iammandyellen's review against another edition
3.0
What I love to see is that the joy and exuberance that Gay exudes in his most recent work has been there from the beginning. The way he troubles the relationship between pain and violence and joy feels profound and complex. I also love to witness the tenor of the relationship between Gay and the poet Gerald Stern, who wrote the introduction to this volume and seems to be a kind of mentor to Gay. The tenderness and dialogue between these two men that is opened to the reader (there is also a poem written to/for Stern in this collection) is a privilege to experience.
thndrkat's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lukenotjohn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
4.0
| If it was ever in question, Ross Gay has clinched his spot among my top favorite poets. I probably enjoyed this the least of his 3 collections, which is saying a lot because I still found it to be pretty incredible. The first half (Part One and the first half of Part Two) was weaker for me, featuring Gay's gorgeous language and skilled turns of phrase but ultimately feeling a little more hollow than what I'd come to expect from him. That was more than corrected in the second half, however, which has all the rich writing Gay is so masterful at alongside some more thematic cohesion and heart. The Part Three is especially compelling, with most of the poems revolving around Gay's ailing father (to whom the book is dedicated to) as he comes to terms with his dying and death.
The collection as a whole could be considered a meditation on the juxtapositions of violence, pain, and death with tenderness, beauty, and wonder. I read Gay's collections in reverse chronological order, and these focuses are certainly a throughline for him, but I'd say this work is the most bracing and direct in tone and subject, leaning towards the heavier end of the spectrum. For the most part, those tended to be the poems that worked best for me. Many of the aforementioned poems attending to Gay's paternal relationship are the highlights and likely what I'll remember most here ("How to Fall in Love with Your Father," "Why Would We Not," and "Patience" are especially moving). Some are even more brutal, like "Postcard: Lynching of an Unidentified Man, circa 1920," "For a Young Emergency Room Doctor," "The Bullet, in its Hunger," and "Late October in Easton," and I was floored by those as well. The closer, "Thank You," is a bittersweetly perfect conclusion for this, giving voice to my own gratitude for the jewels found here and the testimony to life, death, pain, love, and beauty that runs throughout.
The collection as a whole could be considered a meditation on the juxtapositions of violence, pain, and death with tenderness, beauty, and wonder. I read Gay's collections in reverse chronological order, and these focuses are certainly a throughline for him, but I'd say this work is the most bracing and direct in tone and subject, leaning towards the heavier end of the spectrum. For the most part, those tended to be the poems that worked best for me. Many of the aforementioned poems attending to Gay's paternal relationship are the highlights and likely what I'll remember most here ("How to Fall in Love with Your Father," "Why Would We Not," and "Patience" are especially moving). Some are even more brutal, like "Postcard: Lynching of an Unidentified Man, circa 1920," "For a Young Emergency Room Doctor," "The Bullet, in its Hunger," and "Late October in Easton," and I was floored by those as well. The closer, "Thank You," is a bittersweetly perfect conclusion for this, giving voice to my own gratitude for the jewels found here and the testimony to life, death, pain, love, and beauty that runs throughout.
mephelan's review against another edition
5.0
I don't know how to review poetry, except to say that I will take the word "rainbathed" with me forever, to link to a reading of "The Bullet, In Its Hunger," and to say that if you read this book, please, please read it out loud.
http://www.fishousepoems.org/the-bullet-and-its-hunger-live-bowdoin/
http://www.fishousepoems.org/the-bullet-and-its-hunger-live-bowdoin/
milo_rose's review against another edition
5.0
Ross Gay is a treasure who deserves all the good things for writing these amazing, powerful, soft poems and allowing us to read them.
belbonnie's review against another edition
5.0
I can't find a single fault in this collection. It's so raw without falling into any of the normal sort of vapid conventions of poets reaching for rawness. Everything here is fiercely original and fiercely real. Best poem in the collection, for me, was Outside the Wake of a Friend's Father.
Coming into this collection, Gay's first published collection, after having read [b:Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude|37791605|Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude|Ross Gay|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1514843118l/37791605._SX50_.jpg|43314735], his most recent collection, added a whole other layer onto the reading of this one. It can't be denied that while there is beauty in Against Which, it's also oozing with pain and anger. And Catalog just... isn't, really. It's amazing for me to see that difference, and know that within the ten years between the two collections' publications, Gay stopped hurting a little. It makes me happy. It also makes me excited to read the middle collection, [b:Bringing the Shovel Down|21862099|Bringing the Shovel Down|Ross Gay|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1410142465l/21862099._SX50_.jpg|14805678].
Coming into this collection, Gay's first published collection, after having read [b:Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude|37791605|Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude|Ross Gay|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1514843118l/37791605._SX50_.jpg|43314735], his most recent collection, added a whole other layer onto the reading of this one. It can't be denied that while there is beauty in Against Which, it's also oozing with pain and anger. And Catalog just... isn't, really. It's amazing for me to see that difference, and know that within the ten years between the two collections' publications, Gay stopped hurting a little. It makes me happy. It also makes me excited to read the middle collection, [b:Bringing the Shovel Down|21862099|Bringing the Shovel Down|Ross Gay|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1410142465l/21862099._SX50_.jpg|14805678].
peevishbird's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
ddraith's review
5.0
Wow. If, like me, you came to this book my way of the book of delights, and the catalog of unabashed gratitude, this book will hit you like a punch in the stomach. Gay brings his same brilliant care with words and rhythm, and allows us to fully see his familiarity with the hard, the brutal, the inescapably sad. We see grief and acceptance and resigned transcendence, and occasional flashes of redemption and joy. I can not recommend this collection enough.