elianachow's review against another edition
4.0
I always learn a great deal about the possibilities and reaches of language construction from Wiman, for which I am grateful.
theohume's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
wallsc's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
(going to purchase a copy immediately)
torilyndy's review against another edition
4.0
A select few of these poems will be reread many times for the rest of my life. The majority, however, didn't land no matter how long I sat with them.
nickjonesreadsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Many of these poems were superb and many I did not get at all. Wiman definitely has a flare for metaphor that I appreciate, but some of this just isn’t my cup of tea.
sethjames's review against another edition
4.0
Haunting and incredibly real. I can't remember where I heard of this book of poetry or who recommended it, but regardless: thank you. Works like this are refreshing and encouraging, with painful, honest doubt so clearly expressed alongside glimmers of reluctant hope.
kateraed's review against another edition
4.0
A brilliant eye and sense for articulating the emotion inherent in a detail.
maxgardner's review against another edition
4.0
Though the middle section of poems was a bit difficult for me to get through, I think the overall effect of this collection is powerful. The last section was by far my favorite. Wiman has a way of, out of nowhere, just giving you this feeling like you've been punched in the gut, minus the actual pain of the hit—simply the pain of catching your breath afterward.
I tend to enjoy more prose-like poetry because it's a lot easier for me to connect with and grasp meaning in. I think there are plenty of poems that fall within this style in the book, though there are also plenty of abstract pieces (particularly in the second section). These I found harder to get through, and after making it to the end, I'm wondering if that might be the purpose. This section is when he's in the throes of war. It's a window into his thoughts during this extremely dark time when he's battling cancer. Rather than risk using cliches or traveling a well-beaten literary path, he chose to go the route of evoking the slight sense of madness that comes with fighting for your life while leaving behind the routine you've worked so hard to build and had defined your life by up until that point.
I'm not religious, and I don't think you have to be to enjoy this book, but I really appreciated the spiritual nature of many of the poems. Wiman seems primarily focused on the Christian god, but I think you can take a lot of the poems out of that context and put them in various other theological ideologies as well as just in a bigger picture of searching for meaning and purpose in life.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this collection, though I think it is deceivingly small as it takes a few re-reads of several of the poems to really feel the total umph.
I tend to enjoy more prose-like poetry because it's a lot easier for me to connect with and grasp meaning in. I think there are plenty of poems that fall within this style in the book, though there are also plenty of abstract pieces (particularly in the second section). These I found harder to get through, and after making it to the end, I'm wondering if that might be the purpose. This section is when he's in the throes of war. It's a window into his thoughts during this extremely dark time when he's battling cancer. Rather than risk using cliches or traveling a well-beaten literary path, he chose to go the route of evoking the slight sense of madness that comes with fighting for your life while leaving behind the routine you've worked so hard to build and had defined your life by up until that point.
I'm not religious, and I don't think you have to be to enjoy this book, but I really appreciated the spiritual nature of many of the poems. Wiman seems primarily focused on the Christian god, but I think you can take a lot of the poems out of that context and put them in various other theological ideologies as well as just in a bigger picture of searching for meaning and purpose in life.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this collection, though I think it is deceivingly small as it takes a few re-reads of several of the poems to really feel the total umph.
gelfling_gal's review against another edition
5.0
Lovely lovely lovely. I took so long with this slim volume of poems because I kept rereading the poems over and over again (i tabbed my favorites in the library copy I had with sticky notes). As a person of faith, as well as as a poet, Christian Wiman sets a gold standard on how one can synthesize faith and poetry without it being ridiculously overt. I’m envious of his ability to do so, as a poet myself.