greg_giannakis's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 Dark and dystopian with piercingly profound turns of phrase. A poetry collection I stumbled across at a used bookstore years ago, and only just got to now. I had plans to go out this afternoon, but after reading the first poem, I crawled back into bed and read the whole thing in one go.
yasmoony_'s review against another edition
5.0
This is such a unique and immersive book that I found myself trying to memorise some of the best lines, trying to keep a place in my mind for them. What a fresh take on the heaviness of myth. Through my reading I felt a sense of wading through this apocalyptic wasteland with a small tinge of hope in my mouth.
mercury_p's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
whoz_ophelia's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
In Our Lady of the Ruins, Traci Brimhall explores the dark and disturbing apocalyptic with an ethereal pen. She is a master of language and imagery, often turning the ugly into the beautifully wretched. Phrases like "genesis-dark" and lines like, "I made a feast for you/ but locusts broke from my throat..." kept me turning the pages.
My favorite poems were "Prelude to a Revolution," "Revisionist Gospel," and "Dirge for the Idol." This collection is just as amazing as Come the Slumberless to the Land of Nod. Traci Brimhall is quickly becoming one of my favorite poets.
My favorite poems were "Prelude to a Revolution," "Revisionist Gospel," and "Dirge for the Idol." This collection is just as amazing as Come the Slumberless to the Land of Nod. Traci Brimhall is quickly becoming one of my favorite poets.
mosspussy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
lukenotjohn's review against another edition
4.0
I've never read through a book of poems that works together to tell an ongoing story, but this offered a wonderful introduction to that tactic. Readers follow a tribe of remnant women following a horrific, nearly-apocalyptic war and plague as they make their way through scenes of sorrow, often searching and yearning for while simultaneously rebuking and discarding the Sacred.
This is an undeniably dark, haunting, and even gory collection of poems — and yet it also managed to maintain a certain lightness, being almost whimsical at times, sort of like a fairy tale or ancient myth. The content itself paired with the utterly gorgeous, dreamy, lush language that Brimhall indulges in really elevates the work to seem decadent even while dealing with such harrowing and grim circumstances like death, sacrifice, forsakenness, and lamentation.
Given my own interests, the consistent and complex exploration of God in the context of a near-apocalyptic society was especially intriguing. There's an interesting and ongoing undertone of the paradoxical longings and resistance we have to the Divine ("We loved a god we didn't believe in, and believed in a god we didn't love..." / "We know the journey to God is a fatal one. It isn't even God we're looking for.") that could be seen as juvenile or pretentious more generally but are highlighted and work well within the devastating world she has created.
I think my one complaint was that, in the end, it all still felt just slightly too ephemeral, floating just above the line where I think some really significant connection (rather than just appreciation) with the work would have taken place. [b:Kingdom Animalia|11778691|Kingdom Animalia|Aracelis Girmay|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328043826s/11778691.jpg|16730395] managed to do that really well. It was all untouchable ghost and no concrete bones, despite the running motifs of both. Still, I really enjoyed this and will likely revisit it again.
My favorites were The Labyrinth, Diaspora, Pilgrimage, Exodus, The Needful Animal, Gnostic Fugue, To Poison the Lion, Dirge for the Idol, Petition, Our Lady of the Ruins, Requiem for the Firstborn, Late Novena, The New World, and Jubilee.
This is an undeniably dark, haunting, and even gory collection of poems — and yet it also managed to maintain a certain lightness, being almost whimsical at times, sort of like a fairy tale or ancient myth. The content itself paired with the utterly gorgeous, dreamy, lush language that Brimhall indulges in really elevates the work to seem decadent even while dealing with such harrowing and grim circumstances like death, sacrifice, forsakenness, and lamentation.
Given my own interests, the consistent and complex exploration of God in the context of a near-apocalyptic society was especially intriguing. There's an interesting and ongoing undertone of the paradoxical longings and resistance we have to the Divine ("We loved a god we didn't believe in, and believed in a god we didn't love..." / "We know the journey to God is a fatal one. It isn't even God we're looking for.") that could be seen as juvenile or pretentious more generally but are highlighted and work well within the devastating world she has created.
I think my one complaint was that, in the end, it all still felt just slightly too ephemeral, floating just above the line where I think some really significant connection (rather than just appreciation) with the work would have taken place. [b:Kingdom Animalia|11778691|Kingdom Animalia|Aracelis Girmay|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328043826s/11778691.jpg|16730395] managed to do that really well. It was all untouchable ghost and no concrete bones, despite the running motifs of both. Still, I really enjoyed this and will likely revisit it again.
My favorites were The Labyrinth, Diaspora, Pilgrimage, Exodus, The Needful Animal, Gnostic Fugue, To Poison the Lion, Dirge for the Idol, Petition, Our Lady of the Ruins, Requiem for the Firstborn, Late Novena, The New World, and Jubilee.
rebeccavalley's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful language & image & story. I think the only thing that would have moved this from 4 to 5 stars for me is ditching the titles and committing to this as one long poem - that’s how I read it, and I think it suits the myth that lives beneath these poems.
octavia_cade's review against another edition
4.0
Bitter and imaginative and full of fantastic imagery. It's one of those poetry collections I connect to on an intellectual rather than an emotional level, however. The sense of dislocation is almost too successful, which makes it challenging to follow along and feel towards - but then I like challenging reads, so...