presence in the minds of his loved ones and his two friends Hads and Taff.Pink Mist is an important portrayal of modern warfare and its impact on young servicemen (and servicewomen, though they don't really feature), their partners and families, and their encounters with, and impressions of, civilians living in war zones. I will read it again, perhaps alongside some older war poetry. In particular, there were three parts I found very haunting:
• Taff's wife's comparison of her husband, returned from Afghanistan, with their young son, and living with them as mothering two children, except her son never 'stared into my eyes, soaked with sweat, / looking at something countries away. / Tom didn't have the last year of his life / flashing like a trailer across his mind all day'
• the 'two plastic chairs, / empty, lit up by the fires, / turning reddish brown and purple red' with 'pink mist' (I didn't know what this was, and if you don't either, learn the term through the poem rather than looking it up first)
• the 'Rose Cottage' at Camp Bastion and Staff Sergeants Andy and Tom tending to soldiers 'like two maids making a bed'.
I'd be very interested to learn how this poem is received by people with personal experience of military service, or those close to them.
xisabxl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
ceciletaylor's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
cariad_llyfr's review against another edition
4.0
A very well written book that really packs a punch in only 83 pages. It's really looks at the realities of war and there were so many things that struck home like how when there is a fight with gunfire, the brain won't remember exactly what went down but will remember the garden chair that's burning. I loved the poetic nature of it, it flowed gracefully but strongly portrayed the truth of war. Very impressive.
emmkayt's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastic. Verse drama about the impact of three young Britons' decision to join up and go to Afghanistan.
Some of Sheers' writing resonates with and is influenced by ancient Welsh poetry:
It was January,
snow pitchen on the Severn,
turning e brown mud white,
fishermen blowing their fingerless gloves,
the current pulling their fishing lines tight.
That's how it was the morning when
the three of us did what boys always have
And left our homes for war.
But he also seamlessly weaves in modern vernacular, for example as he describes the bored, boozy night out that prompts one young man to sign up, "the Friday carrot at the end of the stick", and the moment he visualized himself in the place of the soldier's image on a recruitment poster:
We'd been out on the piss and we're going for a kebab
when some scutler of Hads' stopped in her tracks,
bent double and flashing her tramp-stamp,
chucked up her guts.
Some of Sheers' writing resonates with and is influenced by ancient Welsh poetry:
It was January,
snow pitchen on the Severn,
turning e brown mud white,
fishermen blowing their fingerless gloves,
the current pulling their fishing lines tight.
That's how it was the morning when
the three of us did what boys always have
And left our homes for war.
But he also seamlessly weaves in modern vernacular, for example as he describes the bored, boozy night out that prompts one young man to sign up, "the Friday carrot at the end of the stick", and the moment he visualized himself in the place of the soldier's image on a recruitment poster:
We'd been out on the piss and we're going for a kebab
when some scutler of Hads' stopped in her tracks,
bent double and flashing her tramp-stamp,
chucked up her guts.
kittyphoenix12's review against another edition
5.0
This book was so powerful for me, especially Taff's story - which is where the book gets its name. The flow in this book is immaculate and the character relationships are so dynamic. I would really recommend this book/prose, but it is also very sad!
eleanorstclair's review against another edition
5.0
I started and finished this book on the train journey home. I was already quite emotional, I was going home for the first time in six months. I read the first four chapters between Bath and Newport. Luckily I had to change at Newport so I had time to compose myself. The first four chapters were brilliantly told, the verse adding so much more to the story, and the characters well developed.
Back on the train at Newport, I read the final chapter before I reached Cardiff and I cried so hard people were giving me funny looks. I had guessed what was going to happen, there were clues, but that last chapter, brilliant, heartbreaking, beautiful. I can't wait to start another book by Owen Sheets!
Back on the train at Newport, I read the final chapter before I reached Cardiff and I cried so hard people were giving me funny looks. I had guessed what was going to happen, there were clues, but that last chapter, brilliant, heartbreaking, beautiful. I can't wait to start another book by Owen Sheets!