sofipitch's review
reflective
I kind of forgot I was reading this for a while, I'd pick it up and put it down for long stretches of time. I'm not a big poetry person, but I'm glad I read Neruda. Like a basic bitch I think his best are his love poems, but he also has some good leftist poems as well, such as El Pueblo. (I struggle to rate this bc it's a collection and my opinion varied from loving it to "eh" but never bad) Overall I see why his name is up there in most famous poets ever
purplepaperback's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
4.0
The order of the poems is weird. I had a much easier and enjoyable time reading these out of order. I recommend starting with the love sonnets, then reading some of the political ones like “I Explain Some Things,” before reading his poetry about nature. His perspective on nature and beauty hit differently after his despair about Chile.
scrow1022's review
4.0
I am looking forward to reading these someday in Spanish. These remind me of Pizarnik and Rimbaud - images and metaphors spun out past my being able to follow them still yearning after them. And then wonderfully earthy as well. I look forward to going back to them.
jenn_sveda's review
4.0
Read this on the plane on my way to Florida - not the best setting for reading poetry, perhaps. Still, it was a solid collection (though missing a few works I would have expected). I take issue with a couple of the translation choices, but I can respect that every translator comes to a work with their own vision. Overall a well-put-together collection and one I’m sure I’ll revisit in the future.
e333mily's review against another edition
5.0
I found Neruda because of rap music and magpies. I was sitting on the floor of a local bookstore, running my fingers across the spines of poetry books, picking out ones here and there, as you do. Neruda's name was already familiar to me because it is mentioned in one of my favourite songs, Almost Cut my Hair (for Crosby) by Milo – "reading Pablo Neruda and feeling small now". I didn't know at the time why this author made him feel small, but I think I understand now; "I toil deftly, circling above myself." When I came across his name at the store I picked out the book, thinking I'd have a quick flick through. As soon as I saw the cover I knew I'd buy it; it's a picture of Pablo, mid-laugh with a magpie sitting on his head. Anyone who knows me knows that I love birds, and magpies have always had a special place in my heart. Now, so does Neruda.
"...spread like the lunar wave of a just created ocean
over lands and shorelines tormentedly deserted.
Oh, let what I am keep existing and ceasing to exist,
and let my obedience align itself with such iron conditions
that the quaking of deaths and of births doesn't shake
the deep place I want to reserve for myself eternally.
Let me, then, be what I am, wherever and in whatever weather,
rooted and certain and ardent witness..."
"...spread like the lunar wave of a just created ocean
over lands and shorelines tormentedly deserted.
Oh, let what I am keep existing and ceasing to exist,
and let my obedience align itself with such iron conditions
that the quaking of deaths and of births doesn't shake
the deep place I want to reserve for myself eternally.
Let me, then, be what I am, wherever and in whatever weather,
rooted and certain and ardent witness..."
mad_hatter's review against another edition
4.5
Neruda's voice is so distinctive. It is earthy yet disembodied, obsessive, and lonely. The natural world is filled with terrors and specters, yet hauntingly beautiful.
I can barely understand Spanish, yet his poetry still sings, crossing cultural and language barriers. One can also see the soul and passion in the translators' works. An excellent collection that provides a balanced coverage of his prolific writings.
I can barely understand Spanish, yet his poetry still sings, crossing cultural and language barriers. One can also see the soul and passion in the translators' works. An excellent collection that provides a balanced coverage of his prolific writings.