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brice_mo's review
3.0
Thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McNeel Publishing for the ARC!
F.S. Yousaf’s Prayers of My Youth is a lovely, warm, and wide-eyed collection of devotional poems.
Most of these pieces revolve around the speaker’s relationship to the Divine, though a few wade into romantic love. Regardless of the subject matter, every poem feels defined by a courageous and hard-won tenderness.
Instead of the anguish that dictates many spiritual poems, Yousaf shares a faith that allows him to write soft and simple poems. They carry the quietude of someone reading over you as you rub the sleep from your eyes.
That isn’t to say that this is a one-note collection.
There are moments of life’s ugliness that break through, as seen in “Devastation—,“ but they serve to deepen the book’s spirituality. We can feel the speaker making a conscious decision to pursue abstraction when life resists it.
In the end, Prayers of My Youth feels like a little book with a muscular humility—the kind that allows for worship.
F.S. Yousaf’s Prayers of My Youth is a lovely, warm, and wide-eyed collection of devotional poems.
Most of these pieces revolve around the speaker’s relationship to the Divine, though a few wade into romantic love. Regardless of the subject matter, every poem feels defined by a courageous and hard-won tenderness.
Instead of the anguish that dictates many spiritual poems, Yousaf shares a faith that allows him to write soft and simple poems. They carry the quietude of someone reading over you as you rub the sleep from your eyes.
That isn’t to say that this is a one-note collection.
There are moments of life’s ugliness that break through, as seen in “Devastation—,“ but they serve to deepen the book’s spirituality. We can feel the speaker making a conscious decision to pursue abstraction when life resists it.
In the end, Prayers of My Youth feels like a little book with a muscular humility—the kind that allows for worship.
ridhaaa's review
4.0
i randomly read this during my break at college and i loved it sm. i love how religion and islam was incorporated into so many of the poems, here are a few of my favourites that i highlighted.
'
'
these are just two of some amazing poems in here, highly recommend !
'
and my father being proud of his only son,
all while i lay in bed,
with a grand imagination,
and not a single clue
as to how to make the last thought a reality
'
'throughout the many moons of the past months, i have not given the time to properly give you my attention, and for you to give me yours.
at the first tear drop of strife,
i am back in your arms,
and you cradle me so dearly,
like a mother with her newborn baby,
i am weak
i am weak without your strength
so why do i,
out of all the seconds in my measly days, forget to cherish you in the best of times?
how selfish have i become to forget the one thing that helps me the most when all is well, and remember it through the wrinkles in my fingers when all is lost?'
these are just two of some amazing poems in here, highly recommend !
havdic's review
5.0
oh how beautiful.
I am in awe and peace at how beautiful and personal this collection is… so so different than sincerely,. There are so many things I can list, but all I truly love and am overwhelmed in the most pleasant of ways. Can we please talk about the illustrations? Oh my goodness. And the start to each new section, the titles, the small paragraphs following. Such perfection. The attention to detail. They all tell a story.
It’s such a wonderful feeling reading from another Muslim author
I am in awe and peace at how beautiful and personal this collection is… so so different than sincerely,. There are so many things I can list, but all I truly love and am overwhelmed in the most pleasant of ways. Can we please talk about the illustrations? Oh my goodness. And the start to each new section, the titles, the small paragraphs following. Such perfection. The attention to detail. They all tell a story.
It’s such a wonderful feeling reading from another Muslim author
hadeelthereader's review
4.0
This is probably my favorite collection by F.S. Yousaf. I found myself able to relate to these poems which were beautiful. As a Muslim reader it’s refreshing to see Islam woven into these works in a effortless way. I definitely look forward to reading more by this Author.
roreads28's review
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
I like his poetry, it feels easily accessible but still resounds deeply. Uncomplicated and unpretentious but still impactful. I look forward to reading more of his work
saharjennah's review
5.0
I really enjoyed these long style of poetry it’s so raw and vulnerable. I also loved how so many of his poems mention Islam in them it’s refreshing to see as a Muslim reader. Overall I really loved this!
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