willow_reads1's review
dark
funny
fast-paced
2.5
Objectively I think these poems were pretty good. The words used and the imagery felt very alive and interesting. I do think though that these poems just aren’t for me. I found a couple that I liked enough and a couple good quotes but overall I didn’t like most of them. I don’t know if I could pinpoint what exactly I didn’t like. I just didn’t connect with any and that happens.
steds's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve used some of these before in my theology classes. Karr is a master in theme and technique. This collection simmers with anger, and questions, both for her ex DFW, the 911 attackers, the power of eating disorders, and ultimately God.
snowmaiden's review against another edition
3.0
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway, and I am definitely not the right reader for it. Karr deals with some dark subject matter here, and her coping strategy is a thick layer of cynicism. For example, take these lines from "The Age of Criticism," where she describes the suicide of a fellow poet: "I believed there might be no one more alluring alive./ But she killed herself. Last April, widowed at sixty,/ she jumped off the high stadium of some snotty college/ where she taught, and whether she died from grief/ or scorn for self or someone gone, it still seems dumb." I usually like plain-spoken poetry, but this is so unadorned, except for that snideness that jumps out and grabs you by the throat. I just couldn't stomach it.
dylanperry's review against another edition
3.0
It's hard for me to critique poetry. Art is subjective, and I find that no truer than with poems. The only solution I've found is to shut off the analytic side of my brain and turn to the emotional. And in that, Tropic of Squalor was hit and miss. Some entries hit me hard, some I grew bored of halfway through. But Karr's skill is obvious, and I'm still interested in picking up one of her memoirs.
3/5
3/5
ashleyann's review
dark
reflective
slow-paced
0.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Suicide, and Self harm
ramonamead's review against another edition
4.0
I'm a big fan of Karr's memoirs, and this is my first of her poetry collections. It certainly did not disappoint. As with her prose, the writing here is sharp and concise, descriptions are vivid, and her concepts are unique. The poems are all relatively short and powerful. Having read her other works and knowing her voice, it comes through here loud and clear. Karr is a keen observer, and an expert and turning inner reflection into witty writing.